Praise the LORD!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
           his praise in the assembly of the godly!
Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
            let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Let them praise his name with dancing,
            making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
            he adorns the humble with salvation.
Let the godly exult in glory;
            let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands
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 judgment written!
            This is the honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the LORD!

Psalm 149 ESV

If we want to talk about the “signs of the times” or the signs that the end times are upon us, earthquakes, famines, wars, and rumors of wars are the most discussed. However, whenever we study Jesus’ words in context, we find that Jesus pointedly tells us that those things are not signs of the end of the world. Listen to Jesus’ words in Mark 13:5-8:

See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Each of the calamities that Jesus mentions are characteristics of this final age of human history that began with Christ’s ascension nearly two thousand years ago. Sadly, they are the ordinary markers of our sin-scarred world. Even a cursory glance at history reveals that no generation over the past two millennia has been without antichrists, natural disasters, and war. Thus, we should not look around at our own current events as if something strange were happening to us. The headlines that race across our smartphones should cause us neither to despair nor to hideaway in a doomsday bunker. Our Lord has already told us how the story of the world ends. All peoples and nations will soon bend their knees and confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord. The psalm before us this morning summons us to take confidence in that blessed hope and also, I believe, gives us wisdom for how we ought to wait for that hope.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PSALMS & OF HISTORY // VERSES 1-5

Although the book of Psalms is a collection of prayers and songs that God has divinely inspired for our benefit, we should not think that the order of the psalms has no significance. Of course, there are sections like the Songs of Ascents that are clearly intended to be collected together, yet the entire book has an ultimate intention as well. The Hebrew title is “Book of Praises,” and even though one-third of the psalms are laments and many others belong to other genres, praise for Yahweh the Most High God is indeed the end and goal of this book. The final five psalms display that goal since each of them begins and ends with the command Hallelujah or praise Yahweh!

In this way, the book of Psalms is itself a reflection of the entire course and end of history. Psalms 1 and 2 set the scene of the cosmos, where people and nations openly defy their Creator and King. God’s Son will in the end crush all who reject His sovereign rule, and in the meantime, we must each individually choose to be among the blessed who delight in His law now or the among the wicked who scoff at His commands. And while the day will come when “everything that has breath” praises the Lord and when the wicked are crushed under the feet of Christ, the psalms give us songs and prayers for all the highs and lows that are sure to befall us in this life, and they do so while also fixing our eyes upon the great day when all shall praise Him.

And praise is indeed what this psalm calls us to do, for that is the opening and closing command. Also, the first half of the psalm is one great call to give praise to Yahweh.

Praise the LORD!
           Sing to the LORD a new song,
                     his praise in the assembly of the godly!
           Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
                     let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
           Let them praise his name with dancing,
                     making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
           For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
                     he adorns the humble with salvation.
           Let the godly exult in glory;
                     let them sing for joy on their beds.

We should notice how similar these verses are to the overall nature of Psalm 150. Again, this is the end of the Psalms, and it is most interested in calling upon God’s people to praise Him. This ought to be our supreme goal as well, for it is eternally relevant. There is a sense in which singing is the most important aspect of our gathered time of worship each Lord’s Day. The reading and proclamation of the Word is obviously central since we come to know God through His Word. But sermons are necessary for this life, but they will be unnecessary when we are each standing in the presence of our Lord. The same is true of the Lord’s Supper. Signs are no longer needed whenever you’ve arrived at your destination. Even prayer will be quite different, for prayer as we know it seems have begun in Genesis 4:26. Yet just as the seraphim are even now singing the praise of God around His throne, we will eternally be singing praise to our God.

And it is right that we would do so, for as Lewis rightly notes praise overflows from delight. We naturally praise whatever we find delightful. Our eternal life will be one of unending joy in the presence of our Maker and King, and from that gladness and joy, our praise to Him will also be unending. This is why I think Piper is right to argue that our highest purpose in life is not just to glorify God and enjoy Him forever but to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. Our enjoyment of God naturally gives glory to God. Of course, we see this in the parallels of verses 2 and 3. Being glad and rejoicing in God is equal to praising His name with dancing and making melody with tambourine and lyre.

Thus, we see the goodness and glory of our God. God’s glory is the purpose for which we and all things were created. It also happens to be for our good that God commands us to glorify Him because in doing so, He commands us to partake in our highest good. In other words, it is not megalomania for God to command our praise because He truly does deserve all our praise, and in praising Him, we find our supreme delight in Him.

