“Because Your lovingkindness is
better than life, my lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your
name, my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall
praise You with joyful lips.”—Psalm 63: 3-5
Jericho was completely shut off from
the children of Israel. No one could go
in or out of the city. Rahab, the
harlot, and her family were shut-up within this city. The army of Israel was on the outside of the
walls. The same people whom Rahab had
helped were now encamped against her city.
Today you may be facing a similar
situation as Rahab, and feel completely shut off from any help or solution to a
problem. Perhaps you have rescued some
of God’s children, and you yourself, now need to be rescued. I want to encourage you today that just as
God had a plan for rescuing Rahab and her family; He has a plan to rescue you.
He is saying to you today: in the day of trouble I will come to you I
will rescue you. I will never leave
you. I will never forsake you.
The very plan that God gave to
Joshua to take the city of Jericho was the plan that rescued Rahab. Because God honors His Word above His Name,
He will honor His Word that He has given to you. The plan that God gave to Joshua and the army
of Israel was to march around the city once a day for six days not saying a
word. Seven priests were to carry seven
rams’ horns before the ark; however the seventh day the army was to march around
the city seven times and then the priest were to blow the ram’s horn. When the people of Israel heard the sound of
the trumpet they were to shout with a great shout. The army of Israel and the priest obeyed the
plan of the Lord. On the seventh day
they went around the city seven times, and when the people heard the blast of
the ram’s horn a loud shout went up and the walls of the city fell down. Rahab and her family were the only people in
the city whose lives were spared that day because they put their faith in a
delivering God (Joshua 6).
The word “shout” as used in this
scripture means to shout for joy, according
to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Praise according to Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary means, “The
act of glorifying or extolling God.” Praise
means speaking well of, extolling, or magnifying the virtues of someone. Praise comes from a close relationship with
God. Praise must always be vocal. It is not silent. Thanksgiving occurs when we whisper a prayer
of thanks to God. But, praise occurs
when we tell someone else about God’s goodness.
One of the words used for praise in
the book of the Psalms is shabach. In Psalm 63:3-4 David says, “Because thy loving kindness is better than
life, my lips shall praise thee [shabach].
Thus will I bless thee while I live.” David was saying that he would give a loud
shout for joy unto the Lord. There is a
time when it is appropriate to give a loud shout of praise unto the Lord. This is the kind of praise that STOPS the Devil and advances the plans of God.
Put your faith in God’s rescuing plan; begin to shout the
praises of God, and see the Devil’s plan stopped and God’s plan advance.
Prayer—Father
I thank you that you have given me a weapon of praise to use to stop the Devil
and advance your plan of rescue for me, in Jesus Name. Amen.
