Psalm 149 - Doing Battle

Psalm 149:1-9 NIV

Praise the Lord. 

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. 

Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. 

Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. 

For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. 

Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.

May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,

 to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 

to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron,

 to carry out the sentence written against them—

 this is the glory of all his faithful people. 

Praise the Lord.

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Psalm 149 starts out like a call to worship, an invitation to praise the Lord. It feels much like many other psalms written in the same spirit. Sing new songs, dance and play music in celebration, rejoice in the Maker, the King of the Universe; these are the acts of worship of the people of God.

The psalmist gives reason for praise. The Lord delights in His worshiping people and gives them victory over their opponents. Those who humble themselves in service to the Lord will know victory.

Then the psalm takes a turn that startles me. It seems out of place, but maybe not. The psalmist speaks of victory in terms of punishing the enemies of Israel. The enemies of Israel are the enemies of the Lord, for Lord is bound to Israel through covenant. The picture drawn for us is worshipers leaving the temple with swords in hand, marching out with songs of praise on their lips, ready to hack down their enemies. Imagine yourself being handed a weapon as you leave the sanctuary of your church! It just seems weird.

But thinking about what such a psalm might be saying to us today, I've come around to appreciate this picture. When the Lord delights in those who gather to worship Him, His blessing falls upon them, empowering them to go out and do God's will. The two-edged sword we carry is not made of steel. It is the word of God. Look at the writings of Paul.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

And the writer of Hebrews also said,

Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Therefore worship prepares us for a battle of sorts. First is the battle waged against us in our own souls. As Paul says, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against wicked spirits. (Ephesians 6:12) With the word of God informing us, our hearts are laid bare before God and we learn where we need transformation in our lives. Transformation begins in the heart. That is where the battle is waged.

The second place we do battle is in the world, as we carry out the will of God. Our calling is not to destroy people who oppose God but to heal, help, and give hope. We fight against poverty, ignorance, unhealthy conditions, oppressive systems, and abusive environments. We advocate for those in our society with no or little voice. We teach good news that gives life. We connect the lost to Christ that they might become whole in God's presence. Through Christ we help the oppressed to find liberty and the sick to become healthy. The war we wage is against that which diminishes life.

So worship the Lord with his people.The Lord delights in you when you join in His praise. He showers His blessings upon you so you can go out in His love and do good works that glorify God's name and breathes life into our world.