Israel Invoked to Praise the Lord.
149 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise His name with dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.5 Let the godly ones exult in glory;
Let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their [c]mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
7 To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 To execute on them the judgment written;
This is an honor for all His godly ones.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
In this psalm we have another invocation, or appeal, for the people to praise the Lord. One thing stands out right at the beginning, which is “Sing to the Lord a new song…” While I don’t want to get ahead of myself too much, Solomon would later say, “there is nothing new under the sun.”
So what is this about singing a new song? Can there truly be any new songs? Well, maybe there aren’t any new ideas, but you don’t have to go looking far to find praise songs you’ve never heard before, and new songs are being written all the time. There’s an idea in C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy that comes to mind.
The main character, Ransom, is exploring Venus, discovering things he has never seen (of course) and comes across an particular fruit. He takes a bite, and finds the taste and sensation are simply amazing. When the fruit is gone, he is tempted to take another one to repeat the experience. But he has this feeling that he shouldn’t, that it just wouldn’t be the same.
So it can be with our praise, or even with music in general. When we find a song that really moves us, we want to listen to it again, and again. But what would happen if you listened to it 100 times straight? No one would choose that, your mind and heart would be numbed, and every time the song would mean less until it would become a drudgery.
Now I would never say to throw out a song because it is old, as such songs can be a breath of fresh air just as much as a brand new one. At any rate, I don’t want to get too stuck on that, because there is something else that goes along with this here. As the people sing and dance before God, we find something amazing in v. 4. “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people…”
That’s a stunning thought, but think of your children, if you have them. Think of the delight we as adults take in the innocent displays of joy that can only be found in children. As we grow older, we “put away childish things”, but yet Jesus said we must have childlike faith. So it is, in some things we must “grow up” in our faith. And in others, we need to abandon our sensibilities and embrace what God has for us.
It isn’t only in our praise or worship that God takes pleasure either. Anytime we obey God, he finds pleasure. When we “get it” and begin to walk in His ways, there is nothing better, and God enjoys that immensely. Even in the second half of this psalm, we see a seemingly odd illustration of this reality. Why would God make deeds of the sword an honor for His children? Doesn’t He say “vengeance is mine, I will repay”?
The difference is that they were doing what He commanded, executing God’s judgment on the wickedness of the inhabitants of Canaan. This isn’t something God has commanded me, or you, to do, we have other good works prepared (already). So find what that is for you, seek God’s will, stick to His plan, and bring Him great pleasure. And don’t get stuck in a rut while you’re doing it, always keep your ears and heart open to His leading. Sing a new “song” to Him this morning!