The Lord Delights in His People

Psalm 149----

Praise the LORD.

Sing to the LORD a new song,

His praise in the assembly of the saints.

Let the Church rejoice in their Maker;

let His people be glad in their King.

Let them praise his name with dancing

and make music to him with tambourine and harp, with piano and voice.

For the LORD takes delight in his people;

He crowns the humble with salvation.

Let the saints rejoice in this honor

and sing for joy on their beds.

May the praise of God be in their mouths.

In this passage we see the delight of God and the delight of His people. We see the Lord taking delight in His people; and we see His people rejoicing, taking delight in the Lord.

This is truly amazing, isn’t it? God delights in His people. God loves us, His people, and takes real delight in us. How can this be? How can a holy God love us and delight in us? We are sinners—not holy! Certainly nothing that God would delight in. He can only delight in us if we are truly His people. If He has changed us on the inside so that we love Him. So if we want the Lord to delight in us, we must be His people.

That begs the question: How can we be His people?

If we want Him to delight in us, we must trust in Jesus Christ.

If we want Him to delight in us, we must make Jesus Christ our only hope.

If we want Him to delight in us, we must say that we are sinners and we deserve the wrath of God; but we trust in what Jesus Christ has done for us.

If we want Him to delight in us, we must make Jesus Christ our Lord—where He leads us, we will follow.

If we want Him to delight in us, we must be humble—He is the Lord, we are the sheep of His pasture.

If we are His people then He delights in us. Think of that—we have all had someone who brought us some joy. We thought about that person, we loved being with that person, we gave special gifts to that person. That is what our Lord does. He delights in us—He thinks about us; He enjoys us coming to be with Him; He gives us blessing after blessing each and every day!

God delights in us! God loves us!

And see what gifts He gives us!

He delights in His people, so He gives them a crown of salvation!

Now I’m not completely sure what all this crown means, but it seems like an expensive gift. A crown is for rich kings and queens! You see? He is making us to be rich in Christ with Him! – because He delights in us!

But it’s not just any sort of crown—no, it is a crown of salvation! This is our most urgent need. We were lost and wretched—we were under God’s wrath—He was angry at us because of our sins. But this God, who is rich in mercy, poured out His love on us, so that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, the ungodly.

He delighted in us so much that He gave His only Begotten Son so that whoever would believe on Him should not perish but have everlasting life! — God so loved the world! — God so delighted in His people!

Are you one of His own? Then He delights in you and He has given you the richest and most costly gift! He has given you Jesus Christ—because He delights in you! He has crowned you with salvation—because He delights in you. He delights in you—oh, precious thought!

That should make you happy!

That should make you joyful!

That should make you want to sing!

That should lift your spirits when the devil tries to make you feel afraid—No! Tell depression that the Lord delights in me!

Tell the devil that the Lord delights in me!

Tell your anxious thoughts, the Lord delights in me!

And that is exactly what this psalm says—

This psalm overflows with joy and happiness because God takes such great delight in us, His people. Listen to it:

Praise the LORD. – Why? Because He delights in us

Sing to the LORD a new song. – Why? Because He delights in us

Let the Church rejoice in their Maker – Why? Because He delights in us.

Let His people be glad in their King. – Why? Because He delights in us

Let them praise his name with dancing – Why? Because He delights in us

And make music to him with tambourine and harp, with piano and voice. – Why? Because He delights in us

Let the saints rejoice in this honor. – Why? Because He delights in us

And sing for joy on their beds. – Why? Because He delights in us

May the praise of God be in their mouths. – Why? Because He delights in us

You see? If He delights in us, we must delight in Him. We must make Him the pinnacle of our desires. We must love Him supremely. He delights in us and that brings us great joy—joy that will not ever fade:

The Lord takes delight in His people,

And crowns the humble with salvation.