If we give God thanks and sing His praises – He can defeat our enemies.

by David Leach
(Temecula,Ca USA)

If we give God thanks and sing His praises – He can defeat our enemies

If we complain (always indirectly against God) – our enemies savage us.

An unbeliever doesn’t know what he has to give God thanks for. But a born again Christian has everything to give God thanks for, and should– his safety may depend on it.

1 Thes 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. KJV

Psalms, the biggest book in the Bible, are all poems that give God praise that were set to music in order to be sung. Here’s the last of the 150 psalms, devoted entirely to praise.

Ps 150:1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary praise Him in His mighty heavens!
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe!
5 Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! ESV

Do you and I have breath? Do we have nothing to praise God about? Are we born again?

Who absolutely does not want us to sing praises to God? Why then do we do his will?

God used the praises of His people to ambush and rout all their enemies - will He for us?

2 Chron 20:21 And when he (Jehoshaphat) had…appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever."

22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against…(their enemies)…and they were defeated.

If the spiritually young will only praise God He can then shut the mouths of their enemies:

Matt 21:16 (Jesus)…Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants (Christians not yet weaned form the milk of God’s word) You have perfected praise.

Ps 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants (un-weaned Christians) You have ordained strength (Praise), Because of Your enemies, That You may silence (and cause to fail) the enemy and the avenger.

This is truly an amazing thing, our all wise Father and God has even ordained a way that allows Him to defeat the enemies of the spiritually young Christian (who may be 20 or 70 years old). These seem to be so vulnerable to attack by the Devil because they know so little of the truth.

What is that way? When they give God praise out of their mouths – the opposite of grumbling and complaining – this praise, which God calls strength since it reflects faith in Him, God uses to silence and shut the mouths of their spiritual enemies.

If we choose not to participate in public praise and worship of God, can God now ambush and silence our enemies? Why would we ever do that, other than for reasons of pride?

Grumbling & complaining, and it’s always against God, unleashes our enemies to attack us:

1 Cor 10:10-11 Nor complain, as some of them also complained (against Moses, but really God), and were destroyed by the destroyer (15,000 died of the plague – and it would’ve been hugely more but for the prayer of Moses – who they complained against).

11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition..(It’s in the New Testament as a warning to us of the danger of complaining)

For a Christian, who belongs to God, to complain about anything constitutes a complaint against His God. Since there can never be a valid complaint against God, who does all things well, this amounts to blasphemy (evil speaking) against God. It results in our immediate exit from God’s Kingdom, including His protection, and entry into the kingdom of darkness.

This is the domain of spiritual snakes which lie in wait to poison that Christian with their thoughts. And they speak their thoughts as fiery darts since, in the absence of the Christian’s praise, their mouths could not be kept silent and shut by God.

Eccl 10:8 ..Whoever breaks through a hedge (of protection) will be bitten by a snake.

With God’s protection now gone because of their complaining, they are now vulnerable to the venomous thought bites of the adversary. These wicked thoughts, against which the Christian now has no spiritual armor, are designed to poison the heart of the believer towards God with doubts, lies and misrepresentations. And, to paralyze their wills from obeying God, thereby taking them captive. This is the high price of being a complainer.

Isa 14:9 The denizens of hell crowd to meet you as you enter their domain… TLB

Gen 4:7 …Sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.

2 Tim 2:26 …The snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. KJV

If we get bitten and become captives – there is a cure – to look steadfastly at the Cross:

Num 21:9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when NIV anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

John 3:14 (Jesus) And as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up (on the Cross),

Don’t we have so much to praise God for – and, so much to avoid by not complaining?

Ps 34:1 I will bless (kneel, thank, praise and adore) the LORD at all times; His praise (including Psalms and Hymns) shall continually be in my mouth.