Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 149:5
Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
5. Let the beloved exult in glory ] Let Israel triumph in the honour thus restored to them. Perhaps glory as in Psa 85:9 may include the thought of the renewed manifestation of Jehovah’s Presence among His people.
upon their beds ] “Songs in the night” take the place of tears and sorrow (Psa 4:4; Psa 6:6). They can lie down in peace without the fear of being roused to repel a sudden assault (Neh 4:23).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let the saints be joyful in glory – In the glory of their condition; in the favor of God; in the honor which he bestows upon them. Let them rejoice in this; let them shout and triumph over this. Other men rejoice in honor; in wealth; in houses, lands, parks, libraries, works of art: let the saints rejoice in the glory of being the friends of God; in the hope of heaven. Compare Psa 84:11.
Let them sing aloud upon their beds – Compare Job 35:10, note; Act 16:25, note; Psa 34:1, note. The idea is, that in the meditations of the night, when darkness is around them, when alone with God, they may find occasion for exultation and praise. Their hearts may be full of joy, and alone they may give expression to their joy in songs of praise.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 149:5
Let the saints be joyful in glory.
The saints in glory
I. Their name. Saints.
1. Because they are separated. Not the world, or the god of this world, but the God who made and redeemed them, is their Master and Lord; Gods service is their service; Gods will is their law; Gods Word is their rule.
2. Because they are sanctified. By the belief of the truth as it is in Jesus their eyes are turned away from viewing vanities, and are turned towards holy objects of contemplation.
II. Their honour. In glory.
1. The state of glory. Heaven–eternal rest, but not inaction.
2. The place of glory. The holy city is all glorious, having the glory of God, within, above, and around. Its sky is ever cloudless, its light is ever clear, its sun never sets, and its day never ends.
3. The society of glory.
4. An eternity of glory.
III. Their joyfulness.
1. Wholly joyful.
2. All joyful.
3. Ever joyful. (G. Robson.)
Hallelujah
Once, when the seraphic Samuel Rutherford was preaching, he came ere long to speak on the high praises of the Lord Jesus Christ. That was a theme upon which he was at home, and when he reached that point, and had spoken a little upon it, the Duke of Argyle, who was in the congregation, cried out, Now you are on the right strain, man; hold on to that.
I. Some reasons for praise.
1. The delight of God in His people–their prayers, and their praises.
2. The beauty He puts upon His people. This text may be read in three different ways. First, as in our version, He will beautify the meek with salvation! Next, He will beautify the afflicted with deliverance. Hear that, you afflicted ones; jot it down for your comfort. And, next, He will beautify the meek with victory. The men that cannot fight shall be beautified with victory. When the fighting men and those that stood up for their own rights will find themselves covered with shame, He will beautify the meek with victory.
II. Special phases of praise.
1. Glorying in God. By anticipation and by foretaste we have already obtained the life eternal, therefore, let the saints be joyful in glory. I cannot get up to that, says one. Try. At any rate, get as far as this: wherever there is grace there will be glory. Grace is the egg, and glory is the hatching of it. Grace is the seed, and glory is the plant that comes out of it. Having the egg and the seed, we have practically and virtually the glory; therefore, Let the saints be joyful in glory.
2. The next special kind of praise is joy in special circumstances: Let them sing aloud upon their beds.
(1) This is a message for the time of sickness. Praise the Lord when you are ill; sing to His glory when you cannot sleep; sing when the head aches, for that is the highest kind of praise that comes out of the body that is racked with pain. Let them sing aloud upon their beds.
(2) Your bed? Why, that is the place of seclusion! There you are alone. Commune with God upon your beds, and sing His praises, if not aloud with the voice, yet aloud with the heart.
(3) Upon your bed? Why, that is the place of domestic gathering; for the bed here meant is a couch, on which the Orientals reclined when they ate. Sing the Lords praises on your couches; that is, when you gather in your families.
