Psalm 149: The Saints

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Praise the Lord!

Towards the end of the book of Psalms, one finds a string of Hallelujah psalms. Hallelujah as in "Praise the LORD!". Psalm 149 is one of them. 

Sing to the Lord a new song,

And His praise in the assembly of saints.

  Spoiler alert! This song is going to be new and different, and we shall understand why in the broader context of this Psalm. One context is that this singing comes with praise among a very select group of people: the assembly of saints. This brings us to the question: who then are the saints?

Are saints canonized dead people? Perhaps not. An old hymn I used to sing as a child, reminded me that the psalmist does not urge us to sing among such dead saints, but in the assembly of "living" saints. To understand who these saints "are", let us listen to the hymn:  

"They lived not only ages past but are hundreds and thousands still. The world is bright with joyous saints, who love to do Jesus' will". The simplest description of a saint is one who loves God and loves to do His will. To such an assembly, we are to sing a new song and His praise.

2Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;

Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

3Let them praise His name with the dance;

Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.

4For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;

He will beautify the humble with salvation.

The Psalmist calls the assembly to "rejoice and be joyful", not in anything or anyone but "in their Maker, in their King". There is also a call to dance and sing praises with the timbrel and the harp. Not surprisingly, this seems to elicit an act of God who beautifies the humble with salvation for he takes pleasure in His people. Humility before salvation is a recurring theme in the Bible, and somehow this time it takes me to two events of humility in war: the fall of Jericho and Gideon's just three-hundred-strong army's defeat of the much larger Midianites.

5Let the saints be joyful in glory;

Let them sing aloud on their beds.

I am a little amused at this point, as I am writing this, away from my usual chair and table, sitting on my bed. A silent personal prayer; "Dear LORD, I derive strength by being joyful in you. Regardless of the external circumstances, revive me in your Spirit, and help me to be joyful in your glory. Let me sing to you."

An interlude, a song: Let us sing, sing, sing!

6Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,

And a two-edged sword in their hand,

7To execute vengeance on the nations,

And punishments on the peoples;

8To bind their kings with chains,

And their nobles with fetters of iron;

9To execute on them the written judgment—

This honor have all His saints.

This is where the Psalm takes a turn and reminds us what it is all about. The engagement of the saints of God in spiritual warfare. While humility, salvation, singing, and dancing may have equipped them, the saints of God now stand with praises in their mouths, and two-edged swords in their hands. The singing, therefore (remember the spoiler alert) was a front-line battle song! The saints in battle have the heavenly authority to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron. The saints are given the honor to execute God's written judgment.

Jesus said "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth" Matthew 5:5. 

It is now for the song of saints of God, as with the double-edged sword of the Word and Prayer in hand, they march on to war!

Praise the LORD! Hallelujah!