The first part of this Psalm is about how God has designed us to be towards Him; the second part is about how we are supposed to be towards the world.
Part 1
Verses 1-5 are about how to express our worship.
With my outline ready, the first reaction I got to part 1 was that the difference in worship was understood and that it was clear what needed to be done. That stuck with me for a day, and then it became clear.
“It’s not about what I need to be doing,
but what should come out of me!”
I realized that it is God’s design for us! He doesn’t expect us to do something that He hasn’t already provided for. He desires to receive our worship and for the joy of Him in us to bubble out in all the ways David gave as a blueprint. After all, the Spirit of the Living God is residing in us! (1 Cor. 2:16) Do not quench the Spirit! (1 Thess. 5:19)
As I write this, please don’t receive it as criticism, but as a reality check. Who or what is restraining you? What could you do about it? Be free! I never really had this problem; I was overwhelmed by His love from day one, and over time, it just grew into a deeper desire to exhale His praises. Because…
My background is atheism and being bad. I was thirty-three when I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior. My advantage, I believe, is not having grown up in the church and not being restrained by a religious upbringing. My spirit could freely flow; my desire to worship was not suppressed by anything, only powered by His love for me. Did it come naturally? Yes! Was I always like this? No! I’m adding this because I hear it so many times: “It’s just not my personality.” “It’s not who I am.” “I’m just not there yet.” May I, with all respect, please question all these answers? Yes, I do, because God’s desire is different, and once we unlearn our hindrances, He will empower us to part two, which will follow soon.
With this said, as you read through this, get a fresh perspective on the Scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.
1 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.
This praise is the Hebrew ‘Halal’. We are to boast about our God! Not just what His Word says, His promises, but also about what He does in our daily lives (1 Pet. 2:9). I believe that is what really makes worship come alive: understanding that the Creator of the universe is so crazy in love with us that He is wherever we are, and that His showers of blessings are abundant if we look closely.
One source goes as far as describing halal as acting insanely or making a fool of oneself. Seriously, that gives me a picture of celebrities. People don’t mind expressing their happiness and their wish to be close to the admired one, but I hardly ever see it happening in church or in the street, which God desires even more.
Note to self: Quit being so dignified!
Sing a new song – the Christian walk is a continuous growing in the Lord, gaining faith, wisdom, and experience in the Spiritual. We should truly be singing a new song each Sunday! Or at least once a month? 😉
Talking about singing, not in your head, not under your breath, but fed from the heart, in spirit and truth, expressing our thankfulness verbally, knowing full well that as much as we think that our voices are ugly, they are exactly how God created them and how He wants to hear them! (John 4:23) The way I understand it, the first praise (Halal) is freely inspired by our love for Him, and the second praise (Hebrew ‘Thillah’) in this verse is like a hymn or worship song, depending on the congregation.
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King.
I don’t think anybody would want to argue that the Psalms are also written for us today and that we are Israel, the grafted in ones (Rom. 11:17). Be glad! Yes, cheer up, it says (Hebrew ‘Samach’). How can I be the light if I don’t brighten up? If I learn to rejoice in all things, I will be more appreciative and automatically happier. And to top that off, if I walk in the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout my day, joy will ooze out of me. That’s being glad!
Rejoicing requires a certain amount of excitement. I will never take the Lord Jesus’ presence for granted, but will treasure His sacrifice, provision, guidance, intercession, and protection. He is for me! He is with me! How could I not get excited about that in itself?
3 Let them praise His name with dancing; let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre.
Dancing before the Lord is one of the most expressed forms of worship, spilling pure joy. Some of us are physically not there anymore and may not be able to stand either, but for me, as long as I can, I will always stand before the Lord, out of sole adoration, no matter the church etiquette. And guess what, dancing, at least a little tap, comes naturally with it.
Timbrel and lyre are nothing but drums, guitar, and piano. Our God likes music! Let’s not be afraid to make some noise along with our voices of praise (Hebrew ‘Zamar’).
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.
Sometimes you see a verse a thousand times, and then all of a sudden it looks new. I’m not saying one meaning overrides the other or is more right than the other. It is the beauty of the Living Word that it is unfathomably deep. Sometimes reading different versions, even in different languages, and looking up the original Greek or Hebrew meaning brings a richer bouquet to a single word.
What I saw this time:
The LORD is pleased with the one who believes, who is meek, poor, and afflicted; He will adorn you with Jesus (Jeshua=salvation) and glory in it*.