(4) The bed of death. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. Let the saints be joyful in glory] Let them be gloriously joyful: seeing themselves so honoured and so successful, let them be joyful. God has put glory or honour upon them; let them give him the thanks due to his name.
Sing aloud upon their beds.] While they are reclining on their couches. At their festal banquets, let them shout the praises of the Lord. In imitation of this we often have at our public entertainments the following words sung, taken from the Vulgate of Psalm 115:1: NON NOBIS DOMINE NON NOBIS; sed NOMINI TUO da GLORIAM! super MISERICORDIA TUA et VERITATE TUA. “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth’s sake.” Let them mingle their feasting with Divine songs. This reclining on couches, while they take their food, is still practised in Asiatic countries.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Be joyful in glory, for the honour which God putteth upon them.
Sing aloud upon their beds; either,
1. For their safe and sweet repose and peace, which is signified by resting in beds, Isa 57:2; or,
2. By night as well as by day, even in the time devoted to rest and sleep, which they shall borrow to praise God for his eminent and extraordinary blessings, as David frequently did upon such occasions.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. in glorythe honorablecondition to which they are raised.
upon their bedsonce aplace of mourning (Ps 6:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Let the saints be joyful in glory,…. In the glory put upon them now, being beautified with salvation; in the righteousness of Christ on them, and the grace of Christ in them, which makes them all glorious within; and in the glory they expect to have hereafter, both upon their bodies and souls, and in the hope of that, Ro 5:2. Some copies of the Ethiopic version render it, “in his glory”; in the glory of Christ, asa divine Person and as Mediator, seen now in the glass of the Gospel, and will be the object of the beautiful vision hereafter; and now is, and then will be, matter of joy unspeakable, 2Co 3:18. Or “gloriously” l, in a glorious manner; as saints do rejoice, when they ascribe all the glory of salvation to the free grace of God and death of Christ, and rejoice on that account; saints have reason to rejoice, and indeed none but they; who being regenerated and sanctified, are meet for and shall partake of eternal glory;
let them sing aloud upon their beds; while others are taking their rest and ease, let them meditate on the word of God; commune with their own hearts about their state and condition; remember the Lord, and his goodness to them; all which give an occasion to give thanks unto him, and sing aloud his praise, Ps 63:5; and when they awake on their beds in a morning, after sound sleep and a good repose, it becomes them to praise the Lord, who gives his beloved sleep; and who only makes them sleep, and dwell in safety, Ps 4:8. And the phrase denotes the safe and secure state of the saints upon their beds, lying down and sleeping comfortably, having nothing to fear, the Lord sustaining them; and so may and should sing upon their beds, Ps 3:5; Yea, saints may sing upon their sick beds; since the Lord is with them there, and strengthens them on a bed of languishing, and makes all their bed in their sickness, Ps 41:3; and even upon their death beds may sing aloud the triumphant song, “O death, where is thy sting?” c.
1Co 15:55. Saints in a future state are on beds the grave is a bed, where their flesh rests in hope; and the bosom and arms of Jesus are the bed in which their souls rest; and where they are, not in a state of insensibility and inactivity, but are walking and talking, and singing aloud the praises of electing, redeeming, and calling grace,
Isa 57:1. So Arama interprets the saints on their beds, those that lie in the grave, when they shall rise from thence,
l “gloriose”, Castalio.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. They shall rejoice. In making mention here of joy, jubilee, and the high praises of God, he shows still more clearly from the effects which it would produce, that he does not speak of a common benefit of God; for had not the deliverance of the people been of a remarkable kind, there would have been no occasion for such joy, and even triumph. And by these expressions he intimates that the people would not be brought back from exile to be immediately dispersed again, but to flourish in the enjoyment of every species of blessing. He on this account makes mention of couches, teaching them to expect daily rest under the divine protection. He declares that they would be furnished with arms and power, not only to ward off enemies, but to put them to flight on every side, so as to reduce to subjection kings and nations which formerly ruled over them. By swords of a double-mouth, or two-edged, are meant such as cut on both sides, for at that time swords had but one edge.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) The two clauses are directly parallel:
Let the chasdm raise a cry in glory:
Let them sing aloud upon their couches.
