Works Volume 4, Book 5 · Psalm 149
The Hundred and Forty Ninth PSALM.
‖HallelujahPraiſe ye the Lord.
The hundred forty ninth is a ſolemn form of thankſgiving for God's people, on any ſignal victory afforded them by him, and myſtically contains the eminent favour of God to his †So R. Sa…di…h Ca…n and Kimchi interpret it of the days of the Meſſias.Church, and the conqueſt of the Chriſtian faith over the heathen Potentates. It was intitled, as the former, Hallelujah.
1. SIng unto the Lord a new ſong, *let his praiſe be foreignand his praiſe in the congregation of ſaints.
2. Let Iſrael rejoyce in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyfull in their King.
3. Let them praiſe his name in the dance: let them ſing praiſes unto him with the timbrel and harp.
Paraphrase. 1, 2, 3. Let the whole Church of God through all ages conſtantly frequent his publick ſervice, and therein for ever magnifie the name of God for all his mercies vouchſafed ſo liberally to them. The people of Iſrael are ſignally obliged to this, in that the omnipotent Creatour of heaven and earth is pleaſed immediately to preſide among them, to give them laws by which to live, and to exhibite himſelf graciouſly to them in his Sanctuary, and to fight their battels for them againſt their enemies, having brought them out of the ſlavery of Aegypt into the plenty of Canaan. And the Chriſtian Church are much more obliged to this, for the redemption by Chriſt, and the regal government to which by his reſurrection he was inſtalled, ſpiritual, exerciſed by his word and grace in the hearts of his faithfull people. O let us all with all poſſible exultation, with all the ſolemneſt expreſſions of thankfull hearts, commemorate and celebrate theſe mercies of his.
4. For the Lord taketh pleaſure in his people: he will ‖or glorifybeautifie the meek with ſalvation.
Paraphrase. 4. For thoſe that humbly and faithfully adhere to him, he will never ceaſe to love, he will delight to doe them good, and, be they never ſo low, reſcue and exalt them, and give them illuſtrious deliverances from all their temporal (and ſpiritual) enemies.
5. Let the ſaints be joyfull with glory: let them ſing aloud in their beds.
Paraphrase. 5. And when they are thus reſcued and injoy a quiet repoſe, they are in all reaſon obliged to praiſe and magnifie their deliverer, (and ſo to anticipate the ſtate of heavenly joys, where being arrived at our ſafe harbour, and reſt from the preſſures and ſins of this life, we have nothing to doe but to bleſs and glorifie God, to rejoyce and triumph in him.)
6. Let the high praiſes of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged ſword in their hand,
7. To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and puniſhments upon the people;
8. To bind their Kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
9. To execute upon them the judgment written, This honour have all his ſaints. Praiſe ye the Lord.
Paraphrase. 6, 7, 8, 9. And thoſe that thus depend on God, and thankfully acknowledge his works of mercy toward them, ſhall be ſignally aſſiſted by him, as Moſes and Joſhua were, whilſt one held up his hands to pray and the other to fight, Exod. 17.11. God will make uſe of ſuch, imploy and aſſiſt and proſper them wonderfully in executing his judgments on ſinfull people, when the meaſure of their iniquities is filled up, and God's decree gone out againſt them, as it was againſt the ſeven nations whoſe lands the Iſraelites took, deſtroyed their Kings, put ſome of them in gyves, as Adonibezek, Jud. 1.7. and eradicated the whole people. (And thus in a myſtical ſenſe hath the faith of Chriſt been aſſiſted by God, and proſpered and propagated wonderfully, till it ſubdued the greateſt Princes and Empire of the world to the ſceptre of Chriſt.) And this certainly is a glorious prerogative of the people and beloved of God, for which they are obliged for ever to magnifie him, and ſing perpetual Hallelujahs to him.