Psalm 149

Psalm 149 (NRSV)
¹ Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
² Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
³ Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
⁴ For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.
⁵ Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.
⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
⁷ to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
⁸ to bind their kings with fetters
and their nobles with chains of iron,
⁹ to execute on them the judgment decreed.
This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 149 is a hymn of uncertain date, but likely pre-exilic.[1] This psalm is a celebration of the kingship of the Lord, during the worship and praise of God with musical instruments. In that case, the Israelites would sing it at the religious assembly on the eve of a battle against heathen nations, most likely in Canaan. The Psalm is troubling for us who read with our modern and post-modern sensibilities. Verses 1-3 begin harmlessly enough in calling the congregation to sing its praise to God as their Maker and King. ¹ Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. ² Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. ³ Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre. Verses 4-6 offer that the reason for all this praise is that God is gracious and blesses the community. In a beautiful phrase, ⁴ For the Lord takes pleasure in his people. In a favorite phrase of II Isaiah and occurring nowhere else outside him, he adorns the humble with victory. ⁵ Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches. ⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their throats and, signifying a shift in the Psalm, two-edged swords in their hands. Honestly, I would be okay if verses 6b-9a were not in this psalm. In verses 7-9, the psalm concludes that that the other side of the victory for the faithful is judgment on the Gentiles, all of which glorifies the rule of God. With two-edged swords, they are ⁷ to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, ⁸ to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron, ⁹ to execute on them the judgment decreed, suggesting the execution of a formally and legally binding written judgment upon them. If pre-exilic, it refers to the destruction of Canaanite nations as a religious duty. This, such a victory,is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!At least for me, these final parts of the “new song” are disturbing. Thomas Muntzer, the radical reformer, used this psalm to rally support of his “War of the Peasants.” This is the celebration in the streets when the national armies have conquered the enemy. This psalm is a national victory dance such as you see at decisive moments in the life of a nation-state. It seems unseemly to many Americans to do that now. Americans after World War II carried on with celebration at its end. Although Americans had some gratification with the capture of Saddam Hussein and the death of Osama Bin Laden, I saw no celebration in the streets. Yet, in the Middle East, such a mentality survives. I guess the idea that the crushing of the enemy is a gift from God who due to this brutality is then worthy of our praise is an ancient perspective that one does not easily erase.

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[1] Dahood