Either the rejoicing is carried far into the night, and when retired to rest the happy people burst out anew into singing; or (see Hos. 7:14), the couches may rather be the divans where feasts were held.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 149:5. Let the saints be joyful in glory, &c. Let the favoured ones exult in their heart. It is frequent with the psalmist to call upon kebodo, his soul, or heart, all that is within him, to praise the Lord; and therefore, as it is here joined with singing upon their beds, it seems to justify the translation given. As above he had called upon them to public joy, so here he calls them to rejoice within themselves while they were on their beds. Mudge. Possibly their beds here means nothing more than the couches on which they reclined while they partook of the sacrifice offered in thanksgiving for their victory.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
These are all so many gracious calls to the redeemed, to praise God in Christ everywhere, at home and abroad; when upon their beds, and when elsewhere; in the church, and in the closet. And they seem to refer to the triumph of the church of Christ over all her enemies, both in this world and in that which is to come. It looks into the kingdom of glory, as well as refers to the kingdom of grace. The honour which all the saints of the kingdom shall have, will one day be final, and full; when Christ shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all that believe. In the faithful expectation of that day, let the saints of Jesus rejoice; looking for, and hasting unto, that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 2Th 1:10 ; Tit 2:13 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Ver. 5. Let the saints be joyful in glory ] i.e. In their glorious estate by Christ, notwithstanding their present poverty. “Let the brother of low degree rejoice (or glory) in that he is exalted,” Jas 1:9 .
Let them sing aloud upon their beds
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 149:5-9
5Let the godly ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
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 punishment on the peoples,
8To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron,
9To execute on them the judgment written;
This is an honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the Lord!
Psa 149:5-9 This strophe has three prayer requests using imperfects used in a jussive sense.
1. exult
2. sing for joy
3. an assumed to be verb in Psa 149:6 a
This strophe combines a prayer for
1. God’s people to rejoice
2. God’s enemies to be judged
Psa 149:5 the godly ones This is from the root hesed (BDB 339, see Special Topic: Lovingkindness [hesed] ). It is used often and denotes someone faithful to the covenant.
The other term used for faithful followers is from the root kadosh (BDB 872, see SPECIAL TOPIC: HOLY ), which denotes one separated for YHWH’s service.
These godly ones are not sinless but have a faith, obedient, and repentant relationship with YHWH.
glory This Hebrew root (BDB 458, see SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (DOXA) [kabod]) is difficult to define. It has a wide semantic field. AB (p. 357) thinks it is a title for YHWH, their Glorious One.
sing for joy on their beds This is a surprising place to exult. . .sing. This must be figurative language of a person with a joyful, peaceful heart that sleeps well! This is the opposite of Psa 6:7.
It is surely possible (Tyndale, OT Commentary Series, vol. 16, Psalm, p. 527) that couch refers to reclining at a meal and, therefore, singing and rejoicing at a victory banquet!
Psa 149:6 The peaceful attitude of Psa 149:5 is matched with military preparedness. There is peace because YHWH has given His covenant people victory over the surrounding nations (cf. Psa 149:7-8).
high praises This construct (BDB 928, KB 1206 and BDB 42) occurs only here and possibly Psa 66:17.
sword in their hand This phrase could refer to
1. literary imagery of a past victory
2. a symbolic dance by priests
3. preparation for a coming battle
Psa 149:7 Some see this verse in an eschatological setting but it could fit any victory in Israel’s history over the surrounding nations of the ANE.
vengeance For a good brief discussion of this theological concept in the OT, see NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 1140-1149. If YHWH does not bring justice in this life, there must be an afterlife.
