NOTES for Psa 149
Why does the call go out to sing a new song? Are the old ones not enough? Have they not said everything necessary?
Yes, the old songs preserve necessary experience, and they cannot be rejected. But every day the Lord addresses us anew, and the choice we have made must be constantly reaffirmed, again and again.
How good it would be if we could repent once and for all and begin a new life without fear of turning away from the path we had chosen! But as long as we live, we remain free to choose not only good but also evil. Choosing the right path does not set us on rails along which we can travel straight into the Kingdom of Heaven without thinking and without turning aside. A new song is therefore a constant return to the sources of our faith, a daily reaffirmation of our faithfulness to God and His commandments.
The saints are granted the right to execute judgment upon sinners. It seems that the key concept here is judgment that is written down. Mention of judgment is too often associated with arbitrary power, but judgment that is written down is judgment consistent with God’s justice, not with our own notions and ideas of arbitrariness.