Double-edged sword

Psalms 149 and 150: Today's readings bring me to the final two psalms of the psalter, and I made my deadline of 150 psalms in 77 days, even with forgetting to post on a few days. Although it would be easy to  say with the psalmist: Praise the Lord (150:1) and leave it at that, both these psalms have elements in them that deserve some comment. Psalm 149 a, hymn psalm, calls on the congregation to praise God wtih songs and instruments. Sound great until verse 6, which says: "let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords be in their hands." Walker-Jones says 150: 6-9 have been used in the past to incite war and that to read them literally can be dangerous. It seems to me the sacred scripture is often a double-edge sword (although I'm not keen on that violent image) and there's always the danger that it can be used to justify many causes. Walker-Jones says that underlying these verses is a call for justice and during the time this was written, violence may have been the only way to do justice and restore peace.
  Psalm 150 has no such double-edged swords, unless one doesn't happen to like dancing and pipes and clanging symbols. All of God's creation is asked to praise God for mighty deeds and unsurpassing greatness. On Sunday, Dec. 13, Christians around the world are asked to take this literally by ringing church bells or beating on drums and shaking noisemakers to call people to prayer and action on climate change. This psalm is asking all creation to praise God, and that action by the World Council of Churches is asking humans to make noise on behalf of creation.
   Thanks to my readers for accompanying me on this blogging journey through the Psalms. Reaching the end is a double-edged sword as well (what would be a less violent image that conveys the good news, bad news effect?) since I am done reading and reflecting and responding to the psalms today. I'm happy to have reached the goal, but I will miss the discipline of reading and responding every day. After the first couple of weeks, I was doubting whether I could continue this project and keep finding interesting things to say about the Psalms. But I've only scratched the surface, and although this blog is now complete, I know the Psalms will be a source of inspiration, reflection and motivation for a long time.
NOTE: I'll be keeping the blog online for a few more weeks, and then I intend to take it down. I'm not a fan of blogs without current and updated posts, but I know some people are still making their way through the readings.