David Bahn – Reflections

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In 1968 Jerry Snell opened a door in the hallway outside our first hour chemistry class. He invited me into what I discovered was a darkroom. Soon I was on the school newspaper and annual staff as a photographer. Later I learned that Jerry was a Lutheran who was planning to become a pastor. A few years later I was not only a Lutheran, but I was heading off to seminary to become a Lutheran pastor, too. Jerry followed a year later and served as a pastor in Missouri until his untimely heart attack and death. I thank God for Jerry and enjoy photography still today – not to mention rejoicing in having served as a Lutheran pastor in congregations in Utah, Colorado, Arkansas and Texas. I’ve retired now and serve part time as a Congregational Support Specialist for the Texas District of the LCMS. I also provide coaching and leadership training through various PLI cohorts and with individual congregations and organizations. David Bahn is a follower of Jesus Christ, husband to Diane, father and grandfather. He is an avid amateur photographer. His photo website is “Flowers by God Photos by David” He also publishes a devotional blog DavidBahn-Reflections.com. He and Diane live in Cypress Texas and enjoy visiting their grandchildren who live in the United States and Germany. He graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1979, and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1991. Diane, his wife, is now retired from PLI (PLIleadership.org). They have offered presentations on Marriage and Ministry Partnership, Leadership, Changing Your Congregation’s Culture, and Missional Living. They look are working with PLI International training pastors and wives of the ELVD Diocese of the Lutheran Church of Tanzania. David’s personal mission statement is “Leading people to realize Jesus’ calling and plans for their lives.”

Which is it?

Psalm 149:1, 6

Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,

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Yesterday as I read through the Psalms for the day, I came upon one of the  Imprecatory Psalms – those psalms which contain curses or prayers for the punishment of the psalmist’s enemies. Rather than posting it on Facebook, I opted to mention it but to focus on the more positive and appealing and uplifting psalms. I opted for parts of Psalms 28, 118, and 148. The chorus of “His steadfast love endures forever” is far more engaging than appeals to break the teeth of the enemy, or have them be as snails dissolving into slime!

The desire to be faithful to God’s word, however, must always trump any desire to be positive, or certainly any desire to be politically correct. So today I thought it good to embrace at least a bit of the more challenging sentiments that are offered in Psalm 149. Verse 6 is a great example of the two-edged sword (literally in this case!) that is God’s word:

6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,

Grace and truth are delightful partners in providing both the invitation and challenge so necessary to true discipleship. In this case the grace is that God is worthy of all praise:

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation. (v. 4)

What a great blessing this is for God’s people, and a strong encouragement for the humble! But with that blessing and encouragement comes also a word of warning:

Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
  to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,

This is a warning to those who are proud in the imagination of their own hearts. This is a challenge to those who would oppose God’s ways and God’s people. But this is no call to jihad. While the righteous do sometimes take up the sword (serving in the armed forces, for example, in times of war), this is not the call for the Christian apart from legitimate government authority.

The Christian’s two-edged sword is the sword of the Spirit – the Word of God. That word speaks truth to power and grace to the humble. It challenges us to realign ourselves with God’s ways and repent of our sins. You may need to embrace God’s call to repentance today. There may be someone you know who needs to be similarly challenged.

That challenge best comes from a humble heart – one given to the praise of God – and in an attitude of love and grace. For in the end God’s judgment is mediated by his Son who died on a cross for the sins of the world. He calls us to repent and believe the Good News of his Kingdom’s presence in our lives, and in the world.

Psalm 149

Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3 Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment written!
This is honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the Lord!

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2 responses to “Which is it?”

  1. Eddie Avatar
    Eddie

    Thank you for coming back to this issue. I was hoping you would after reading the inital blog posting this past weekend. I find it’s always a struggle deciding how forceful to be when challenging with that sword. While at the same time not straying from the Word (Considering gaining believers is the goal….that kind of challenge can be very off putting to a non-believer). When I went through the psalms I always found those psalms that spoke about punishing enemies hard to understand from a Christ centered standpoint. Although at the same time, I did find them humorous since I could easily put myself in the mindset of the psalmist. I’ve thought those things many of times. Particularly while driving. Still, it seems you are on the same page as I am when considering who to present that sword to. Since you didn’t present it to your Facebook friends, that leads me to believe that this kind of challenge is best reserved for use on people who you know already have the faith and are knowledgable of the faith and not on those who are completely non-believers. It seems that using a good dose of the Gospel, and love in particular, is the best method for dealing with non-believers. Am I correct in that understanding?

    Reply
    1. dlbpandp Avatar
      dlbpandp

      Eddie! Thanks for writing. I think we’re on the same page. The thing I’m also thinking about has to do with the fact that we don’t bring people to faith, we convey the word to whomever we must. It may be that there are times when completely non-believing persons need to hear the harsh word of rebuke. It is likely, also that we can overblow either the harshness of God’s judgment or under-express the lavishness of his grace. It’s also quite likely that we can overblow the grace and underplay the judgments of God’s word and Law. It’s a never-ending challenge. We simply must ask the Holy Spirit to lead us toward faithfulness, and watch as God does his work in peoples’ lives. Thanks, again, for writing. Great thoughts! DLB

      Abundant Blessings! David Bahn

      Jesus says, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that you may have life in abundance.” (John 10:10)

      http://www.dlbpandp.wordpress.com http://www.fbgpbd.smugmug.com http://www.stjohn-lutheran.net

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