OUR DAILY BREAD : THE POWER OF PRAISE

[cimi]

April 5
Monday


THE POWER
OF PRAISE

READ:
Isaiah 61:1-3
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The LORD has anointed
Me...to give them
beauty for ashes, the
oil of joy for mourning.
__Isaiah 61:1,3
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Praise is powerful! When Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne was troubled with a coldness of heart toward the things of the Lord, he would sing the praises of God until he felt revived in his spirit. Those in his household were often able to tell what hour he awoke because he began the day with a psalm of praise.

One day, while he was trying to prepare his heart for preaching, he wrote in his journal: "Is it the desire of my heart to be made altogether holy? ...Lord, You know all things.... I've felt so much deadness and grief that I cannot grieve for this deadness. Toward evening I revived. Got a calm spirit through [singing psalms] and prayer." McCheyne had been uplifted by praising God.

Perhaps you feel as if you are mired in what John Bunyan called the "slough of despond." Lift a song of praise to the Lord. The psalmist said, "I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever" (89:1). When we do that, the praise will flow not only from our lips but also from our heart. The Lord delights to give "the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isa. 61:3).

Yes, "it is good to sing praises to our God"--at all times (Ps. 147:1). __Paul Van Gorder
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`````````````````Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,``````````````
````````````````````To His feet your tribute bring;````````````````
`````````````````Ransomed, healed restored, forgiven,`````````````
`````````````````Evermore His praises sing. __Lyte```````````````
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If you find yourself wearing a spirit of heaviness,
try on a garment of praise.

*************Today's Bible Reading __ Isaiah 61:1-3**************

1 The Spirit of the Lord
GOD is upon Me, because
the LORD has anointed Me
to preach good tidings to
the poor; He has sent Me to
heal the brokenhearted, to
proclaim liberty to the
captives, and the opening of
the prison to those who are
bound; 2 to proclaim the
acceptable year of the
LORD, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to
comfort all who mourn, 3 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.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Today's Bible reading is a prophetic text that points to the arrival
of Messiah. As a result, it is not surprising that, in the synagogue
of Nazareth, Jesus selected a portion of this passage (vv.1-2a) to
announce His arrival and mission. Luke 4:18-19 records for us
this significant announcement rooted in Isaiah's ancient words. In
the verbs used by Isaiah, we see the core of Christ's work (preach,
heal, proclaim), and in the nouns we find word-pictures of the
needy souls for whom He had come (poor, brokenhearted, captives,
bound). __BILL CROWDER