The literal translation from the Hebrew text reads: “And put your pleasure upon the Lord, that He may give to you the requests of your heart.”

In context, David, the psalm writer, is addressing those who perceive that the evil doers of the land seem to be prospering more than those who desire to do good (see Psalms 37:1). After stating what will happen to those evil doers (Psalms 37:2), David says that those belonging to the Lord should “trust in Yahweh and do what is good; and dwell in the land and feed upon the Lord’s faithfulness.” In Psalm 37:4, he continues by saying “and put your pleasure upon the Lord,” in other words, let the Lord be your satisfaction. The psalmist then expresses why we are to let the Lord be our satisfaction “that He may give to you the requests of your heart.” The Hebrew word WeYITTEN, translated “He may give” is in the Qal Jussive form, which is an optative expression – showing a wish or desire.

An accurate understanding of this text is rendered, not only from definitions and forms, but from the sequence of its phrases. Notice that one must first find satisfaction in the Lord; then, as a result of that, the Lord will fulfill the desires of that one’s heart. If anyone lets the Lord be his/her pleasure and satisfaction, that same one will find his/her desire fulfilled by the Lord, since that person will take pleasure in whatever the Lord’s will is; whereas the person finding pleasure in the world finds only those pleasures that are temporary and passing away.