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—
    this is the glory of all his faithful people.

Praise the Lord.

 Psalm 149

The psalmist is painting a picture of victory in the Lord. With God as our King, he instructs us to sing a new song. The faithful people of God praising him as King. The Lord has crowned his people with victory, and this is a cause for celebration. God is celebrated as their King and Ruler. This is in direct contrast to the nations surrounding Israel, who praised their kings as gods. Additionally, it contrasts the history of Israel. A history filled with kings who did not worship or seek after God. The psalm signifies a return to God as King.

Revelation makes this image all the more potent. In Revelation the churches are warned against falling away from Jesus as their King. Their King Jesus has been victorious over death and sin at the cross, and will come again to judge the earth. They are instructed to repent and turn to Jesus to share in his victory on the cross. To remain faithful witnesses in the face of persecution or the temptations of society.

“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Revelation 3:21

The second part of the psalm is somewhat of a warning. Judgement will come on those who are not God’s people. There is much to rejoice in, with what God has done through Jesus. By the blood of Jesus we have been rescued from our sin, and are now part of God’s kingdom. We have Jesus as our King. Yet the reality of God’s judgement still hangs over the rest of humanity. Those who have not repented and turned to Jesus in faith. It is this judgement we see repeated in Revelation.

Jesus is victorious. Will you share in his victory?

Grow Deeper

For Grow Deeper this week we’ll be reading through the sermons from the book of Acts. We’ll be looking at how they preached Jesus and how the people who heard it responded to it, to help us think about how we speak the gospel to people today.

Read Acts 2:14-39

What does Peter say Jesus has done?

What is the response that he calls for?

How do the people respond to his invitation to repent?

How does this help you in speaking the gospel to the people you know?

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

Thankyou that you are victorious. That you have won the greatest of battles. The battle over sin and death. Thankyou that I can share in your victory. That at the cross all my sin and shame is taken away before God.

Help me Lord Jesus to remain a faithful witness to you. Help me to persevere through trial and temptation. Help me to not be led astray by this world. Give me strength Lord to stay true to you, to always worship you as King.

By your blood shed for me I pray,

Amen