SING A NEW SONG!
Play Audio
If you prefer listening to today’s Bible guide reading, play this audio file.
If the audio bar is not appearing, click here to play the audio.
Opening Prayer
I come with praise and thanksgiving on this Lord’s Day, Father. Thank you that I can worship you in community, that I can know your presence and pleasure.
Read PSALM 149
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 149
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
5 Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
6 May the praise 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 fetters,
their nobles with shackles of iron,
9 to carry out the sentence written against them—
this is the glory of all his faithful people.
Praise the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 149:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah; also in verse 9
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord … Our God, you reign forever, our hope, our Strong Deliverer … You’re the defender of the weak, you comfort those in need. You lift us up on wings like eagles.’* Reflect on these lyrics.What one phrase from this psalm has struck you particularly? The instruction to sing a new song appears in Psalm 96 and Psalm 98. But here, faithful people, covered by God’s covenant love, are urged three times to sing such a song of praise (vv. 1, 3, 5). Maybe joy robs people of sleep, or maybe sleep is possible, knowing the joy of safe-keeping (v. 5).
The ancient people of Israel frequently faced life-threatening dangers. But what are we to make of the unexpected intrusion of the warlike language in verses 6–9? Maybe the key lies in the ‘double-edged sword’ (v. 6). Today God’s faithful people are endangered, though our struggle is not primarily against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). So, with one edge, we hold on to the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God as we engage in battle (Ephesians 6:17); with the other, we access the joy found in praise at the start of this psalm, knowing God is the Maker of the whole world and reigns as everlasting King (v. 2). This is not a tension, but a living reality.
Apply
Allow yourself to rejoice that the Lord takes delight in you (v. 4). If possible, sing or listen to a recording of the song ‘Strength Will Rise’ as you wait upon the Lord.
Closing prayer
Everlasting God, thank you that as I wait on you, I can trust in your loving faithfulness, knowing that you will never tire of giving me everything I need.
*‘Strength Will Rise’, Brenton Brown, Ken Riley © 2005 Thankyou Music/PRS.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.