Corona Devo 3282

The basics to any (non-creamy) salad dressing recipe are oil and vinegar.  In addition, there can be spices and herbs of any kind, as well as salt and pepper added, but the oil and vinegar are the base that any great vinaigrette is made from.

The unique thing about these two foundational ingredients is that they do not mix.  You can pour vinegar into a container and then oil, and they will sit, separated. 



By nature, oil and vinegar do not seem to mix or partner well.  But with a vigorous stir, or jostling, or shake: these two elements will combine and mix to produce a united solution (dressing) that can be a delicious elixir for salads, vegetables or meats.

But you wouldn't think so from viewing their (separated) states initially.

Oil and vinegar don't initially appear as if they will mix well...but they do!

I found oil and vinegar in Psalm 149 today.  

God speaks of our (beautiful) call to praise Him with singing, dancing, instruments (tambourine and harp), and it sounds wonderful.  Joyful.  Enjoyable.  Easy.  

Praise the Lord!  
Sing to the Lord a new song.  
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful. 
(2) O Israel, rejoice in your Maker.  O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King. 
(3) Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.  ~Psalm 149:1-3

This is the oil in our faith-privilege today.  We get to worship our Lord, and we can do it in joyful ways, from dancing to tambourine and harp.  And He is worthy and deserves our praise.  

These verses are the oil: Lifting our praises to our Holy Lord, rejoicing in our Maker, and exulting in our King.

God's word ordains, this (worship and praise) behavior from us, and we can enjoy and delight in doing so.  He is worthy, and the Lord even blesses His children back: 

(4) For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. 
(5) Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.  
Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.   ~Psalm 149:4-5

It's beautiful, and easy, and promising.  Yes!! Let's Praise the Lord! today in song and music and surrounded by other Believers that also know and love Him (Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.  ~Psalm 149:1).  

Aah, yes: this praising of the Lord is our oil today, and it is a glorious privilege of (us), his faithful ones.

But, now it's time for (God) to add the vinegar.  The next four verses of Psalm 149 don't seem to pair with the first five...and yet, they do.  

They are not smooth and easy like the oil of the earlier (praise and worship) verses.  Instead, these bring a vinegar tart-pucker to the Believer's ears, and possibly a shock to our system.  And yet, God has paired them and shakes them up together, like the (opposite but necessary) oil and vinegar of a vinaigrette dressing.

(6) Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands—
(7) to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 
(8) to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains, 
(9) to execute the judgment written against them.  
This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.  
Praise the Lord!  ~Psalm 149:6-9

Followers of Christ are not only called to praise their Lord, but also to proclaim His truth, and God's Word in our heart is a sharp sword in our hands.  Speaking and standing on God's principles in the Bible will execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples.  The Word of God is not the "opiate of the masses" (Karl Marx), but rather--it is the thorn-in-the-side of pleasure-seeking people and self-worshiping societies.  

When we read the Bible and share the Bible, it will convict us, but it will also convict others, and ultimately the word of God will execute the judgment written against them (Psalm 149:9).

We get to bring the fire and vinegar to those who are far from the Lord.  

Sound intimidating?  

Sound unpopular?

Sound daunting?

Sound dangerous?

God says it sounds like the glorious privilege of his faithful ones (Psalm 149:9).

This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.  Praise the Lord!  ~Psalm 149:9

I had to print it again so that we could absorb it again.  
We like the oil-parts of following God, but we shrink away from the vinegar-parts.  
However, God says that we are looking at it all wrong.  Both parts are glorious privileges, and they go together.  

They may not appear as if they will mix...but they do.

If God is love, then the worship of Him and sharing His love is critical.  But God is also holy and His love does not accept or ignore sin.  And the Lord calls us as his children to share his Word in a world that would rather not taste the (often bitterness) of its truth.

And yet, (God says), it is our glorious privilege as his faithful ones, to share both sides of His Truth and His Word. 

You and I must do both, Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  We must bring both the oil and the vinegar as we serve our Lord, because our lives (and God's call on our lives), is both: 
(1) Worshiping God 
(2) Bringing God's truth and consequence first to ourselves, and then to those not walking in God's ways.


We need (and must be!) the oil AND the vinegar for God today.
This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.  Praise the Lord!  ~Psalm 149:9

Praise the Lord!  
Sing to the Lord a new song.  
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful. 
(2) O Israel, rejoice in your Maker.  O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King. 
(3) Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp. 
(4) For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. 
(5) Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.  
Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds. 
(6) Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands—
(7) to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 
(8) to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains, 
(9) to execute the judgment written against them.  
This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.  
Praise the Lord!  ~Psalm 149:1-9

Blessings,

sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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