THIS IS THE HONOR FOR ALL HIS GODLY ONES // VERSES 6-9

Verse 6 is the transitional verse that takes this psalm into its surprising second half. Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands. The praises in their throats fits with the first five verses of the psalm, but the two-edged swords in the hands pulls us into the final three verses, each of which gives a reason for why God’s people are given such a sword:

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 judgment written!
           This is the honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the LORD!

Since we began by saying that the structure of the Psalms is important, we should also note that our particular psalm is very consciously paralleling Psalm 2, meaning that it would be helpful for us to read that psalm in its entirety.

            Why do the nations rage
                        and the peoples plot in vain?
            The kings of the earth set themselves,
                        and the rulers take counsel together,
                        against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
            “Let us burst their bonds apart
                        and cast away their cords from us.”
            He who sits in the heavens laughs;
                        the Lord holds them in derision.
            Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
                        and terrify them in his fury, saying,
            “As for me, I have set my King
                        on Zion, my holy hill.”
            I will tell of the decree:
            The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
                        today I have begotten you.
            Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
                        and the ends of the earth your possession.
            You shall break them with a rod of iron
                        and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
                        Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
                        be warned, O rulers of the earth.
            Serve the LORD with fear,
                        and rejoice with trembling.
            Kiss the Son,
                        lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
                        for his wrath is quickly kindled.
            Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Notice that Psalm 2 is squarely focused upon God’s ultimate triumph over the rebellious kings, nations, and peoples through His Son, the King of kings. Thus, that psalm ends by calling upon all people to give the kiss of fealty to the Son and to take refuge in Him before the day of His wrath. Psalm 149 seems to build upon that same reality but also notes that the Lord will use His own people as instruments for enacting His judgment upon the nations of the world.

But what exactly does that mean? This psalm has been instrumental as spiritual justification for at least two wars: “It was by means of this Psalm that Caspar Scloppius in his Classicum Belli Sacri, which, as Bakius says, is written not with ink, but with blood, inflamed the Roman Catholic princes to the Thirty Years’ religious War. And in the Protestant Church Thomas Munzer stirred up the War of the Peasants by means of this Psalm.”[1]

I hope that we can all readily agree that such a reading is not consistent with the rest of Scripture, for “we see that the Christian cannot make such a Psalm directly his own without disavowing the apostolic warning, ‘the weapons of our warfare are not carnal’ (2 Cor. x. 4).”[2] I believe that William Plumer is correct in saying:

Among the blasphemies of Popery has been the application of this Psalm, particularly of vv. 6-9 to the supremacy of the spiritual power of the church over the temporal power of princes. Not a whit less mischievous or anti-christian are the occasional attempts of fanatics, nominal Protestants, to blend these powers, or to gain for the church the ascendency in civil matters. Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. He has not made his people or ministers dividers of inheritances. History shows that the world has never seen worse governments than those of ecclesiastics, who forsook the altar to serve Caesar, or who served at the altar that they might better carry on their nefarious schemes against the liberties of mankind.[3]

No, this psalm is not a call for Christ’s church to take up arms and go to war against the governments of the world. Instead, I believe that these verses have two levels of application and fulfillment, one being present and spiritual, the other being future and physical.

First, there may indeed be a time when these words are fulfilled physically in the future, for we know that the time is indeed coming when Christ return as the judge of both the dead and the living. Consider for a moment the vision that John received of Christ’s triumphant return in Revelation 19:11-16:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Notice that verse 15 uses imagery from both Psalms 2 and 149. He will rule the nations with a rod of iron, as Psalm 2 said, and He will strike them down with a sharp sword from His mouth. I agree with Max Doner that we should not take the sword coming out of Jesus’ mouth as being literal:

When it says, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,” this is figurative language, like virtually all the descriptions of physical objects in this passage are. The sword represents the word of God going forth out of His mouth in power and judgment. Jesus speaks, and His words smite the wicked with a power that destroys them.

The word of God that spoke the world into existence and had the power to create the universe is the same powerful word that is now used for the destruction of the wicked. Jesus has but to speak the word, and all the nations are smitten… If all God has to do is say, “Let there be light, let there be land, let there be stars and sun and moon,” and they come into existence, do you suppose He can say, “Let them be destroyed,” and they will be destroyed?[4]

When Christ returns, “not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28), He will execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples. Of course, unlike Psalm 2, Psalm 149 is not directly talking about Jesus executing judgment but about God’s people doing so. Does this mean that Christ will actually execute some of His judgment through us? Perhaps. John did see “And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.” Also, Paul casually reminded that the Corinthians that we will one day judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). Just as verse 4 notes that God adorns the humble with salvation, He also delights in causing the weak and lowly to triumph over the mighty and proud. Christ’s own return as the conquering King who was despised and rejected by men will be the ultimate display, but it would not be surprising to discover that the Lord will use His church to enact His justice on that final day.

