Dear Reader,

I wrote these lines one quiet evening after sitting with Psalm 149:4–5. The words about the Lord taking pleasure in His people and beautifying the meek with salvation kept turning over in my mind, and I found myself wanting to see them more clearly in the light of Christ. What began as a simple meditation grew into this sonnet—an attempt to carry those ancient promises into the finished work of the cross and the empty tomb. I hope it feels less like a finished piece and more like an open door back into the psalm itself. If it helps you linger there a little longer, then it has done what I hoped it might.

Warmly,

-the poet

Psalm 149:4–5

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.
Let the faithful rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.

Christ takes His pleasure in a people bought
and stoops to clothe the meek with His own blood—
the quiet ones the world has counted naught,
He robes in glory from the empty wood.
The cross that broke the strength of every pride
becomes the loom on which He weaves their light;
the hands once pierced now open, open wide,
and set a crown upon the meek by right.

Then let the saints be joyful in that height
where Christ, the risen King, has made them stand;
let every breath become a song of light,
the praise that rises from His conquering hand.
The meek who wait still wear the victor’s crown,
and sing the Lamb who laid their enemies down.

**To God be the glory always and only.