Psa 149:9 a the judgment written This must refer to
1. Holy War promises, as in the Exodus and Conquest
2. results of the cursing and blessing promises of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27-30
3. an allusion to the Prophetic sections on the judgment of the nations (i.e., Jeremiah 46-51)
4. a good example of this kind of peace promise is Eze 28:26; Eze 34:25-28; Eze 38:8
Psa 149:9 b The victory brought by YHWH will bring honor to the covenant people (cf. Psalm 1121).
Psa 149:9 c Psalms 146-150 all begin and end with Hallelujah, a Piel imperative of praise, or an abbreviation of YHWH.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk n the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. On what occasions were a new song sung?
2. Does Psa 149:2 a refer to Genesis 1 or Genesis 12?
3. Is the Psalm about a past military victory or a future one?
4. Does the Bible as a whole emphasize the judgment of the nations or the inclusion of the nations?
5. Who are the godly ones in Psa 149:1; Psa 149:5; Psa 149:9?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
in glory = “with [ascriptions of] glory”.
beds = couches.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 149:5-6
Psa 149:5-6
“Let the saints exult in glory:
Let them sing for joy upon their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand.”
The joyful singing and exultation here are understood as due to the anticipation of many other victories coming soon, there being no example of such a string of victories for Israel in any other situation than in their conquest of Canaan.
“High praises of God … a two-edged sword in their hand” (Psa 149:6). This points to an entire nation armed and engaged in a military campaign, marked by many great victories. The situation that this best fits is that of the destruction by military force of the pagan kingdoms of Canaan.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 149:5. One of the most glorious actions is to rejoice in the Lord. In the first psalm David endorsed the man who meditated at night in the law of the Lord. In this verse he suggests that the saints sing aloud while in their beds.
Psa 149:6. High places means those in which the saints exalted the name of God. That age was one in which warfare was used by the people of God. Hence David not only called for religious activities of the saints while in the privacy of their homes, but bade them wield a keen sword when they went forth to fight with the foe.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the saints: Psa 23:1, Psa 118:15, Psa 145:10, Rom 5:2, 1Pe 1:8
sing: Psa 42:8, Psa 63:5, Psa 63:6, Psa 92:2, Job 35:10
Reciprocal: Son 3:8 – all Isa 11:10 – glorious Isa 13:3 – them that Dan 7:18 – the saints Dan 7:27 – the kingdom and Oba 1:21 – to judge 1Co 6:2 – the saints Rev 2:27 – he shall Rev 17:14 – and they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 149:5-8. Let the saints be joyful in glory For the honour which God puts upon them. Let them sing aloud upon their beds By night as well as by day, in the time usually devoted to rest and sleep, which they shall borrow to praise God in for his eminent and extraordinary blessings. Let the high praises of God be in their mouths; &c. In assured hopes of victory they shall go to war with psalms and hymns in their mouths, concerning the great acts of the Lord, which they shall courageously sing with a loud voice when they shall fall upon their enemies, and prefer to the two-edged sword which they carry in their hands. Bishop Patrick. To execute vengeance upon the heathen For all their cruelties and injuries toward Gods people. This was literally accomplished by David upon the Philistines, Ammonites, Syrians, and other neighbouring nations. Their kings and nobles were taken prisoners, (Psa 149:8,) and on some of them the judgment written (Psa 149:9) was executed, as by Joshua on the kings of Canaan, by Gideon on the princes of Midian, and by Samuel on Agag. Jehoshaphats army had, at the same time, the high praises of God in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hand; for they went forth to war singing the praises of God, and then their sword did execution, 2Ch 20:23. It may be applied to the time of the Maccabees, when the Jews sometimes gained great advantages against their oppressors. And it is evident from many passages both of the Old and New Testaments, especially from Zec 9:13-16; and Zec 14:17-19; Rev 19:11-21, that something of a similar nature will take place when the antichristian powers are destroyed, and more glorious times are introduced.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their {d} beds.
(d) He alludes to that continual rest and quietness which they should have if they would suffer God to rule them.