Rejoice

Reuben Kigame writes to people running low on hope rather than people already celebrating — "the preacher all alone," "every music band," "the hungry and the tired," anyone who has "lost the will to stand." The song doesn't pretend their circumstances have changed yet; it just refuses to let circumstances have the final word.

His central image is a wedding that hasn't started but is close: "take heart, holy Bride, the wedding feast is drawing near," sung to people who are "hard-pressed from every side" and told plainly to "wipe away your tears." The instruction repeats like a chorus meant to outlast the noise around it — "so I say rejoice... again I say rejoice."

Revelation pictures that same feast in Revelation 19:7, calling believers to be glad because "the wedding of the Lamb has come," and the bridge borrows its closing words almost directly from Revelation 22:12 — "behold, I'm coming soon, and my reward is with me." Kigame's rejoicing isn't about present comfort; it's about a guest list that's already been finalized.