A Garment of Praise

"Do not be afraid...Remember the Lord, Who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes...Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there.  Our God will fight for us!"

(Neh. 4:14,20)



True story:  It was Easter morning 1799 and the people of Feldkirch Austria were terrified.  Indeed they believed this Easter would most likely be the worst day of their lives.  Outside the city gates stood Napoleon's army and they wanted in.  The citizens were ready to raise the white flag and surrender their town, homes and families to the enemy.  But the Bishop of the town had another agenda.  In a voice trembling with emotion he said to the people:  "This is Easter Day!  This is the Day of our King's mighty ressurrection.  We must have one moment of triumph.  Let us at least ring all the bells of Easter."  Fearfully the people agreed and soon the sound of church bells pealing out a celebration of victory filled the air.  Napoleon's army was astounded.  What could it mean?  It didn't take long for the general to conclude that there was only one possible explanation for the celebration...the Austrian army must have arrived during the dark of night to help defend the town.  The bells of Easter's triumph had not yet stopped ringing when Napoleon's army broke ranks and fled.

The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians:  "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."  (2Cor.10)

Paul says we have weapons (plural) to fight.  As God's people we have the Word as a weapon and we have prayer.  But I believe another of the weapons we fight our spiritual battles with is praise.  I don't know if you've ever thought of praise as a weapon but consider this event from 2Chronicles20.  Jehoshaphat, one of Judah's kings who loved God, was told that a vast army from several kingdoms was coming to make war against God's people.  He sought God's help through fasting and petition and in a great statement of humility cries out:  "We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.  We do not know what to do but our eyes are on you."  God speaks through one of His priests and tells King Jehoshaphat to fear not because the battle is not his, but the Lord's.  All the people fell down in worship before the Lord at these awesome words, and then stood up and praised the God of Israel with very loud voices.  Listen to this description of the ensuing battle:  "...Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army.  As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the enemy and they were defeated."

This is just one battle in the Old Testament where praise went first and the Lord fought the battle.  You can read about Gideon's battle with the Midianites in Judges 7.  The Midianites were 135,000 strong and Gideon had only 300 faithful men; 450 to 1 odds!  Yet when Gideon had his 300 men blow 300 trumpets the Lord caused the enemy to turn on each other with their swords.  In bible times the trumpet was used to warn of approaching danger and to signal a time of meeting but Psalm 47 also tells us it is used as a celebration of God as King over all the earth; a source of praise to the Sovereign King.

In the Book of Acts Paul and Silas were thrown into prison.  We read:  "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God...there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken...all the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose."

Psalm 149 says this about God's people:  "Let the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands."  This is our battle stance, praise on our lips and the double-edged sword of God's Word in our hands.  Yet so often when we are in the midst of a seemingly overwhelming problem we are paralyzed by fear, worry and discouragement.  When we are faced with the most difficult circumstances we can let doubt and worry consume us; our focus becomes so limited that we can only see the problem and our view of God grows dim.  Yet if we can't see Him how can we praise Him?  Think of it - it's like we've thrown down one of our weapons in a time of war.  Can you imagine a soldier in the middle of battle throwing down his rifle?

Nehemiah called the people to remember God and be ready with the sword in one hand and the trumpet in the other.  Jehoshaphat, Gideon, Paul, Silas, all chose to focus on God and Who He is rather than their own dire circumstances.  God fought for them all - and if He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (and He is), He is not only able but willing to do the same for us.

Isaiah 61 speaks of God's people wearing a garment of praise rather than a spirit of despair.  So let me ask you:  Do you need to trade your spirit of despair for a garment of praise?  Can I speak to you as the priest spoke to Jehoshaphat and tell you:  the battle is not yours, but the Lords!  Can I be like Nehemiah and encourage you by saying:  don't be afraid, remember the Lord Who is great and awesome!  Put on your garment of praise.  Look to the Lord; remember His goodness in times past.  Praise Him for Who He is.  In your battles you have weapons; one of them is praise.  Oh, wear it like a garment!  Put it on each and every morning, no matter the circumstances! 

If you need a 'visual' of the mighty Lord Who fights for His people, turn to Revelation 19:11-16 to see our King of Kings and Lord of Lords on His mighty white horse, and the armies of heaven following behind!  And then return to the verses just before that awesome sight; the praises of His people precede this great event!

Oh, and one last thing lest you still need convincing that praise is one of our weapons in fighting the enemy.  When God formed His Nation Israel into 12 tribes in the desert, He was very specific in how they were to rise up to move in and conquer the Promised Land.  The tribe of Judah was always to go 1st.  Do you know what Judah means in Hebrew?  Praise!