Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament
Psalms 149
Psalm 149: a new song, dancing, and a twoedged sword in the hands of the saints
General context
The psalm opens with "Praise ye the Lord" and a call to sing a new song and the Lord's praise in the congregation of saints. Israel is to rejoice in the one who made him and the children of Zion be joyful in their King, praising his name in the dance with timbrel and harp, because the Lord takes pleasure in his people and will beautify the meek with salvation. The saints are to be joyful in glory and sing aloud on their beds, with the high praises of God in their mouth and a twoedged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the heathen and punishments on the people, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, and to execute on them the judgment written. The psalm says this honour belongs to all his saints, and ends with "Praise ye the Lord".
Cited passages: Psalms 149:1, Psalms 149:2, Psalms 149:3, Psalms 149:4, Psalms 149:5, Psalms 149:6, Psalms 149:7, Psalms 149:8, Psalms 149:9
Psalms 149 (KJV)
1Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
2Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
4For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
5Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
6Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;
7To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;
8To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
9To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord.
This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.
Historical context
The source prints no heading for this psalm; verse 1 begins with "Praise ye the Lord", so no title, author or occasion is given and none is asserted. No speaker is identified by pronoun. Israel, the children of Zion and "his saints" are the ones addressed; the heathen, "the people", their kings and their nobles are unnamed. The "judgment written" is mentioned without saying where it is written or what it says. The psalm speaks of vengeance, punishments, chains and iron fetters as what the saints are to execute, and it states this as honour; the text does not describe any battle or say that these acts took place. "Their King" in verse 2 is the Lord, the one "that made him", and no human king is on Israel's side in the psalm. No Selah occurs.
Cited passages: Psalms 149:1, Psalms 149:2, Psalms 149:7, Psalms 149:8, Psalms 149:9, Psalms 149:6
Literary context
The psalm opens with "Sing" and then runs as a series of "Let" commands, seven in verses 2-6, followed by three "To" clauses that state the purpose of the sword. The first half is all joy and sound: a new song, rejoicing, dance, timbrel and harp, singing aloud, even on beds. Verse 6 sets two things in one line, praise in the mouth and a sword in the hand, and everything after it belongs to the sword: vengeance, punishments, chains, fetters, judgment. The word "saints" opens the psalm in "the congregation of saints", returns in verse 5, and closes it in "all his saints", so the singers and the sword-bearers are the same people. Apart from "him that made him" in verse 2, the Lord's own action is stated in one verse, verse 4, with two verbs, "taketh pleasure" and "will beautify"; the rest is what the people are to do. The psalm begins and ends with "Praise ye the Lord", the frame shared with the psalms around it.
Cited passages: Psalms 149:1, Psalms 149:3, Psalms 149:5, Psalms 149:6, Psalms 149:7, Psalms 149:9, Psalms 149:4
Key moments
- A new song (Psalms 149:1). The congregation of saints is told to sing a new song to the Lord.
- Joyful in their King (Psalms 149:2). Israel is to rejoice in its maker and the children of Zion in their King.
- Praise in the dance (Psalms 149:3). The people are to praise with dance, timbrel and harp.
- The meek beautified (Psalms 149:4). The Lord takes pleasure in his people and will beautify the meek with salvation.
- Praise and a twoedged sword (Psalms 149:6). The saints are to have high praises in their mouth and a twoedged sword in their hand.
- Kings bound with chains (Psalms 149:8). The sword is to bind the heathen's kings with chains and nobles with iron fetters.
- The honour of the saints (Psalms 149:9). Executing the written judgment is called the honour of all the saints.
For reflection
The same people are told to sing aloud on their beds and to hold a twoedged sword for vengeance. What does the psalm mean by calling the second an honour, and does it say anything about how the two belong in one hand and one mouth?
