Psalms 149:2-9

2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

3 Let them praise His name with the dance; Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.

4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.

5 Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand,

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 written judgment-- This honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!

Psalms 149:2-9 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.