The various pronouncements—law, covenants, curses, decrees, statutes, and promises—resonate deeply with covenant theology’s understanding of divine speech acts. Scripture frequently groups God's authoritative declarations: the moral law (Exodus 20), covenants (Genesis 9:9–17; 15:18; 17:7; Exodus 19:5–6; Jeremiah 31:31–34), curses (Deuteronomy 27–28; Galatians 3:10), decrees (Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 46:10), statutes (Psalm 119:16, 33), and promises (2 Samuel 7:12–16; 2 Corinthians 1:20). These acts of divine speech reflect the pattern established at creation (Genesis 1) and govern redemptive history by ordering existence through covenant-law, which sets the boundaries and expectations for God's people (Deuteronomy 4:13; Psalm 105:8–10). The prophets serve to articulate this divine purpose, proclaiming that God's law is foundational—allowing life and preventing chaos—by His prophetic fiat that subdues opposition and chaos (Isaiah 55:10–11; Jeremiah 1:9–10). Similarly, Matthew Henry, in his comprehensive biblical commentary, views Psalm 149 as exhorting God's people to praise Him in the midst of victory over enemies, interpreting the "high praises" and the sword as symbols of spiritual conquest rather than earthly military action. Henry connects this to the eschatological fulfillment of God's kingdom through Christ, where worship and divine justice are perfectly realized: "The high praises of God in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand... to execute vengeance upon the heathen" (Psalm 149:6–7). Henry cautions against applying this imagery to physical violence in the present age, emphasizing that the true fulfillment is spiritual, achieved through the gospel—binding spiritual powers and enacting divine justice through spiritual means (cf. Matthew 12:29; Revelation 20:1–3). In this theological framework, the saints—those who have been regenerated and bear God's image—are called to "think God's thoughts after Him" (as Psalm 1:2 and Joshua 1:8 suggest). This involves meditative proclamation—repeating and internalizing God's words—so that they actively participate in advancing God's kingdom amid spiritual opposition and hostility. Such praise is not passive or merely emotional; instead, it is a powerful act of corporate testimony and spiritual warfare that manifests the high praise (Psalm 149:1, 6). The saints are depicted as wielding a "double-edged sword" (Psalm 149:6), which is not a literal weapon but a symbol of the divine Word—sharp, discerning, and effective. This sword is used to execute divine justice, to carry out the "sentence written" (Psalm 149:9)—a reference to God's decreed judgments—and to reveal the "glory of all his saints" in the ongoing struggle of the church militant. This interpretation aligns closely with a Reformed theological emphasis, which regards God's Word as having performative power—creating, sustaining, and judging. John Calvin, in his commentary on Psalm 149, emphasizes that the psalm's call to rejoice and praise is directed toward the congregation of the merciful, highlighting that praise is not merely emotional expression but a corporate act of acknowledging God's sovereignty and kingship. Calvin notes the shift in verse 6 toward militant imagery, where the saints' praise is linked with a "two-edged sword" to "inflict vengeance on the nations" (Psalm 149:7). Calvin interprets this typologically rather than literally, understanding it as spiritual warfare against ungodliness, rather than physical violence. The "sentence written" (Psalm 149:9) is rooted in divine decrees already established in Scripture, and the faithful's role is to proclaim and obey these decrees, not to enact autonomous retribution. The glory and victory belong not to autonomous human effort but to "all his saints" (Psalm 149:9), who participate in Christ’s victorious rule. Their agency is rooted in unity with Christ, the true King, and their success depends on faithful proclamation of God's decreed Word, through which divine purposes are realized. This psalm functions as a bridge that connects the creational mandate—dominion over creation—to covenantal fidelity and ultimately to eschatological consummation. Meditative prophecy—carefully internalized and voiced—recreates circumstances under God's eternal kingdom, where praise and divine judgment merge seamlessly until opposition is fully subdued and replaced with high praise (Psalm 149:1, 9). Within this divine framework, the saints' authority is not self-asserted but derives from faithful obedience to God's decreed Word, in which God's purposes—justice, righteousness, and victory—are ultimately fulfilled. The scholarly interpretation of Psalm 149 advances a nuanced and sophisticated theological understanding that intricately explores the Psalter’s themes of eschatological expectation and covenantal militancy. This perspective posits that the righteous king—representing Christ himself and, by extension, the entire covenant community—participates actively in divine governance through the use of speech acts that mirror God's own creative and authoritative words. These speech acts—such as laws, covenants, curses, decrees, statutes, and promises—are not merely spoken words but serve as a sixfold prophetic modality through which God initiates, orders, sustains, and ultimately brings to completion all creation. This pattern aligns with the biblical understanding that God's word is both creative and judicial, echoing the Genesis account where God's spoken word brings forth light, land, plants, animals, humans, and order (cf. Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26). The New Testament reinforces this idea in Hebrews 11:3, which emphasizes that the universe was framed by the word of God. C.H. Spurgeon, in his classic work *The Treasury of David*, interprets Psalm 149 as celebrating a "new song" sung by those who have been renewed in heart—a song of victory and praise for God's renewed creation. He sees the juxtaposition of praise and sword as representing the church’s dual vocation: to rejoice in God's glory and to stand firm against evil. Spurgeon writes that the high praises of God and the prophetic sword symbolize the church’s spiritual warfare, rooted in the Word of God, which is the "sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:17) and "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12). Such prophetic utterance, grounded in covenant promises, subdues opposition through gospel proclamation and spiritual authority. In the regenerate, these divine utterances express a restored dominion that echoes the prelapsarian authority of humanity (Genesis 1:28), now fulfilled eschatologically through Christ's reign (Psalm 8:6; Hebrews 2:8). The "double-edged sword" (Psalm 149:6) is ultimately not a physical weapon but the prophetic and gospel Word—wielded by Christ and His followers—used for spiritual conquest and judgment (Revelation 1:16; 19:15). This divine Word is placed in the hands of the saints for spiritual execution, enabling them to proclaim truth, bind spiritual powers, and subjugate evil through the power of the gospel (2 Corinthians 10:4–6). The church militant enacts this reality through praise, prayer, and proclamation, which has the power to influence and subdue even earthly authorities—symbolized by the reference to binding kings and nobles (Psalm 149:8)—through the gospel's spiritual authority (Matthew 28:18–20; Ephesians 6:12).