The Psalms - Psalm 149

Adorned with Victory

by Rev. Jim Jester

July 13, 2025

SCRIPTURE READING: Exodus 15:1-5

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying,

“I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.

4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.

5 The depths have covered them, they sank into the bottom as a stone.”

INTRODUCTION

Psalm149 was probably composed soon after the return from the captivity in Babylon. It is filled with the spirit of intense joy and hope, which must have been natural for God’s covenant people at that period of time. Men of strong faith and loyalty must have felt that the restoration of the people to their own land, was seen as proof of Divine favor, and that it could be regarded as a pledge of a great future yet to come for the nation.

This psalm expresses the praises of God’s people for how they were delivered from Egyptian bondage. The first song in the Bible (Ex. 15:1-18, which we read in part), sang by Moses and Miriam, goes into great detail about this deliverance; much of which is touched on in other psalms.

THE PRAISE OF GOD’S PEOPLE

“Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
And His praise in the assembly of saints.” (Ps. 149:1, NKJV)

Praise the LORD: The last five of the 150 collected psalms begin and end with this phrase. In many of the previous psalms there was a trouble, crisis, or evil described, which was brought before the Lord. In these last psalms, it is all praise.

Sing to the LORD a new song: God loves to receive the praise of His people expressed in song, especially the “new song.” Modern Christian musicians try to use this verse to justify bringing Rock and other genres of music into the church. But their premise is unfounded. The word “new” here does not necessarily mean new in respect to time, but rather, “new” in respect to its character, its essential quality. The Hebrew word for “new” is chadash which means “new thing, fresh.” Its root word means to “renew, repair, rebuild.” Thus, it carries with it the idea of something totally opposite of what the “old” was. Does this “ring a bell,” so to speak? Isn’t the Christ Life a “new creation?” Aren’t “old things” passed away, and “all things becoming new?” Yes, the traits of the Christian life are revealed by its spirit and tone.

The New Testament references to New Song are even more explicit. Vine’s Expository Dictionary (p. 109) states that kainos (in Rev. 5:9 & 14:3), which means “new or differing in character,” should not be confused with neos, which is another Greek word for “new,” which “signifies new in respect to time, that which is recent.” Likewise, the Analytical Greek Lexicon by Wigman (p. 208) states that kainos means “new in species, character, or mode;” or, perhaps even more appropriate for the references in Revelation, “renovated, better, or higher excellence.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon (p. 317) states that kainos “denotes the new primarily in reference to quality.”

Thus, from the study of these original words used in conjunction with New Song, several considerations are apparent. 1) New Song should always give praise to God. 2) It should be different in character from the music used by the “world.” 3) It should be of a different spirit or ethos than a person’s old song used while in the “world.” 4) It should be of a more excellent quality than the popular music of the “world.” The New Song is found six times in the Psalms, once in Isaiah, and twice in the Revelation.

The reason for the rejoicing of God’s family was that they had received recent and great mercies from God. The mercies to be celebrated were the return from captivity, the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and of the Temple. These blessings had awakened new hopes, and thus a new song was needed. There are always new occasions. A song was sung under the direction of Moses and Miriam, when the people were safely on the far shore of the Red Sea. It was good to keep that song in remembrance, and it was repeated often. But there came occasions in their national history when that song was unsuitable, and a new song had to be made, such as the song of Deborah; the songs of David when bringing up the ark; of Solomon when dedicating the temple; of the exiles on return from captivity; of the Maccabees on recovering the holy city; of Mary on receiving the visit of the angel. So even in one single life there are occasions when the heart is inspired to compose a new song.

Israel’s great redemption can only be praised with a new song. Just as the first song of the Bible came about after their redemption from Egypt (Ex. 15:1), so the faithful remnant of Israel goes on to magnify their Lord with a new song, “the song of the Lamb”(Rev. 15:3). It is a new song because it is now about the new covenant. It is sung “in the assembly” (Ps. 149:1), those who are faithful to that covenant made with the blood of Jesus Christ.

“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” (Rev. 5:9)

And His praise in the assembly of saints: It is wonderful for the individual to offer praise to God in song; it is even better to do so among his people. The summons to praise God is always addressed to the people of God. Those who do not know the God of Israel are incapable of true praise. He is to be praised “in the assembly of saints.”

THE PLEASURE OF PRAISE

“Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
Let them praise His name with the dance;
Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.
For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the humble with salvation.” (Ps. 149:2-4, NKJV)

Let Israel rejoice in their Maker: If one ever lacked for reasons to praise God, there is at least on at hand: It is always right for us to praise and rejoice in our Creator. Israel is in mind here—no one else can praise God. Let this truth sink into the minds of those in the universal judeo-Christian churches. Every non-Israelite they allow into their congregation to join in praise is a violation of this Scripture (and many others).

Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King: God is the Maker of all that is good, but is recognized as King only over His people. This knowledge is a source of joy to His people, who realize they could never hope for a ruler greater in love, wisdom, and power than their own God.

Let them praise His name with the dance: Adam Clarke disagreed with most translations of this verse, that the Hebrew word here translated “dance”(machol) means a flute or musical pipe, not a dance.  He said, “I know no place in the Bible where machol and machalath mean dance of any kind; they constantly signify some kind of pipe.” The word machol also means “bored through” (make a hole); such as are used in making a flute (pipe). In some places where machol is found, it is listed among musical instruments. Thus, it makes sense that such verses that mention a “dance” should have been translated as pipe, piping, or some other form. There are places where the “dance” (or leaping for joy) is seen in Scripture, but they are public events in the street, or other occasions, but not in the Temple as part of the set worship procedure.

