THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 149
“The praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands.” (Psalm 149:6)
Well I felt good about this psalm until I got to the end.
Praise in my mouth, and a sword in my hand… to inflict vengeance?
At the time, this is how things were done, and God had not stepped in yet.
But now in Jesus God has stepped in, and He has inflicted His own vengeance.
Through Jesus, and not in the way you might expect.
God’s vengeance is not violent, but self-sacrificial, through love and mercy.
God does not attack the wicked, He allows the wicked to attack Him.
And as a result, He overcomes evil with goodness, for good will always win.
In the moment it doesn’t look like it, but ultimately good always wins.
As Jesus followers, we have praise in our mouths but a different kind of sword.
Our doubled-edged sword is the message and method of Jesus: grace!
We join with Jesus in praising God by blessing and serving our enemies.
We overcome evil with kindness, mercy, generosity, patience, love.
This is the new song we sing, and we want to teach the world to sing too!
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, help me to join You in defeating evil with goodness. May this message always be in my mouth, and may this ‘sword’ always be in my hand!