Delight

A sense of joy and pleasure, experienced especially through achievements or relationships.

God as the source of delight

Delight in the person of God

Isaiah 61:10 See also Nehemiah 1:11; Job 22:26; Psalm 22:8, Psalm 37:4, Psalm 43:3–4; Isaiah 58:13–14

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Delight in the word of God

Psalm 119:16; Romans 7:22 See also Psalm 1:2, Psalm 19:7–14, Psalm 119:24, Psalm 119:47; Jeremiah 15:16

I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.

Delight in the works of God

1 Samuel 2:1; Psalm 35:4–10; Acts 11:23

God expresses delight

Over his world

Psalm 104:31 See also Genesis 1:31; Proverbs 8:30–31

May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works.

Over his people

Deuteronomy 30:9–10 See also 2 Samuel 22:20; Psalm 147:10–11, Psalm 149:4; Isaiah 62:4, Isaiah 65:18–19; Jeremiah 31:20, Jeremiah 32:41; Micah 7:18

So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your prosperity, as He delighted in that of your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Over justice

Proverbs 11:1 See also Proverbs 11:20, Proverbs 12:22; Jeremiah 9:24

Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight.

Over his Messiah

Matthew 3:17 parallels Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22 See also Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 12:18–21, Matthew 17:5 parallels Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35; 2 Peter 1:17

And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”

God's delight is absent when something is viewed unfavourably

1 Samuel 15:22 See also Leviticus 26:31; Psalm 51:16, Psalm 147:10

But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

Natural delight in parenthood

Proverbs 3:12 See also Proverbs 23:24, Proverbs 29:17; Micah 1:16

for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.

Sexual delight

Song of Solomon 1:4 See also Genesis 34:19; Proverbs 5:18; Song of Solomon 2:3, Song of Solomon 4:1, Song of Solomon 7:10

Take me away with you— let us hurry! May the king bring me to his chambers. We will rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. It is only right that they adore you.

Delight in the created order

In God's gifts

Deuteronomy 26:11 See also Isaiah 55:2; Jeremiah 31:12; Joel 2:23

So you shall rejoice — you, the Levite, and the foreigner dwelling among you — in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.

In one's work

Ecclesiastes 2:10 See also Deuteronomy 12:7; Ecclesiastes 3:22, Ecclesiastes 5:19, Ecclesiastes 8:15

Anything my eyes desired, I did not deny myself. I refused my heart no pleasure. For my heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

In the achievements of others

Colossians 2:5 See also Exodus 18:9; Esther 6:9; Proverbs 14:35; 1 Thessalonians 2:13–14

For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ.

The delight of believers in their relationship with God

Psalm 9:2 See also 1 Samuel 2:1; Nehemiah 1:11; Job 22:26; Psalm 9:14, Psalm 13:5, Psalm 31:7, Psalm 35:9, Psalm 37:4, Psalm 89:16, Psalm 149:2; Luke 1:46–47

I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Delight in wrongdoing

Psalm 62:4; 1 Corinthians 13:6 See also Psalm 68:30; Proverbs 2:12–15, Proverbs 18:2; Isaiah 66:3; Colossians 2:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:12

They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah

Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth.