This may be regarded as the special song of praise required of Israel at the close of the preceding psalm: first, on account of mercies already experienced by the chosen people, ver. 1-5; and then, in the hope of future triumphs over all heathen and hostile powers, ver. 6-9. Nothing could well be more appropriate to the state of things under Nehemiah, when the city and nation had again been put into a posture of defence and resistance.
1. Hallelujah! Sing unto Jehovah a new song, his praise in the congregation of saints. Compare Ps. xl. 4 (3), xcvi. 1, cxi. 1, cxlviii. 14, to which last there is an obvious allusion, connecting the two psalms in the closest manner.
2. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker! Let the sons of Zion triumph in their King! Not merely the creator of individuals, but of the church and nation as such, and that not only at first, but by a kind of new creation, in the restoration of the people from captivity. They are summoned to rejoice in him, not only as their founder and restorer, but their sovereign. See above, on Ps. xcv. 6, c. 3, cxlv. 1, and compare Isa. xliii. 1, xliv. 2, xlv. 13.
3. Let them praise his name in the dance; with timbrel and harp let them play (or make music) to him. The usual modes of expressing joy are here combined. As to the dance, see above, on Ps. xxx. 12 (11).
4. For Jehovah is pleased with his people; he beautifies the humble with salvation. The first clause suggests the idea of a previous alienation, and of his having been appeased or reconciled. See above, on Ps. lxxxv. 2 (1). The verb is one applied in the Law to God’s acceptance of the sacrifices, and might therefore awaken here associations with atonement and forgiveness. See above, on Ps. xix. 15 (14), li. 22 (20). The verb occurs in its general sense of being pleased or satisfied, Ps. cxlvii. 10, 11. With the last clause compare Isa. lxi. 3.
5. Let the saints exult in glory; let them sing (for joy) upon their beds. The word translated saints is the same that occurs in Ps. cxlviii. 14, and is there explained. In glory (or honour), i. e. the glorious or honourable state into which Jehovah has now brought them. The glory is not that which belongs to God, Ps. xxix, 9, xcvi. 7, but that which he bestows, Ps. lxxxiv. 12 (11), lxxxv. 10 (9), The very phrase, in honour, occurs above, Ps. cxii. 9. Sing or shout, as audible expressions of strong feeling, and especially of joy. On their beds, where they have been accustomed to lament their previous degradation, or what Nehemiah calls their “ affliction and reproach.” See Neh. i. 3, iii. 36 (iv. 4).
6. Praises of God in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand. A striking coincidence has been observed between this verse and Neh. iv. 11, 12 (17, 18). As then they worked with one hand and brandished the sword with the other, so now they might be said at the same time to praise God and defy their enemies. This singular mixture of devotional and martial spirit is characteristic of the psalm, and furnishes a valuable index to the date of composition. The conclusion thus reached is corroborated by the account of the military and religious pomp, with which the walls were dedicated, as described by Nehemiah (xii. 31-47).
7. To execute vengeance among the nations, punishments among the peoples. Not their own vengeance, but that of God, to whom alone it appertains. See above, on Ps. xviii. 48 (47), xciv. 1, and compare Deut. xxxii. 35, Rom. xii. 19, Heb. x. 30. This is really nothing more than a prediction, that God would use his people as his instruments in punishing the nations by whom they had themselves been persecuted and oppressed. This was partially fulfilled in the successes of the Maccabees, but under a new and unexpected form, in the spiritual triumphs of the true religion, and its actual or prospective subjugation of the world.
8. To bind their kings with chains, their nobles with fetters of iron. The word translated nobles is properly a participle, meaning honoured (ones). The verse simply cames out the idea of the one before it, that of the subjugation of the gentiles by the true religion. The objection to this, as a spiritualising explanation of the text, springs from a narrow and erroneous view of the very end for which Israel existed as a nation. Those promises to Israel, which are not still available for us, were but of temporary local value.
9. To execute among them the judgment written. An honour is that for all his saints. This last phrase occurs also at the close of the preceding psalm (cxlviii. 14). As written may mean written in the book of God’s decrees, there is no need of supposing a reference to any part of Scripture. If there be such reference, however, it is no doubt to the threatening in Deut. xxxii. 41-43. To act as God’s instruments in this great judicial process, so far from being a disgrace or hardship, is an honour reserved for all the objects of his mercy and subjects of his grace- The psalm ends as it began, with Hallelujah!
