“Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” (Ps. 22:3, ESV).
Have you ever experienced this? You are having a really hard day. The circumstances of life seem to be crushing you with their emotional weight. Desperate for a lifting of your soul, you know you need to connect with God. Whether it be in a congregational setting, or alone in your quiet time, you begin to lift up a sacrifice of praise. Pushing through the heaviness, you begin to exalt Him.
Maybe it happens quickly, or maybe it takes a longer battle of pushing through… but you insist on lifting Him up. As you do so, the spiritual atmosphere around you begins to shift. Then comes the wonderful moment where you realize you have broken through into a place of peace and joy. The heaviness is gone. The Son-shine has driven the dark clouds away.
What just happened? You enthroned Him on your praises. As you intentionally lifted up your voice and spirit to exalt Him, your sacrifice of praise became a place for the King of Kings to sit, reigning and ruling, enforcing His supreme authority. The original Hebrew from today’s verse literally says, “[Oh] One who sits [on] the praises of Israel.” As you praise, His Kingdom comes. As it comes, it overwhelms everything that opposes it. The God of Peace crushes the enemy under your feet.
It’s amazing! Praise builds a throne for Him. We need to remember, though, that there is an important converse to this truth about praising God. What you and I magnify, we enthrone. Therefore, we don’t want to magnify the enemy’s work even a little bit with our words or thoughts. We don’t want to inadvertently create a space for him to sit and exert influence. This is why Holy Spirit firmly encourages us, “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8, ESV).
As we fill our hearts and minds with thoughts that glorify Jesus, we are making space for His Kingdom in our inner life. Where King Jesus rules, there is life and peace!
“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Ps. 34:1-3, ESV, emphasis mine).
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Is it important to praise God with your mouth and vocal cords, or is praising Him inside your heart enough?
Feeding On Jesus 
Yes, for He alone is worthy of ALL the praise, glory, honor and power (Rev 4:11).
Another good one Jennifer.
“What you and I magnify, we enthrone. Therefore, we don’t want to magnify the enemy’s work even a little bit with our words or thoughts. We don’t want to inadvertently create a space for him to sit and exert influence.”
So true. It has been said that you do not change what you magnify, you only charge your perception of what you magnify. It only gets bigger.
I believe the statement “God is alive” is an affront to the Mighty God of creation. It is not a question of whether God is alive or not. The question is “am I alive” enough to see that He is alive for evermore! Of course He is alive, He created all things and they are and were created FOR HIM!
Exactly, do not give the enemy space for occupation, to be ‘enthroned’. For they were ‘dethroned’ & are looking to be ‘re-enthroned’. Resist & he will move on. How do we resist? By building a throne of praise for the One who is Worthy!
Say on!
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Amen and AMEN!! What wonderfully insightful thoughts, David! I really like how you explained the concept of magnifying, and then brought it the vitally important truth about resisting the enemy by enthroning our King of Kings on our praises! Thank you so very much for sharing what He is showing you. I am truly grateful!
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“we don’t want to magnify the enemy’s work…” NO, we do NOT!
I pray daily for the Lord to rid my mind of the unholy/depraved, the untrue/deceitful, the unimportant/distracting, and the unnecessarily negative/depressing. 😉
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Amen, Annie. Just today, I came across a post from one of my relatives, reporting a particularly negative piece of news, and my spiritual “gag button” was pressed. I needed to then press into the Lord’s presence and ask Him to wash away the disagreeable residue. How faithful He is to do so when we connect into His presence!
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A-MEN and A-MEN. Praise and thanksgiving in all circumstances. In the midst of the STORM of personal experiences of life, HE IS ever worthy of our praise and thanksgiving simply because of WHO he is and because HE has saved our souls for eternity. Wow! Let’s lift our eyes upwards and PRAISE HIM! Thank HIM and then in the THRONE room of HIS GRACE WORSHIP HIM! Blessings!
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I feel the overflowing exuberance of your heart in praise, adoration, and thanksgiving to the Father, and I also feel His delight in receiving all of this as a fragrant offering! You have a beautiful heart, my sister 💖
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Amen! You and I are on the same page with Praise.
Please check out my long post Rise & Shine
https://promotionhotspot.wordpress.com/2021/01/06/rise-shine/
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Will, that is SO cool! I am so glad you shared this!
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I think praise within our hearts is important, and when we are able using audible words. As someone who finds it difficult to use verbal communication at times, I understand the importance of holding the Lord and all He wants for me in my heart. Because at times that’s all I can do.
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What a beautiful truth He has taught you there, Hamish. It’s so true that sometimes words just fall so short of expressing the depths of our hearts!
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