Having Jesus, we who are humble and meek can thrive to heights unknown to common man. Having Jesus, we who are poor, either poor in Spirit thirsting for more of Him, or weak in our strength to accomplish anything while relying on His strength, can be part of His Kingdom’s work shining bright in a dark world. Having Jesus, we who are afflicted or oppressed with sickness or addiction can be healed, delivered, and set free.
If He gave us Jesus to overcome so He can be glorified in it, it’s our high duty to make the best out of our lives according to His provided strength (Isa. 43:7,21). Let’s be a showpiece for Him!
*(Hebrew ‘Anav’) for afflicted, (Hebrew ‘Pa’ar’) for beautify, (Hebrew ‘Yshuw’ah’) for salvation.
5 Let the godly ones exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.
The godly ones- that’s us- let us exult in the glorious state He allowed for us to His glory. Exult (Hebrew ‘Alaz’) is far above where we were in the previous verses; it goes as far as cries of joy, perhaps even a squeak because nothing else can escape the overwhelmed-in-love soul. And, not only in the church meeting but even in our quiet hours of the day. Don’t be silent. Don’t let the rocks do it for you! (Luke 19:40)
Now read the Psalm again as if it were written to you.
Part 2
Verses 6-9 are about spiritual warfare and reaching the world.
What drew my attention first was verse 4, then a hunch that there was more in it for us today in this Psalm. Next, verse 6 popped out, and then verse 8. Perhaps if you follow in this order, it may become easier to understand where I’m coming from.
My attention was drawn to this Psalm as a guide for our lives today, so I started at the beginning and worked my way through the Hebrew meanings, as written in part 1. One thing that stood out – we are all falling short of giving Him the desired, yes, required praise and worship. But it doesn’t stop there; in this second part we have a vivid picture of the Christian life God has in mind for us.
Have you ever wondered about David pouring his heart out before the Lord in worship and in the next moment writing about bloodshed?
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand,
Exalt and extol Him everywhere; let His praise (Hebrew ‘Rowmam’) always be in your mouth, not as a performance but as an outpouring from the heart, naturally released without intention. When I fellowship with God in my everyday affairs, it’s an inevitable side effect. That’s part of shining His light to a dark world. And talking about a dark world, having the two-edged sword, the word of God, at hand is a must (Eph. 6:17, Heb. 4:12).
Even David praised the Lord before fighting Goliath (1 Sam. 17:45). I believe that speaking out the goodness of God prepares for a victorious environment. But remember, we are not fighting people but the powers of darkness (Eph. 6:12).
7 To execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
If we execute vengeance on the nations, which are the heathens, we are not taking judgment in our hands, but we are carrying out a task God has appointed us for (Matt. 10:7-8), also further explained in the following verse.
Punishment (Hebrew ‘Yakach’) is closer to rebuke or correction. Preaching the Gospel and informing them that they are sinners. If they receive the Good News and Jesus, they can be set free. For that, we definitely need the word of God and our testimony (verse 6).
If you can’t follow me here and believe those actions were reserved for the Twelve, the Bible teaches otherwise, and it is happening today all around the world (John 14:12-14, Phil. 4:13). Also, many more were sent out after the twelve disciples.
8 To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,
The nation’s kings are the powers of darkness, the prince of the air, and all his co-hosts. By the authority of the Name of Jesus, we can bind their kings and nobles (2 Cor. 4:4, Eph. 2:2, John 12:31, Rev.1:5).
9 To execute on them the judgment written; this is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the Lord!
We can carry out God’s will for the world together with Him, not by our power but through His (2 Pet. 3:9). The honor of all us godly ones here on earth is to help set the afflicted free, bind the enemy, as it is written in (Matt. 18:18, Luke 10:19, John 14:13–14, Acts 3:6, Jam. 4:7). The honor is also predicted for our future life in (1 Cor. 6:2), even though I do not understand that part yet.
And again, back to the beginning, ‘Halal Yahweh’!
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
I hope you could somehow follow along as I tried to explain a picture of the Christian today that I saw in this Psalm. To sum it up, being filled with Him, walking according to His leading (John 15:4), full of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging Him as the highest power in our lives, and exalting Him according to His standards, we can move and fulfill what most call the Great Commission (Mark 16:15-18).
Now read the Psalm again as if it were written to you.
Sources from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, NAS Exhaustive Concordance, and Lexicon. Scripture taken from NASB 1995