Psalms 149:4-9

4 For the Lord has pleasure in his people: he gives the poor in spirit a crown of salvation.

5 Let the saints have joy and glory: let them give cries of joy on their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hands;

7 To give the nations the reward of their sins, and the peoples their punishment;

8 To put their kings in chains, and their rulers in bands of iron;

9 To give them the punishment which is in the holy writings: this honour is given to all his saints. Praise be to the Lord.

Psalms 149:4-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 149

This psalm is thought by Calvin and others to have been written for the sake of the Jews that returned from the Babylonish captivity; and is a prediction of great and famous things done in the times of the Maccabees to Heathens and their princes, so Theodoret; the Syriac version entitles it,

``concerning the new temple;''

that is, the second temple, built by Zerubbabel, and the things done under that; but it rather seems to have been written by David in the beginning of his reign, when he obtained victories over the Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Syrians; and refers to the times of the Messiah, as Kimchi, R. Obadiah Gaon, and others think; not of the Jews' vainly expected Messiah, but of the true Messiah, who is come, and will come again, spiritually and personally; and there are many things in it applicable both to the first and latter part of his days.