Garment of Praise

“Come, now is time to worship. Come, now is the time to give your heart,” sang the radio alarm clock. Is it 5:00 already? The dogs are poised to begin their day, but I’m not, Sarah thought. Then she remembered: she has a standing date with a wonderful gentleman. He’s downstairs waiting patiently by the fireplace in our usual place. “I don’t want to disappoint him,” she says. “I want him to know he’s first in my heart, but I believe he’ll understand if I begin my day by taking care of the dogs and feeding them.” Food, she thought, I’m so hungry. She hurriedly threw on her robe, stepped into her slippers, jogged downstairs, and turned on the coffee pot. With the dogs satisfied, she poured herself a cup of coffee and settled down into her chair. Grabbing her favorite book that is full of spiritual food, she opened it to Psalms and put on her garment of praise, joyful and ready to be satisfied.....

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.

Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger. Psalm 8:1-2 (NIV)

But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.

Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds—
his name is the LORD—
and rejoice before him. Psalm 68:3-4 (NIV)

Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen. Psalm 72:18-19 (NIV)

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths of the grave. Psalm 86:12-13 (NIV)

O LORD, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

you have done marvelous things,

things planned long ago.

In that day they will say,“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:1,9 (NIV)

Sarah is full of praise for her Savior and she can hear him speaking promises to her. She believes he will be faithful to his word. Put on your garment of praise and receive the Lord’s favor.

`The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor

and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD

for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:1-3

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9