Psalm 149 – Rejoice and praise the Lord

As we have established, Psalm 149 is one of the five Hallelujah Psalms. We are not told who the author is. This Psalm speaks specially to the Jews, God’s chosen people. We, like the children of Israel, find our faith inspiration from Abraham the father of faith. In fact, Paul tells us in Galatians that we believers are spiritual children of Abraham. Hence the call to the people of Israel to praise God in this Psalm is also a call to us by extension. If there is a clear encouragement in this Psalm it is this: Every believer in God should rejoice because of God’s salvation plan for the righteous. This Psalm is also a warning for all who will not trust the Lord, for their end will be destruction.

It is a call to Israel (2), the sons of Zion (2), God’s people (4) and the godly (5 & 9) to praise and rejoice in God. Praises and rejoicing should be offered not only in private but also in public. Praises can be offered in singing, in dancing, in the use of instrument as well, especially timbrel and lyre or harp. In this Psalm we are also shown the reason why we should praise and rejoice in God. Although they specifically addressed Israel, we are not excluded because Abraham is our spiritual father. So we should praise God firstly, because He is our maker (2). Secondly, He is our King (2). Thirdly, He is our Savior (4). And finally, it’s because He is our Conqueror and He will conquer the enemies through us (4). Let us rejoice in Him and offer Him our everlasting praise!