Second, we can read these verses as the spiritual conquest of God’s people over the nations of the world here and now. There is a famous account from the later days of the Roman Empire, where the Bishop of Milan, Ambrose, barred Emperor Theodosius from taking Communion until he publicly repented of a massacre that he ordered while in a fit of rage. And the emperor did just that! Sadly, such events were used to justify the abuses of power that would later force the Reformation. While we should earnest pray that our civil leaders would submit to the lordship of Christ, we should not desire for the civil government to be under the rule of the church. As time has shown, that is recipe for disaster. Instead, we should embrace that the church, the civil government, the household, and the individual all possess distinct, though sometimes overlapping, spheres of authority. It is for the civil government to enforce the physical sword of justice.

God’s people wield an altogether different kind of sword. Calvin writes, “As to the Church collective, the sword now put into our hand is of another kind, that of the word and spirit, that we may slay for a sacrifice to God those who formerly were enemies, or again deliver them over to everlasting destruction unless they repent.”[5] Indeed, Hebrews 4:12 calls God’s Word “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Ephesians 6:17 also commands us equip ourselves with God’s Word, for it is the sword of the Spirit. Or as Paul told the Corinthians:

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

2 Corinthians 10:3–5

Our sword, our weapon of warfare, is God’s Word, and it is far mightier than any physical sword. Kingdoms, however great, rise and fall with the passage of time. Armies that were thought to be without equal have become nothing more than the dust beneath our feet. Yet the Scriptures and the gospel that they proclaim endure and shall endure. One day the entire cosmos will pass away before the judgment throne of the Most High, yet the Words of His Son, who rules at His right hand, shall never pass away. Neither shall those in whom He delights, which are those who have humbled themselves to receive His salvation, casting their faith not upon their strength or righteousness but cling only to Christ our Lord and Savior.

As for the present, I predict that this new year will see more people led astray from the truth, more disasters and hardships, more wars, and certainly more rumors of wars. After all, that is what Jesus Himself told us to expect. But rather than grow anxious or despair at what the future may bring, let verse 6 be our battleplan for whatever may come to pass: Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands. Let us face the days ahead with songs of praise ever on our lips and the Scriptures ever in our hands.

God’s Word is more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold and are sweeter than the drippings of the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). The Scriptures are a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (Psalm 119:105). They are our source of blessing (119:1-3), delight (119:14), wonder (119:18), desire (119:20), strength (119:28), steadfast love (119:41), hope (119:43), freedom (119:45), boldness (119:46), comfort (119:50), security (119:57), knowledge and good judgment (119:66), goodness (119:68), life (119:88), wisdom (119:98), and understanding (119:99). Let us treasure the Scriptures above anything else we might possess here on earth. It is by His Word and the proclamation of the gospel that God’s kingdom advances and the coming judgment is proclaimed to all peoples. Even if all the elites of the world plot together against the people of God, let us meditate on God’s statutes and know that the one who laughs at them from His heavenly throne is our Father.

Keeping God’s praises on our lips is a reflection of our hope that our Lord will indeed make all things right in the end. Just as Paul and Silas sang praise while sitting beaten and bruised in prison, there is no circumstance in which we should not fill our throats with praise to our God. Indeed, that is a great sign that we are God’s people and that we delight in Him. The songs we sing display and shape the affections of our hearts. Let us, therefore, not sing along to Taylor Swift or whomever else more than we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

And as we come to the Table of our King, let us be comforted that the judgment for our sins has already been poured out upon Christ. Because the sword of God’s justice has already pierced Christ in our place, we do not need to fear His coming judgment of the world. The Judge is also our Savior and Lord. And let this bread and cup before us also remind us of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb that will inaugurate the new heavens and the new earth and celebrate the final and permanent defeat of evil. While we wait for that day, let is also remind us to feed upon God’s Word as our daily bread and to let songs of praise flow from our lips like new wine poured out before our Lord. Praise the LORD!

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[1] Keil-Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament Vol 5, 411.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Williams Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms

[4] Max Doner, Revelation Vol 2, 288.

[5] John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries Vol. 6, 316.