Psalm 149:1-9 His Pleasure
God takes pleasure in His people. He loves to hear our songs to Him and to look upon the godly hearts. He will use such people in His battle over sin.
This is the first psalm that I am really having a hard time joining in the song. It is because of the last portion where it speaks of warring against other nations. I do NOT like the ideas of executing vengeance, punishing peoples, binding kings or fettering nobles. If I lived in the days of David and all nations but Israel were serving other gods exclusively I might join in these thoughts.
Today there are followers of Jesus in every nation on earth. There are certainly still corrupt governments but they don’t represent ALL the people under them. I suppose the same could be said for people in David’s world. David was certainly not aligned with Saul’s government. And he allied himself with a corrupt government (kind of) for safety.
What I do respect though is Israel being ready to stand up to those who oppressed her. God used the nations around Israel to discipline her but they took great pleasure in doing so and perverted their mission. Because of this, God punished them.
When Jesus returns there are going to be MANY nations gathered against Him in battle. They will be doing so because Satan is their god. The punishments in the last part of this psalm, and more, will come to pass at that point. We are told in Revelation 14:20 we are told that at the end of this battle blood will be so deep it will be up to the horse’s bridle. And Satan will be in chains!
I’m glad God will be the one to determine who is on which side. I’m certain Jesus will make the distinction clear so we don’t kill the wrong people or allow saboteurs into the ranks. I don’t know how I feel about wielding a sword. He is the one making the battle plans though and I will serve Him wherever He puts me. This is where He has put me for now. I’m not swinging a physical sword but a spiritual one for now. I’m MUCH more comfortable with that. I pray I’m ‘swinging it’ with enough ‘force’ to be effectual though. I want to swing it against Satan with ALL my might while still loving and caring for the people he has deluded.
One of the BEST ways I can ‘swing my sword’ is by giving Him praise. Satan HATES it when God gets praise. So I join in with the psalmist to sing of my God, who is worthy of ALL praise. And I’ll stand there and laugh as Satan cringes in fear.
Father God, help me be an effectual warrior for You. Teach me to recognize the enemy and show me just where to strike. Let me fight the spirit controlling the person instead of their flesh. I want to be an asset to You in whatever I do!
