Verse: Psalm 149
Praise the Lord.
1 Sing to the Lord a new song,
His praise in the assembly of the saints
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 tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
He crowns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints rejoice in this honor
And sing for joy on their beds.
6 May the praise of God be in their mouths
...Praise the Lord.
Devotion
Have you ever been listening to your favorite music by yourself and just begin to sing along and even break out a few dance moves? You raise your voice and your body moves from the joy this song brings you. The writer of this psalm is encouraging us to express our joy for the One who made everything, including us, by singing and dancing and playing instruments.
We are told to sing a new song. God gives us new mercies every morning (Lamentations 3:22-3). He is with us every day. We have new blessings to sing about every new day. And we are encouraged to sing his praises in the assembly of the saints. Any time you are with others is a good time to sing praises to the Lord. We are even encouraged to sing in our beds! There is so much to be thankful for that we can sing before bedtime and also when we awaken. (I often find that I have Sunday’s praise songs playing over in my head when I wake up.)
The last verse repeats the first as it does in all 5 of the last Psalms. We should start and end our day praising the Lord. We should start and end our meetings praising the Lord. Praising God for all things should become a natural thing. He has provided all for us. Let us give back by praising Him for all that He has done.