Psalm 149:5

Verse 5. The saints of God know most of domestic joy and peace. As the word of Jesus in John 14:1-31 records, they have sorrows in plenty, but the more of these, the greater will be their joy, because their sorrows are to be transmuted into joys. They are to sing aloud on their beds, or rather couches, for on these the Orientals not only sleep, but also dine, and feast. So this verse calls on the saints to hold a banquet, a feast of fat things. They are, as David sings in Psalms 23:1-6 , to sit at the table prepared by the Lord in the presence of their enemies. --Johannes Paulus Palanterius.

Verse 5. This verse has been fulfilled in solemn crises of saintly life. On beds of death, and at the scaffold and the stake, joy and glory have been kindled in the hearts of Christ's faithful witnesses. --Thomas Le Blanc.

Verse 5. How I long for my bed! Not that I may sleep -- I lie awake often and long! but to hold sweet communion with my God. What shall I render unto him for all his revelations and gifts to me? Were there no historical evidence of the truth of Christianity, were there no well established miracles, still I should believe that the religion propagated by the fishermen of Galilee is divine. The holy joy it brings to me must be from heaven. Do I write this boastingly, brother? Nay, it is with tears of humble gratitude that I tell of the goodness of the Lord. --From a private letter from Bapa Padmanji, in "Feathers for Arrows, "1870.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 5. Saintly joy.

Verse 5. (second clause). Let them praise God --