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people: If God is so rich in grace and mercy that He takes “pleasure in His people”— despite all their sin and weakness — it certainly is cause for rejoicing. The teaching of Scripture is that we can please God. This was the testimony of Enoch before his translation, and the apostle Paul exhorts us to walk “worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing” (Col. 1:10).

He will beautify the humble with salvation: Most of the world’s great men despise the humble and leave them in their low condition. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (See Jas. 4:6).

Moses prayed, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.” (Ps. 90:17) Meekness and patience, truth and righteousness, purity and love, these are the beauties with which God adorns the meek. Mankind’s beauty is but a reflection of the beauty of the Lord our God. And the beauty of creation is varied as well. Each of the seasons has its own peculiar charm. There are the beauties of the seashore, the beauties of fertile plains, the beauties of the mountainous areas. Likewise, spiritual beauty is varied. In Mary we have the beauty of a receptive, meditative, deep love; in Martha that of an active, ministering, and enduring love; in Job we have the beauty of trust in God sorely tested and yet triumphant; in Paul the beauty of self-surrender and earnestness which has never been surpassed by man.

Spurgeon said, “God taketh pleasure in all his children as Jacob loved all his sons; but the meek are his ‘Josephs,’ and upon these he puts the coat of many colors, beautifying them with peace, contentment, joy, holiness, and influence.”

THE POWER OF GOD’S PEOPLE

“Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them sing aloud on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand.” (Ps. 149:5-6, NKJV)

Let the saints be joyful in glory: The spirit of the first part of this psalm continues. The saints are so happy in God’s glory that they “sing aloud on their beds," because waking hours may not give enough time to express all their praise. This reminds us that though songs of praise are wonderful among the assembly of God’s people (v. 1), they should never be restricted to the assembly alone.

The beds were the places during great tribulation where they sought the Lord’s face with tears (Ps. 6:6). In those places they wrestled with the questions of life during sleepless nights (Ps. 77:6). Now the time of tears is over, the tears have been wiped away (Isa. 25:8).

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand: God’s people are pictured as ready for battle, equipped with two mighty weapons. They bear praises in their mouths and literally swords in their hands if necessary, and in a spiritual sense, reliance upon God’s word, which is described as a “sharp sword” (Rev. 19:15), as even sharper than any “two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12), and as the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17).

A saying among Americans came from the Second World War: “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.” Psalm 149:6 has something of that idea. Spurgeon commented along this line of thought: “The word of God is all edge; whichever way we turn it, it strikes deadly blows at falsehood and wickedness. If we do not praise we shall grow sad in our conflict; and if we do not fight we shall become presumptuous in our song. The verse indicates a happy blending of the chorister and the crusader.”

THE VICTORY OF GOD’S PEOPLE

“To execute vengeance on the nations,
And punishments on the peoples;
To bind their kings with chains,
And their nobles with fetters of iron;
To execute on them the written judgment—
This honor have all His saints.
Praise the LORD!” (Ps. 149:7-9, NKJV)

To execute vengeance on the nations:  This portion of the psalm teaches us that God’s people are to be the church militant. The power of praise and the word of God will ultimately see his work accomplished among the nations. For those who persist in disobedience, it will be vengeance and punishments at the end of the age. Not even kings or nobles can escape this judgment.

We see that in the immediate context of the psalmist, in some way Israel was to be the agent to “execute vengeance.” This means that their joyful praise had to connect itself to radical obedience, even to God’s difficult commands. As believers under the New Covenant, we don’t battle flesh and blood enemies necessarily (Eph. 6:12-18), yet we have the responsibility to be not only worshippers, but warriors in a spiritual warfare that at times will be difficult. In a spiritual sense, we are to “execute vengeance” on every thing that would oppose Jesus Christ and the work of His kingdom.

To execute on them the written judgment: It is a very sad thing for anyone to misuse this text. Kings and other political leaders have used Scripture throughout history for their selfish political ambitions and have caused much heartache for our people. We should always question anything that even looks like a religious war waged against our fellow man.

Morgan has commented on this:

“The history of this song is one of great sadness, due to grave misinterpretation, and grievous misapplication. Delitzsch has said: ‘By means of this Psalm, Caspar Scioppius, in his Classicum belli sacri.... inflamed the Roman Catholic princes to the Thirty Years’ Religious War and, within the Protestant Church, Thomas Münzer, by means of this Psalm, stirred up the War of the Peasants.’”

Brother should not be fighting with brother. For the believer under the New Covenant, there is a “written judgment” against every spiritual enemy, and Jesus wrote it by His work on the cross (Jn. 16:11, Col 2:14).

This honor have all His saints: In some way beyond our present comprehension, God will use His people in setting right the wrongs of this present age; even if our participation is only as an audience to the judgments of God.

It is an honor which pertains to “all the saints” to be engaged in carrying out His plans. In their own way, and each in their own sphere, are engaged in accomplishing the will of God. In the duties of a family; in kindness to the poor; in the office of a teacher or a magistrate; in clearing a farm; in building a schoolhouse; in founding a church; in sending the gospel across our own land to our race. All who are truly friends of God, qualifying as saints, are in fact, carrying out the purposes of God.

Praise the LORD: This sentence — one word in the Hebrew, hallelujah— is understood as a declaration or an exhortation. Here especially it can be taken as encouragement for all those who still reject God; to praise him instead, and thus to be among his saints and not among the nations who will receive God’s vengeance.

CONCLUSION

Our praises to God our Father should flow from a heart filled with delight in his attributes and our covenant relation to him. “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” (Heb. 13:15)

Our Lord Jesus is coming as King to overthrow all evil and evil-doers, and with him the saints shall judge the world. All of God’s actions in judgment, including the judgments he executes through his people, assures them of his love. Therefore, at the conclusion of this psalm a new “Praise the LORD!” is in order.