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Keeping and Jettisoning
Psalm 149 Cantate Domino
1 Hallelujah! Sing to the Lord a new song; *
sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.
2 Let Israel rejoice in his Maker; *
let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
3 Let them praise his Name in the dance; *
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people *
and adorns the poor with victory.
5 Let the faithful rejoice in triumph; *
let them be joyful on their beds.
6 Let the praises of God be in their throat *
and a two-edged sword in their hand;
7 To wreak vengeance on the nations *
and punishment on the peoples;
8 To bind their kings in chains *
and their nobles with links of iron;
9 To inflict on them the judgment decreed; *
this is glory for all his faithful people. Hallelujah!
Explanation
I love this exuberant Psalm which takes us from "the congregation of the faithful" in verse 1 all the way to the intimacy of their beds in verse 5!
This exuberant Psalm carries right into the first half of verse 6— those who are "joyful on their beds" are exhorted to "let the praises of God be in their throat!"
And suddenly the Psalmist spins out of control—the bedded joyful have two-edged swords in their hand (imperiling the bedsheets at least), and vengeance in their hearts.
So of course these verses are jettisoned, and verse 9b kept as a fitting ending to this otherwise happy Psalm— for the praises of God is our glory, and the only thanksgiving we can offer in return for God's love and mercy.
Next: what would you keep and what would you jettison?
Psalm 150 Laudate Dominum
1 Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy temple; *
praise him in the firmament of his power.
2 Praise him for his mighty acts; *
praise him for his excellent greatness.
3 Praise him with the blast of the ram's-horn; *
praise him with lyre and harp.
4 Praise him with timbrel and dance; *
praise him with strings and pipe.
5 Praise him with resounding cymbals; *
praise him with loud-clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath *
praise the Lord. Hallelujah!
Photograph from the Chicago Botanic Garden
as a Lenten harbinger of the Easter Garden
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