Battles Won by Praising the Lord – Psalm 149

“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints.” Psalm 149:1

Praise the Lord for those who compose new songs to the Lord. Praise the Lord for musicians who fine tune their skills and rehearse frequently, and yield all of this to the Lord for His glory. Praise the Lord for lyrics that help us express our hearts to God, and His heart toward us.

I especially appreciate songs that recount the compassion of Christ to save us from our sin.

Praise the Lord for the freedom to assemble together and worship Him. Praise the Lord for places of worship in our neighborhood. Praise the Lord for people who put time, treasure and talent into building and maintaining places of worship in our communities.

God reveals His presence as saints assemble and worship Him. As the number of worshippers increases, the assembly begins to reflect worship in heaven. The primary reason we gather together as God’s people is to worship and praise Him. [1]

“Let Israel rejoice in their Maker. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.” Psalm 149:2

God identified Israel as His creation, His children and His kingdom. His presence among them set them apart from the other nations. Thus, Israel has a good reason to rejoice in God and be joyful in their heavenly King. [2]

The original wording says, “Let Israel rejoice in his Makers.” Some understand the plural “Makers” as pointing toward the mystery of the Trinity, since God said, “Let us make man.” [3]

We express our joy in the Lord by verbally praising Him among people. Our praise is a profession of delight in God’s character, and our relationship with Him. It is our privilege to be among those who rejoice in God. [4]

Jesus Christ is our King. Zechariah 9:9 is a prophecy about Jesus: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! for behold thy King comes.” Jesus is our King, and He is the King above all other kings.

“Let them praise His Name with the dance. Let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp.” Psalm 149:3

Dance, timbrel, and harp were used to praise the Lord in the Old Testament. The first recorded incident of a timbrel being used appears in Exodus 15:20. Miriam led the women of Israel to dance to the Lord and play timbrels after the Lord helped Israel to escape from Pharoah’s army. In 2 Samuel 6:14, David danced to the Lord when the Ark of the Covenant returned from its captivity among Israel’s foes. The first incident of someone playing a harp is documented in Genesis 4:21: “Jubal... was the father of all those who play the harp and flute.”

“For the Lord takes pleasure in His people. He will beautify the humble with salvation.” Psalm 149:4

The Lord takes pleasure in our worship, our well-being, and in our fellowship with Him. What an encouraging thought! God delights in us. [5]

“He will beautify the humble.” Humble refers to people who realize that their existence, their wholeness and their eternity totally depends on God’s grace, forgiveness and love for them, not any works that they can do to impress Him.

Proud people tend to mock and mistreat humble people, but God beautifies them. God helps onlookers to see that He honors those who honor Him. In John 12:26, Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”

God beautifies the humble with salvation. Sometimes this includes earthly deliverance. When God dramatically delivers His people, those who were once lowly can be lifted up and honored. As Psalms 68:13 says, “Though you lie down among the sheepfolds, you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.” [6]

But the greatest salvation is eternal salvation. On the day when Christ returns, the righteous will be glorified and “shine forth as the sun.” Because we have this hope, we can praise God even during the darkest times. [7]

“Let the saints be joyful in glory. Let them sing aloud on their beds.” Psalm 149:5

At one point in my life, I was placed in charge of a ministry that was deeply in debt and the church building was run down and in need of many repairs. When I would lay down to sleep at night, my mind would race with thoughts of all of the problems that I was not able to resolve that day. A that time, the Lord taught me to refocus my mind on my blessings that day. Did I eat, did I have clothing, did I have a bed to sleep on underneath a roof in a house, and did I still have a wife by my side? Yes, I did. “Thank You Lord!” Every night I went to sleep thanking the Lord for what I have instead of thinking about unfinished business.

In Psalms 119:62, David wrote, “At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments.” David thanked God for making His Word to be a reality in his life.

“Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.” Psalm 149:6

We are to praise God while we fight the battles He commands us to fight. David was famous for worshipping the Lord, but he was also the commander of Israel’s army. In 2 Samuel 1:17-18, “David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow.” He wrote a song about what was memorable and valuable about Saul and Jonathan after they died in battle rather than focus on evil.

“To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples! To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron! To execute on them the written judgment—this honor have all His saints.” Psalm 149:7-9

David and the armies of Israel fought battles that God had commanded them to fight. They defeated nations that had oppressed God’s people. 2 Samuel 8:1 says, “After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them.” [8]

God’s judgment was carried out through people such as Joshua against the kings of Canaan, Gideon against the princes of Midian, and Samuel against Agag. In 2 Chronicles 20:23, Jehoshaphat's army went into battle with “the high praises of God in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand” and God gave them the victory. [9]

Someone might wonder how humble people defeated kings and nations. The answer is found in the phrase “the judgment written.” They were not acting from personal hatred or a desire for revenge. They carried out God’s specific commands and judgment. In Revelation 17:16-17, the kings who destroy Babylon “execute the judgment written.” [10]

However, we must not use such passages to justify the use of lethal force to gleefully destroy people. In Hebrews 4:12, the Word of God is called a “two-edged sword” and in Ephesians 6:17, the Word of God is called “the sword of the Spirit.” Christ urges us to use the sword of His Word to spread His Gospel that saves souls not to use swords made of steel to send them to hell. While we have “the high praises of God” in our mouths, we should also have the olive branch of peace in our hand. [11]

The first preachers of the Gospel used God’s Word to achieve great spiritual victories. The false gods of nations were cast down when people who worshiped them converted to Christ. Even powerful people were shaken by God’s Word, such as Felix when Paul preached to him. [12]

God’s Word helps us defeat personal sin. We use His Word to cut down sinful desires. God’s Word puts to death selfish ego and helps us to love God and our neighbor. “This honor have all the saints.” Every believer can experience victory over sin through the power of Christ. [13]

Complete victory will happen when Christ returns to judge the world. Jude 1:14-15 says that “the Lord” will come “with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 states that when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, He will take flaming fire vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey His Gospel. “These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe.”

Kings and rulers who reject Christ’s authority will not be able to escape His final judgment. In 1 Corinthians 6:2, it is written, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” [14] So we believers in Christ will be in total agreement with Him when He makes His final judgment.

The Book of Psalms begins with a word of encouragement to meditate on God’s Word day and night. As the Book of Psalms comes to a close, it speaks of praising the Lord for the victories that He gives to us who trust in Him. Praise the Lord!


[1-14] Material developed and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary