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THE POWER OF PRAISE Based on Psalm 149:1-9By Pastor Glenn PeaseSometimes we take the wisest man in history too seriously. Solomon said there isnothing new under the sun, and those who take this as the last word can becomepessimistic. What is the point of being an explorer if there are no new continents tobe discovered. The poles have both been reached, and all the highest mountainshave been climbed. There is nothing new to do, and so we are born to late. Such isthe thinking of one who takes Solomon too seriously.The fact is, the Bible is filled with new things, and one of the most commonreferences is to the new songs we can sing to praise God. Not only does our text say,"Sing unto the Lord a new song," but this theme is repeated over and over so that itbecomes a major duty of believers to be ever involved with the new.Psa. 33:3-Sing unto Him a new song.40:3-He hath put a new song in my mouth.96:1-O sing unto the Lord a new song.98:1-O sing unto the Lord a new song.144:9-I will sing a new song unto Thee O God.Isa. 42:10- Sing unto the Lord a new song.Solomon did not realize that the best was yet to be under the new covenant wherewe would praise our Redeemer forever with new songs. In Rev. 5:9 and 14:3, wehear new songs being sung in heaven in praise of Jesus. The fact is, there have beenmore songs sung in praise of Jesus than any other person in history, and for alleternity song writers will be busy coming up with new ones, for our praise of Himwill never cease.The message of the Bible is clear: Do not let your praise grow stale by singing thesame songs over and over until they lose their freshness, and no longer move you totrue adoration. I have sung hymns with my mind elsewhere because they were sofamiliar that I did not have to think. They were mere memorized rituals that Icould go through with no real praise to God because my mind was not on God. Anew song forces you to pay attention to what you are singing, and this engages yourmind. You can't be day dreaming when singing a new song, and, therefore, you aremore likely to truly praise.The implication of the persistent call to sing new songs is that by nature we getinto ruts, and even as God's people we grow stale in our worship. We need constantrenewal, or we sink into dead orthodoxy where we have all the truth, but it makesno difference in our lives because it has lost its power to motivate us. If we let thishappen, it is our own fault, because we are urged to never cease singing new songsto the Lord, and thus, keeping our love for Him fresh and alive.
 
What we do not realize is that praise is one of the key weapons for spiritualwarfare. You will notice that this Psalm links praise and the sword. This soundsstrange and shocking to us. Worship and warfare seem worlds apart in our minds,and it makes a discord in our minds to put them together as does verse 6: "May thepraise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands." Thereason it does not fit our sense of harmony is because the subject has been neglected.Warren Wiersbe, one of the contemporary leaders in the study of worship, wrote inMoody Monthly, "I have read books and sermons on the subject of worship, and Ihave yet to find a major work that says anything about worship as spiritualwarfare."We sing Onward Christian Soldiers, and Fight The Good Fight, but we do nottake the issue of spiritual warfare very seriously. The result is we let our weaponsbe neglected, and they get rusty and ineffective for the battle. Israel did the samething on the physical level. When she ceased to praise God she fell before the armiesof her enemies. When she praised God she was victorious. One of the greatexamples is in II Chron. 20. A vast army of Moabites and Ammonites came againstIsrael. When king Jehoshaphat was told of it he went to prayer, and in verse 12 weread, "O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vastarmy that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."God promised to be with them and so in verse 19 we read that the Levites,"Stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud voice." As theymarched to war, verse 21 says that Jehoshaphat, "Appointed men to sing to theLord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the headof the army, saying: Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever." Asthey marched into battle singing, the Lord gave them the victory over this farsuperior enemy. It was such a total victory they called the place the Valley Of Beracah, which means the valley of praise. They went there to praise God, thenwent back to the temple in Jerusalem to praise Him more with harp and lutes andtrumpets. From then on Jehoshaphat had peace on all sides.What was the secret weapon that gave them victory over a superior foe? It waspraise. This made them superior, for praise is a weapon far more powerful than theweapons of warfare made by men. Praise puts God on your side, because you are onGod's side. I suspect that you could study the wars of history and discover that theside which most often won was the side with the greater number of praisers of God.When Israel lost a battle it was because they had ceased to praise God.Since physical warfare is not a regular part of our lives as it was with God's OldTestament people, we need to apply this to the warfare of the spirit. We wrestle notagainst flesh and blood but against spiritual powers and forces of darkness. In thewhole armor of God, that Paul urges us to put on, only one is for an aggressiveattack on evil, and that is the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. It is bythe Word that we take the offensive, and a large part of that sword is praise. Bypraise we can fight our way out of battles with evil, and by praise we can push back
 
the forces of evil, and overcome the territory they hold.Why should we bother to teach children Christian songs at a early age? It isbecause the Bible tells us it is a child's first weapon against evil. Psa. 8:2 says,"From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of yourenemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." A little child singing puts a muzzle onthe skeptic and the critic, and forces them into silence.Satan trembles when he hearsThe songs of children strike his ears.The power of music kept the demons out of king Saul, who was otherwise undertheir control.Psa. 52 is all about the two kinds of praises: Those who praise themselves andboast of their evil. They end in everlasting ruin. The others are the praises of God.They will go on flourishing in the house of God praising Him forever. Praise is theweapon that overcomes all the forces that pull us away from God; especially pride.The praises of God conquer pride and avoid the fall it leads too. Praise is ourweapon of victory. Let it get rusty and you are bound to be wounded by one of themany foes of the Christian life.By praise we bind the enemy. In verse 8 of our text it speaks of binding theirkings and nobles. By our praise we bind the powers of Satan. We are no match forthe unseen forces of Satan. He has so many advantages over us, but we have aweapon that negates all his advantages, and that is the weapon of praise. Wiersbesays we have neglected our greatest weapon for overthrowing empires and changingthe world, and the sad part is, we are content to do so. Praise is like any otherweapon. You have got to train, practice, and learn how to use it. But since we havenot been trained, we don't want to bother. If someone came around offering toteach anyone how to use a bazooka, most of us would past, for we don't see anyrelevance to knowing how to shoot it. So it is with praise. It is a powerful weaponof spiritual warfare, but we do not see its relevance, and so we don't bother with thediscipline of training. The result is we go marching into life's battle without oursword, and it is no wonder that we seldom take over territory under the control of evil forces.Neh. 8:10 says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." This means the lack of  joy is your weakness. When you are not in a spirit of joyful praise, you arevulnerable to enemy attack. Why do Christians get down and depressed, and evenhave total breakdowns? I do not want to be simplistic as if there are not dozens of different factors, but the bottom line is, they are unarmed. They are fighting enemyforces without the weapon of worshipful praise. Study any period of great revival inthe history of the church and you will find a revival of praise, and an outburst of new songs. William Taylor wrote, "He who has a new song in his mouth is everstronger, both to suffer and to labor, than the man who has a dumb spirit and ahymnless heart."
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