Psalm 22:3 (NKJV): But
You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.
The word 'praises' here in
Hebrew is 'tehillah', which means 'laudation (or giving high praise) to God',
from the word 'haw-lal' meaning ‘to clear the way, to
shine (in the midst of darkness), to boast, to make a show, to celebrate (with
a loud voice)’.
There are other Hebrew words for ‘praise’, but we
shall concentrate on this word ‘haw-lal’ today.
Some might say, "Looking at my situation now, I have no reason to praise
God." But the truth is you have
all the more reason to praise God! From the Scriptures, you can see the likes of David
and Jehoshaphat praising the Lord even when they were in
'difficult' and 'troubled' times!
In good times, you praise, and of course in breakthrough times, you praise! But how about in troubled times? You praise also! In fact, keep praising till you see your breakthrough comes! Now that's exactly what David did! In Psalm 34:1-4, he wrote, 'I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise ('tehillah') shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears'.
In good times, you praise, and of course in breakthrough times, you praise! But how about in troubled times? You praise also! In fact, keep praising till you see your breakthrough comes! Now that's exactly what David did! In Psalm 34:1-4, he wrote, 'I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise ('tehillah') shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears'.
"You mean I should praise God for the problem I am facing now?" No, I'm not saying you are to praise God for the problem. But I'm saying you praise God in spite of the problem you are facing now.
Let's go back to Psalm
22 where we started. I want you to see something here. I want you to see how 'praises' makes all the difference!
In Psalm 22:1-5, David wrote,
'My God, My God, why have
You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my
groaning? Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and
in the night season, and am not silent.
But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of
Israel.
Our fathers trusted in
You; They trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were
delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.'
Before David mentioned 'praises' here, he wrote 'I cry in the daytime, but You do
not hear'. But after he had mentioned 'praises', he wrote 'They cried to You, and were delivered'! One was 'unanswered', and the other was 'answered'! And look now what separates between these two? Praises!
Last Sunday, I heard and released these words to the congregation:
"This is a key time to praise! Praise, My people, praise! Do not give up praising! Keep praising in spite of your problems! Keep praising even in the midst of your troubles! Keep praising, and you will begin to see your breakthroughs!"
As you praise ('tehillah'), know that the Lord is enthroned! To put it simply, He is now made king! And as the king (for He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords), He now takes over, takes the lead, and takes full responsibility over that particular situation (or circumstance) of yours! And that's exactly what happened when Jehoshaphat (and the
people of Judah) began to praise! 2 Chronicles 20:22-23 says, 'Now
when they began to sing and to praise ('tehillah'), the
Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had
come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab
stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy
them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to
destroy one another'.
Why are 'praises' so important in a time of trouble or uncertainty?
You can find the answer by studying the Hebrew letters for this same word ‘haw-lal’, i.e.
"Hey-Lamed-Lamed".
'Hey' (the fifth letter in Hebrew alephbet chart) symbolizes 'man with raised arms', which speaks of 'Jesus, and all that He has done for you on the cross', whereas
'Lamed' (the twelfth letter in Hebrew alephbet chart) symbolizes 'the shepherd's rod and staff', which speaks of 'the
Shepherd’s authority'.
The interpretation: When you 'praise', Jesus (your Shepherd) takes over
your situation with His rod and staff!
Interestingly, Psalm 22 (about ‘the praises of
the Lord’ in the midst of trouble and suffering) leads to Psalm 23 (about
the Shepherd taking over)!
Your 'praises' activates the Shepherd to take over!
In Psalm 23:1-4, David wrote,
'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack). He makes me
to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still
waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in
the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me'.
See 'He makes', 'He leads', 'He restores', and then 'He leads' here? All these are verbs, indicating 'actions' of the Shepherd!
By the way, here's the difference between a 'rod' and a 'staff':
A 'rod' is used by the shepherd to drive away the enemy. For example, the shepherd chases a wolf away with
a good, hard whack. On the other hand, a 'staff' is used by the shepherd to guide the sheep in the right paths, to direct (or lead) the
sheep from straying away, or to rescue the sheep when they fall into cracks
(or crevices).
So, people of God, PRAISE! Praise the Lord over and above that particular situation of yours now, be it a health problem or a financial challenge, or any other situation you may be facing right now. And you'll be sure that your Shepherd will come and take over with His rod and His staff - the 'rod' to chase away the works of the enemy, and the 'staff' to guide, direct (or lead) and rescue you!
When you praise, your 'dead-end' shall be turned into a 'new road'!
Just the other day, I saw a vision while praying for somebody. I saw the person in a car that had reached a 'dead-end', and the place was surrounded by
thick, dark jungle, with no further road in sight. Then I heard the Lord say, "Switch on the head lights!" The lights of the
car then beamed through the 'dead-end', miraculously clearing the 'dead-end' and opening up a 'new road'. A road not made by man, but by the works of the Lord! Now, that’s the power of ‘praise’! Remember ‘haw-lal’ means 'to clear
the way, to shine (in the midst of darkness)'?
So, go ahead, 'switch on your head lights!' Praise Him, and keep praising Him continually! And you too shall see your 'dead-end' be turned into a 'new road'. Hallelujah!
