Catholic Commentary on Psalm 149

"For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory." (Psalm 149:4)

A New Song for the Assembly

Psalm 149 calls the assembly of the faithful to sing a new song, to praise the name of the LORD with dancing and with tambourine and harp. The celebration is communal and embodied: the whole person worships, with music and movement, in the assembly of the faithful. Worship in the Bible is never purely interior. The body participates: the hands lift, the feet dance, the voice sings. The Catechism notes that liturgical prayer involves the body as well as the soul, and that this is fitting because the whole person, body and spirit, was created by God and is being redeemed by Christ (CCC 2702).

The reason for the new song is theological: For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. God's delight in his people is the reciprocal of the people's delight in God. Worship is the joyful recognition of a mutual love. The psalm then moves to imagery of the two-edged sword in the hands of the faithful, which the Church has consistently interpreted as the word of God and prayer, the weapons of spiritual warfare, by which the principalities and powers are bound and the nations brought under the reign of Christ. The glory reserved for all his faithful people: this is the inheritance of those who have learned to sing the new song.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the LORD takes delight in his people. In you. He does not merely tolerate your worship as a duty he has imposed on himself. He takes delight in it. Let that change how you worship. You are not performing for an indifferent audience. You are singing to the one who loves you, who crowns the humble with victory, and who is pleased when you lift your voice.

Prayer

Lord God, you take delight in your people and crown the humble with victory. Let us sing you a new song and praise your name with dancing. This is the glory of all your faithful ones. Praise the LORD! Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

149
Sing to the LORD a New Song
(Psalms 98:1–9; Isaiah 42:10–17)
1 Hallelujah!* 149:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 9
 
Sing to the LORD a new song—
His praise in the assembly of the godly.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3 Let them praise His name with dancing,
and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.
4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;
He adorns the afflicted with salvation.
5 Let the saints exult in glory;
let them shout for joy upon their beds.
 
6 May the high praises of God be in their mouths,
and a double-edged sword in their hands,
7 to inflict vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with shackles of iron,
9 to execute the judgment written against them.
This honor is for all His saints.
 
Hallelujah!

*149:1 149:1 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD; also in verse 9

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