556_Cultivating the right desires (Psalm 119:33-40)

Psalm 119:33-40 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;
and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to your testimonies,
and not to selfish gain!
37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
and give me life in your ways.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,
that you may be feared.
39 Turn away the reproach that I dread,
for your rules are good.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life!

There was a farmer who wanted to grow the best corn in his county. Every year, he entered his corn in the state fair, and almost every year, he won the best farmer award. One day, a newspaper reporter interviewed him and was surprised to discover that this farmer shared his best seed corn with all his neighbors. The reporter asked, “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with others when they’re competing with you?” The farmer smiled and replied, “Why, sir, don’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the neighboring fields and carries it across the land. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will degrade my corn as well. So, if I want good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn too.”

That simple story illustrates that what we sow is what we reap. This is true whether we reap in our fields or in our hearts. Desires are like seeds. Some grow into fruitful lives that bless others, while others grow into weeds that choke the soul. The question is what we cultivate. Psalm 119:33–40 describes the desires of a man who sought holiness – to live life according to the will of God.

The psalmist prays: “Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.” (v.33) It is a humble yet determined request, not for information but for transformation. This is no one-time lesson he needs, but lifelong instruction. The phrase “to the end” reveals his perseverance in seeking to live each day in the paths of the Lord, and to finish well.

In verse 34, he continues, “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.” Far from spiritual laziness, this prayer reflects the understanding that the only wise people are those who joyfully, earnestly, sincerely, and constantly seek to follow God’s ways – the best way for mankind. And the truth of God is not a matter of observation and reflection alone, but of revelation.

Keeping God’s word requires more than knowledge. Once the heart understands the beauty and goodness that characterize the ways of God, obedience becomes a joyful response rather than a reluctant duty. The psalmist’s emphasis: “with my whole heart,” underlines the consecration of his conscience, like the Lord who prayed in Gethsemane in the willingness of faith: “Not my will but yours be done.”

In verse 35, he prays, “Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.” For him, God’s commandments are not burdensome. The word delight paints a picture of someone who is not dragged after the law of the Lord, but finds joy and pleasure in doing God’s will.

The request in verse 36 is: “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain.” The root of human struggles is in the battle of desires. Our inclinations are selfish, for our own profit, leaving out God. Our need is to constantly recognize the wisdom and beauty of understanding God’s will in its perfection, for that reshapes our desires.

In this world overflowing with desires, we are constantly tempted to think we deserve more. The desire to be rich, to be known, to be admired—these are not new temptations. But the way of the Lord is far greater, far better, far surer, in its promise of eternal satisfaction and fulfilment in living out the will of God.

He goes on, “Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things; and revive me in your way.” (v.37) Our eyes and therefore our hearts are constantly drawn to the trivial and the temporary. The transformation and renewal of our hearts comes from a steadfast and humble gaze on the love of God, that eternal love demonstrated on the cross. What we love shapes who we become. When he pleads, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things,” he is looking for the ability to see the things that are valuable from God’s eternal perspective.

For the Lord said, “For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15). Many people today waste their lives chasing what God calls worthless. Jonah, in the belly of the fish, echoed the lesson in his declaration: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (Jonah 2:8).

This heralds the changing of the servant of God into one who is dead to worthless things, and alive to God’s way. The prayer, “Revive me in your way,” describes true awakening of the heart and conscience, to love what God loves and not simply to be emotionally stirred without lasting change.

The prayer in verse 38 is, “Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.” David was promised an everlasting lineage, and now he claims that promise by turning his heart to God. This is the boldness of the faithful heart that issues in obedience. As Christ said, if we abide in him and his word abides in us, we may ask what we will and it will be done for us. The kingdom would be made sure to David, because he confirmed God’s election by his faith and obedience. And the everlasting fulfilment of that promise has caused praise and worship to rise to God who keeps his promise.

This is why he pleads, “Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.” (v.39) His dread is of falling short, of not obtaining the promise of God, of being rejected by his own choice of unbelief. The great and sole assurance he has is that God’s ways are good, and God never forsakes the one who puts his trust in him by following those ways. And this is enough to spur his faith.

Finally, the psalm closes with: “Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!” (v.40). This longing echoes David’s words in Psalm 23: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” As the apostle John said, he who does the will of God lives forever.

These verses trace the longing for transformation, from the inside out. The path is through the renewal of the mind and the consecration of the person to God as a living sacrifice of worship. The prayer is for teaching and leading in the way of righteousness, to be brought alive in his way and see the fulfilment of his promises.

Many of us live with divided hearts, torn between the desire to follow God and achieve worldly prestige and wealth. We often worship the idols of approval, pleasure, or control. Psalm 119 invites us to reexamine what we truly desire.

Our greatest need is not the suppression of wrong ones by sheer willpower. Rather, it is in replacing them with something better and greater. C. S. Lewis once said, “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”

Psalm 119 repeats this learning: right desires do not come through denial but delight.
We learn to bring our hearts before God daily with such prayers. We learn to examine more closely the things that fill our minds with delight. This will transform our heart over time. No gardener sees results overnight. But what we nourish will grow.

As we keep sowing God’s Word into our hearts, understanding and obeying it, and pulling out the weeds of ungodly desire, the fruit will appear in due season-a harvest of righteousness and peace.

As we delight in the Lord, he will give us desires of heart-to dwell for ever in his house, walking in his ways and finding our joy in his righteousness.