shawnethomas

Psalm 149:6 says of the people of God: “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”
What did this mean to the original readers? It was their privilege, like ours, to know and rejoice in God with praises as the rest of Psalm 149 describes. They had “the high praises of God … in their mouths”. But they also LITERALLY had “a two-edged sword in their hand — to execute judgment on the peoples” as :7 goes on to say. The people of Israel were carrying out God’s judgments on the tribes of Canaan and the nations around them. This actually helps explain the “difficult” passages in the Old Testament where the people of Israel destroyed tribes, etc. But it was not indiscriminate; God — the Judge of the earth — had passed judgment on them because of their SIN, and Israel was just carrying it out, as instruments of His justice.

Our task as God’s people today is a different one, although the description of Psalm 149:6 is still fitting. We are still to have “the high praises of God … in (our) mouth and a two-edged sword in (our) hand” — but for US the “two-edged sword” is not literal, but is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17 tells us that “the sword of the Spirit … is the word of God”! So as God’s people today, we are to have His “high praises” in our mouths, and His word in our hands!

Using Ephesians 6:17 as an interpretative key, we can apply Psalm 149 to the New Testament Christian:

Continue reading →

Psalm 149:6 says of the people of God: “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”
What did this mean to the original readers? It was their privilege, like ours, to know and rejoice in God with praises as the rest of Psalm 149 describes. They had “the high praises of God … in their mouths”. But they also LITERALLY had “a two-edged sword in their hand — to execute judgment on the peoples” as :7 goes on to say. The people of Israel were carrying out God’s judgments on the tribes of Canaan and the nations around them. This actually helps explain the “difficult” passages in the Old Testament where the people of Israel destroyed tribes, etc. But it was not indiscriminate; God — the Judge of the earth — had passed judgment on them because of their SIN, and Israel was just carrying it out, as instruments of His justice.

Our task as God’s people today is a different one, although the description of Psalm 149:6 is still fitting. We are still to have “the high praises of God … in (our) mouth and a two-edged sword in (our) hand” — but for US the “two-edged sword” is not literal, but is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17 tells us that “the sword of the Spirit … is the word of God”! So as God’s people today, we are to have His “high praises” in our mouths, and His word in our hands!

Using Ephesians 6:17 as an interpretative key, we can apply Psalm 149 to the New Testament Christian: Continue reading →