Psalms in Book 5 affirm that God does answer prayer, God’s promises are valid and they include a long love song for God’s laws. The final 5 Psalms are songs of praise believed to have been written to be sung at the dedication of the second temple.
The penultimate psalm in the psalter is a powerful song of praise, celebrating God’s justice and action. It reminds us that the interpretation of scripture can sometimes surprise us, offering new perspectives. While Psalm 149 has been misused to justify wars and mistreat others, it also holds the potential to inspire peace and understanding. Let’s strive to embrace the positive message of this psalm and work towards reconciliation and harmony.
The books of Psalms are roughly themed like this:
Book 1: Psalms 1 – 41: God is beside us.
Book 2: Psalms 42 – 72: God goes before us
Book 3: Psalms 73 – 89: God is all around us.
Book 4: Psalms 90 – 106: God is above us.
Book 5: Psalms 107 – 150: God is among us.
149 Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149 ESVUK with added bold and italics by me.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgement written!
This is honour for all his godly ones.
Praise the Lord!
Some psalms may seem complex, but this one is refreshingly straightforward. Psalm 149 adopts a simple chiasmatic structure, where ideas cross over in a repetitive sequence. I highlighted the themes using italics, bold, and bold italics to illuminate the three essential elements of godly, kings, and people in the psalm.
The psalm is divided into two distinctive parts, each offering a unique theme. The initial verses, 1 to 4, resound with a joyful hymn of praise, while the subsequent verses, 6 to 9, deliver a powerful and militaristic theme.
Saints
Saints is the Authorized Version translation of the Hebrew word hasid, also translated as godly in the ESV. However, it’s important to note that the saints or the godly are not the subjects here. English translations often convey the impression that they are the subject of verses 1 and 9. Yet, hasid is actually an adjective and not the subject of these verses. While hasid is a common word in these verses, the actual subjects are the assembly of the godly in verse 1, and the honor or glory of the faithful in verse 9.
Even though the book of Psalms is almost ended, it says that we must keep on writing and singing new songs to God to sing in community as God’s people.
Kings
Verses 2 and 8 beautifully showcase the parallelism commonly found in Hebrew poetry. Verse 2 tenderly says, “Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!” This poetic expression gently emphasizes that Israel and the children of Zion both refer to the people of God, indicating that their king is also their maker. Their king is God, not Saul, David, Solomon, or any of the kings of the past. It is not Cyrus, the king of Persia, under whose reign the Judeans returned to Jerusalem, but only as a vassal state under Cyrus. Singing praise to God carries profound meaning; it places God above all royalty, politicians, and parties, highlighting the exalted position of God to be worshipped alone. The praises of God are portrayed as the force that binds the kings or God’s enemies in chains. Psalm 149 eloquently conveys this message without interruption.
People
This is a beautiful two-verse section that captures the essence of the song. Verses 3-4 express the joy of the people of God, as they praise through dancing and skillfully play both melodic instruments like the lyre, and percussive ones such as tambourines. However, there’s a deeper meaning behind this. When we consider Hebrew parallelism, we realize that the high praise of God is likened to a two-edged sword.
In the New Testament reliance on the word of God is descibed in various ways: As a two-edged sword (Revelation 19:15), as even sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), and as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). We praise because of our confidence in God. It’s not a case of us taking up swords in order to force people to obey God, it is confidence in the justice of God.
Saints again
The central portion of the psalm can also be found in this section. In verse 5, it says: “Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.” It’s that word hasid again. On their beds. When we are asleep, we are unable to defend ourselves, but we can express gratitude to God because His protection envelops us at our most vulnerable. It is from this concept that the second part of the psalm emerges.
God’s high praise is like a two edged sword in the hands of the people. (verse 6)
Through praise God will avenge his people. (verse 7)
Our enemies will be immobalised through our praise to God. (verse 8)
Do you really understand what I’m saying? Using Psalm 149 as an excuse for military action is completely unjustifiable.
One last thing. Verse 9 brings us full circle. The judgment of God is active through our praise, not our weapons. We’re also back to that Hebrew word hasid, godly ones. Don’t just take a phrase in English, look it up. See how it is used elsewhere in the Bible. There’s an internet of resources out there. Jeremiah 3:12 says God is calling his people back because he is gracious. Gracious, that’s hasid. In Psalm 149 verses 1, 5, and 9, there is a promise for those who are gracious that God will bring them safely and bring justice on their behalf through their praise.
God is incredibly gracious, bestowing upon us blessings we have done nothing to deserve. Let’s extend this grace to others and bless those who may not seem deserving.
< Psalm 148 | Psalm 149 | Psalm 150 >
Making an ass of myself 
Thank you for the post and the encouragement to look things up.. I like the translation notes in the NET bible … it is a good resource only one of many. You can download an app for that and use offline.
Thanks for that. I use a variety of sources when looking at the Bible, when looking at the Old Testament I tend to look at Rabbinic sources first. I shall look at using the NET Bible notes more than I have done in the past.
I praise God for the richness of his word fur all translators and teachers down through the centuries we have a rich inheritance and strong foundations to build our lives on…