Go! And Delight In His Delight - Psalm 149:4 Series

Go! And Delight in His Delight - Psalm 149:4

Psalm 149:4 (NLT) — “For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.”

Introduction — “Do You Really Believe He Delights in You?”

I want to begin with a question that’s not just theological, but personal:

Do you really believe that God delights in you?

Not just tolerates you. Not just puts up with you because Jesus died for you. But genuinely delights in you — rejoices over you — sings over you.

Psalm 149:4 tells us something extraordinary: “For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.”

This verse is not about our worthiness — it’s about His gracious love. This is not about us earning God’s favour — it’s about God choosing to set His affection on His people, because He is good. And that truth should change the way you worship, the way you walk, and the way you witness.

1. The Lord Delights in His People

Psalm 149 is a hallelujah psalm — part of the final five psalms that close the Book of Psalms, each beginning and ending with “Praise the Lord!” It was likely used in temple worship after Israel’s return from exile, a time when God’s people needed reminding of His faithfulness despite their failures.

The Hebrew word for “delights” here is ratsah — meaning to take pleasure in, to be favourably disposed toward, to enjoy. It’s used elsewhere for God’s acceptance of a sacrifice (Leviticus 1:4). In other words, God’s delight in His people is intentional, active, and ongoing.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT) — “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Here, “delight” is sus — meaning to exult, to rejoice exceedingly. This is not God quietly approving of you from a distance — it’s God singing over you like a joyful Father.

In Israel’s day, kings delighted in victorious armies or loyal servants. But God’s delight is in His people — even when they are weak. His joy is rooted in covenant love, not in their performance.

Many believers live as though God is perpetually disappointed in them. But if you belong to Christ, you are clothed in His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21) and stand in the full delight of the Father.

John Piper wrote, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” If God delights in you, then your greatest joy will be to delight in Him — because His delight fuels your satisfaction in Him.

Picture a father watching his little child take wobbly first steps. The father doesn’t say, “Pathetic attempt — walk better!” No, he delights in the child’s effort, scoops them up, and rejoices. That is how your heavenly Father looks at you in Christ.

2. He Crowns the Humble with Victory

The Hebrew word for “humble” is anaw — meaning lowly, poor, afflicted, dependent. It’s the same word used in Numbers 12:3 to describe Moses as the most humble man on earth.

The “crown” (atar) is a sign of honour and triumph. But in Scripture, victory doesn’t come to the self-reliant — it comes to those who know they are utterly dependent on God.

James 4:6 (NLT) — “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

In the Ancient Near East, crowns were often given after military victory. But here, God crowns the humble before the final victory, because humility itself is part of the victory — it acknowledges His Lordship.

1 Peter 5:6 (NLT) — “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honour.”

Humility is not self-loathing; it’s self-forgetfulness — focusing on God, not self. The “victory” He gives is ultimately over sin and death through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Charles Stanley once said, “The degree to which you are willing to submit to God is the degree to which you will experience His blessing.” Humility is the pathway to wearing God’s crown of victory.

A missionary once told of a tribal leader who removed his headdress — the sign of his authority — and placed it at the missionary’s feet when he accepted Christ. That was humility, and that man gained the crown of life in return (Revelation 2:10).

3. The Gospel in God’s Delight

Psalm 149:4 reaches its fullness in the Gospel.

Romans 5:8 (NLT) — “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

God’s delight is not a reaction to our righteousness — it’s rooted in His own love and expressed through the cross.