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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\u2014this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 149)

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This psalm takes a surprising turn, doesn\u2019t it?\xa0 All is happy and well, the praise of God is on our lips and our feet our dancing\u2014and then all of a sudden we find a sword in our hands!

There have indeed been times in the past when this psalm has served as a call to war for Christians\u2014like the Thirty Years\u2019 War in Europe following the Reformation.\xa0 Somehow the fruit of that endeavour doesn\u2019t square with Jesus\u2019 command to Peter to \u201cput away your sword!\u201d\xa0 No, there\u2019s something else going on in this psalm that seems to echo more with sword of the Spirit, or the double edged sword of scripture: a sword that is the power of God\u2019s spoken and written word that reveals and transforms more so than an earthly military power that kills and destroys.\xa0

The faithful people of God who are given this sword are the ones that have praise on their lips and who are humble in heart.\xa0 Again, resonating with the words of Jesus: these humble ones, meek in spirit, become in this psalm the very ones who \u201cinherit the earth.\u201d\xa0 How do they do it?\xa0 By praising God and living faithfully according to the revelation they have been given in God\u2019s words and promises to them, I think.

There is a sense in which this psalm speaks more to the way in which God\u2019s people witness within a world that as yet remains hostile and temptuous.\xa0 The militant church of Jesus Christ is a witnessing community armed with God\u2019s revealing word and the Gospel of the Word, Jesus Christ.\xa0 We are armed with love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.\xa0 And indeed, nothing cuts through a person\u2019s defenses quicker than an undeserved second chance or word of forgiveness.\xa0

Telling someone how they\u2019ve failed relative to the law and demanding they do better or else only plays into the shame, isolation, and guilt that already plague the world with darkness.\xa0 To tell someone that they are seen for who they are, and forgiven and welcomed in nevertheless in the name of Jesus: well that\u2019s countercultural in a way that cuts people to the quick and utterly changes the conversation.\xa0

How can we keep our sword of this kind of healing, forgiving, loving grace and mercy clean and sharp, ready for battle?\xa0 The sharpening stone offered by this psalm is praise.\xa0 We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and on his completed and coming work.\xa0 We praise God because we have a better story, a better ruler, and we know that we are free.\xa0 It\u2019s only with this kind of praise consistently on our lips that we will have the wherewithal to participate in the coming of the kingdom.\xa0 Otherwise, it\u2019s too easy to turn dower, bitter, burdened down with sorrow and compassion fatigue.\xa0 The antidote is praise.\xa0 And praise, oddly enough, is also the weapon.\xa0 A witness to the completely confronting counter-cultural ways of our God and his Kingdom, \u201cthe glory of all his faithful people.\xa0 Praise the Lord.\u201d

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