# 394 A journey through the Psalms. Psalm 149.  The Lord takes delight in his people.

Who is there in your life that you could honestly say to them, ‘In you I take delight.’

In Australia, we celebrate ‘Mother’s Day’ on the second Sunday in May. Now, I’m sure, mothers themselves would be first to admit, mothers are not perfect, but I’m sure that there are many children who could say “In you, mother, I take delight.’ Hopefully, they can then respond to their children with a feeling that is mutual (conveniently forgetting all the heartache they have caused over the years!).

It is interesting that in this Psalm, it reminds us that the Lord takes delight in his people (v. 4), incredible,considering what we read of this same people in the Bible.

The Bible is actually quite amazing in that as an historical document, it is quite unique. Most ancient histories and even religious literature in the past glossed over the failures of a nation, its leaders and followers and centred mainly on their victories and accomplishments. Not so the Bible, which is full, not only of the positives but also the failures and rebellion of the people of God, including its leaders. And yet, God still expresses his delight in them! Consider the following:

The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.  (Psalm 147:11)

The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.  (Proverbs 11:20)

The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors.  (Deuteronomy 30:9)

And pause for a moment and consider the wonder of the following:

The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”  (Zephaniah 3:17)

But, it would be very sad to delight in someone who has little delight in you. Maybe you have experienced the grief of such a one sided relationship. And so it is with God and his people. So, the psalmist in Psalm 37 says:

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Do you delight in the Lord today?

So what does it mean to delight in someone? It basically indicates that this one brings great pleasure to you. Does this describe your relationship with the Lord? Pleasurable! Because, believe it or not, this describes his attitude towards you, if you are one of his children.

Jesus explains what the signs are of a person who truly delights in (finds his greatest pleasure in) God when he speaks of the greatest commandments. He says:

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  (Matthew 22:37-39)

And to delight in the Lord is to also delight in his people (Psalm 16:3), his Word (Psalm 1:2) and his salvation (Psalm 35:9) accomplished through the Son in whom the Father delighted in (Matthew 12:18).  

No wonder the psalmist in this second last of the Psalms proclaims:

Praise the Lord.

Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

² Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
    let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
³ Let them praise his name with dancing
    and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
⁴ For the Lord takes delight in his people;    he crowns the humble with victory.
⁵ Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
    and sing for joy on their beds.

Praise the Lord.