Psalms 149:1

The Bible says in Psalm 149:1-4, “Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.[2] Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.[3] Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.[4] For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.” Because God is infinite, there is always more to learn about Him. That is what growing in Christ is all about. Maybe that is why there are always more songs to sing. As the centuries have gone by song after song has been written to praise the Lord. That is what the book of Psalms is all about. David wrote the Psalms in order for them to be sung with music. Singing is one of the most important parts of a Christian congregation. We are told in Ephesians 5:19 how to be filled with the Spirit. It says, “Speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” If you do not have this kind of singing in your life, you will not be the joyful person of faith that you could be. King David knew that very well.

We take pleasure in God and the knowledge of God through Jesus our Savior, and He takes pleasure in us. That is the part that is impressive. The Almighty God takes pleasure in human beings who believe in Him. How do we become one of “his people?” We are told that at the end of verse four: “he will beautify the meek with salvation.” We become meek and humble before Jesus Christ because we know that we are sinners that need Him. Then Jesus reaches out His arms to us and saves our soul. In God’s eyes that is beautiful. That is what God is all about. That is why Jesus came into the world: to seek and to save that which was lost.

The Bible says in Psalm 149:5-6, “Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.[6] Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;” The phrase in verse five, “let them sing aloud upon their beds,” refers to our final thoughts before we go to sleep. A good way to end the day is to praise the Lord for what He brought your way that day. The Lord loves you, and so if you believe in His love, then you will surely be able to interpret the events of the day as part of His love for you. Count your blessings. Believe Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and to them that are the called according to His purpose.” It all fits into His loving plan for us. We may not see the good now, but we will see it eventually. Thank God that He has promised to make a good outcome from “all things.”

Verse six mixes praise with the practical aspects of life. By the way, in case you forgot, the Christian life is a war. David was a man of war. He knew what it was like to take up arms in hand-to-hand combat. He learned how to fight. You might want to learn how to protect yourself in this crazy world. Just make sure that you fight with a smile on your face and a song on your heart. We do not hate our enemies, but we will fight if we have to. Of course, the Christian battle is a spiritual battle. We do not fight against flesh and blood. The “twoedged sword” that we have is the Word of God. Smile, praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition. Give out the Word of God.

The Bible says in Psalm 149:7-9, “To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;[8] To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;[9] To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.” Notice the phrase in verse nine, “this honour have all his saints.” What honor is it talking about: the things mentioned in verses seven, eight, and nine. It has to do with who is going to win the victory in the competition going on in the world. It is a competition for power. It is a competition of ideas. It is a competition of good against evil. We should not need to be reminded, but we are reminded often in the Scriptures that the Lord and His saints will have the final victory. That is because God is so very powerful and He has a plan, and His plan will be fulfilled. Because the Lord is so gracious and kind and generous, He will share the victory with His “saints.” The word “saint” means “holy one,” and everyone who believes in Jesus is a saint because God declares us to be holy. God can do whatever He wants to do, and He simply takes a sinner, attracts them to Jesus, and when they believe, they are called a saint. And then when the end comes, each saint will be made a part of the great victory. It might appear that truth and goodness and godliness are losing because we are told that the times shall wax worse and worse and there shall be a falling away. When will the vengeance and the punishments and the judgments come? They will happen when Jesus comes back. We have some information about His return throughout the Bible, and especially in the book of Revelation. It says in Revelation 19:11-16, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.[12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.[13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.[14] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.[15] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.[16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Praise the Lord.

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