Biblion Bible Commentary
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A New Song in the Assembly
Psalms 149:1-9
1 Praise Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. · WEB
Dancing, singing on beds, and a two-edged sword — the last difficult psalm in the collection.
Sing to Yahweh a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints Psalms 149:1.
The new song for the last time, and the setting is congregational.
Let them praise his name in the dance! Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp! Psalms 149:3.
The instruments and the dancing are the same ones the women brought out after the sea Exodus 15:20.
For Yahweh takes pleasure in his people. He crowns the humble with salvation Psalms 149:4.
The reason for the celebration, and the direction of it is worth marking. The pleasure is his, in them — not theirs in him, which is what the rest of the psalm is about. The joy being commanded is a response to being enjoyed.
Let the saints rejoice in honor. Let them sing for joy on their beds Psalms 149:5.
Singing on their beds, which in this collection has usually been the place of tears Psalms 6:6.
May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations Psalms 149:6–7.
The verse that makes this the last difficult psalm in the book. Praise and a sword, held at the same time, and the purpose stated in military terms — kings bound with chains, nobles in irons Psalms 149:8.
Two things keep it in frame. The judgment to be executed is the written judgment Psalms 149:9 — already pronounced, and the saints are not composing it. And the New Testament, which quotes this collection constantly, never takes up this psalm as a warrant for anything: the sword its writers speak of is the word of God Ephesians 6:17, and the weapons are said not to be of the flesh 2 Corinthians 10:4.
What the psalm asserts is that the humble crowned in verse four are not permanently on the losing side of history, and that the verdict already written will be carried out. Read against the collection's own repeated refusal to let the psalmist lift a hand, it is a promise about the end rather than an instruction for the morning.
All his saints have this honor. Praise Yah! Psalms 149:9.
held with reason What this mark means