Psalms 149:3-9

3 Praise his name with dancing; play drums and harps in praise of him.

4 The Lord takes pleasure in his people; he honors the humble with victory.

5 Let God's people rejoice in their triumph and sing joyfully all night long.

6 Let them shout aloud as they praise God, ¹ with their sharp swords in their hands

7 to defeat the nations and to punish the peoples;

8 to bind their kings in chains, their leaders in chains of iron;

9 to punish the nations as God has commanded. This is the victory of God's people. Praise the Lord!

Psalms 149:3-9 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.

Cross References

• 1. +2149.62 Maccabees 15.27.