PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Psalm 149
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“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?
In David’s time this is how things were done, and Jesus had not come 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.
Jesus does not attack the wicked, but allows the wicked to attack him.
And as a result, he overcomes evil with goodness, for good will always win.
Right now it may not 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 (Romans 12:17-21).
This is the new song we sing, and we want to teach the world to sing too!
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!
“Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor”. I get it that I should faithfully honor my God by what I do and say. Be ready to be a part of a community that stands up and honors God. Fighting with swords and seeking vengeance irks me though – it seems contrary to the Jesus way – love for my enemies, the extra tunic etc. I know I need to be ready to take a stand – but I can do only with God’s help – the HS guiding me and helping me to discern how I should respond. Being complacent is not the right way to honor God. Lord, you told Peter to lay down the sword – help me to know when I must take a stand and how!