“Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good” (Jeremiah 32:41)

What a joy to know God delights in His saints! We can’t see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we can’t take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious of our sins, and disgusted with our unfaithfulness; and we fear that our fellow saints also can’t delight in us, for they must see our imperfections and our failings, and would rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces. But still, we love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that as a bridegroom rejoices over His bride, so the Lord rejoices over us.

We don’t read in the Word that God delights in the highest mountains, or the beautiful night sky, but we do read that He rejoices in the inhabited parts of the Earth, and delights in the sons of men (Proverbs 8:31).

We don’t find in the Bible that He delights in His angels, or even the cherubim and seraphim, but of His covenant people He says,  “You shall no longer be termed Forsaken,
Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah (my delight is in her), and your land Beulah (married); For the LORD delights in you … as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:4–5).

When He looked upon the world He made, He was pleased; but when He looks upon those purchased by the blood of Christ, His chosen ones, it seems the great heart of the Infinite couldn’t restrain itself, “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:16–17).