Psalm 149

1 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.
2 O Israel, rejoice in your Maker. O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King.
3 Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.
6 Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands—
7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains,
9 to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!

Wow! "Let a sharp sword be in their hands..."

And, this is a happy psalm?

I'm always inclined to take god's word literally...I believe it's the best way to accurately understand what God is saying to us.

But there are metaphors...

Here I believe the sword is a metaphor for our civic responsibility to do some important things:

1. "Execute vengence and punish people" - God's words says we are never to repay evil with evil, but to repay evil with good. So...vengence cannot mean repayment in kind against those who have hurt us. It can mean that we refuse to be in harmony with ungodly people. It can mean that we must be selective about who we keep as friends and advisors. 1st Corinthians mentions a case where a church member was removed from fellowship because of sinful behavior. The world may say this is vengeful. That should not deter us from demanding high standards from ourselves and others.

2. "Bind kings and leaders" - Believe it or not, our leaders are subject to our laws. This should be a challenge for us to be politically active and demand laws that honor our own faith traditions. This is not to suggest we impose a theocracy...God will do that in His time...but it does suggest that Godly moral and social values should be upheld. Don't be bashful...the ballot box is our legitimate means of binding our rulers. If they refuse to honor our values, we should remove them.

3. "Execute judgement written against them" - I'm always curious with Christians who say "I don't want to judge" when observing bad behavior. We don't have to judge...God's word already has. We are supposed to declare the truth that is written. Proclaiming that unbelievers have no part in God's kingdom is not judging anybody. It is "executing judgment already written against them."

These are responsibilites that are not without risk. But...this is the glorious privilege of God's faithful ones.

Live boldly out there today...