Scriptures of Encouragement ~ Salty Praise

"Bless the Lord O my soul, O-o-o my soul.
Worship His holy Name.
Sing like never before, O my soul.
Worship His holy Name..."

I belted out the praise from some hidden reservoir deep within. Surely the circumstances of the day did not call for a natural response of praise. Nope. Not today.

But I couldn't deny that praise was welling up within me.

Blue and I walked on. We paused beneath the pine grove and cooled off in the shade for a moment.

And the praise kept coming...

"The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again.
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me 
     (Bop, bop, bop, bop, bop - that's the drums **wink**)
Let me be singing when the evening comes."

Isaiah 61 begins, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me...to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified" (verse 3).

The garment of praise.

When Blue and I got back home, I looked up this scripture and searched for information about the term "garment of praise". I learned that the Hebrew root word for "garment" is 'atah which means "to wrap" or "cover" ourselves. It is more than simply throwing an article of clothing casually around our shoulders. 'Atah suggests that the garment of praise is a complete and thorough covering which will leave no openings for the enemy to penetrate. The garment of praise is created by God to repel and replace the heavy spirit.

But it must be put on. A warm coat from our closet can only resist the cold wind when it is put on. Likewise, the garment of praise must be put on to repel and replace the heavy, burdened, and failing spirit.

As I sought the Lord for insight, I pictured Him being drawn to my pain like a magnet to steel. I imagined Him looking into my eyes with longing, wanting to relieve my burdens, desiring to pour His strength into my broken places. He stood, holding a garment perfectly tailor-made for me, His child. The garment exuded a brilliant illumination of joy. There was a warmth about it - something supernaturally holy. The Lord offered it to me.

I heard His gentle whisper, "Will you accept My gift of praise? It's a gift, you know. It's the very thing that doubt and fear cannot survive around. But you, My child, must be the one to put it on."

Tears trickled down my face, wetting my cheeks with salty praise for a God who sees and knows all about it. El Roi is His Name.

I closed my bible. Blue curled up next to my feet and I began to sing some more...

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, O-o-o my soul,
Worship His holy Name.
Sing like never before, O my soul,
Worship His holy Name...
I will worship His holy Name."


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If you received Morning Glory via email, please visit the Morning Glory  page so you can put your praise on today as Matt Redman sings, "10,000 Reasons".