Psalm 9:3  
Praise Him!
              Praise and thanksgiving work on a spiritual level; not only are we lifted from the pit of despair, but our spiritual enemies flee before us. Just as evil spirits reacted when Jesus entered a synagogue or preached to a crowd or visited the caves of the possessed on the far side of Galilee, so they react to the adoration of a man or woman of faith who loudly exclaims the virtues of Almighty God. They stagger back in disarray and perish before the onslaught of truth and exaltation that puts the Lord on the throne in any situation, time or place. Praise and thanksgiving are hugely powerful weapons and underestimated. Just as mystical, religious exorcists shout out in the name of Jesus, so our praise and worship clear the ground like flamethrowers so that our enemies stumble and perish. A praising, thanks-based church or community will be powerful against its enemies. 

V4   What is at the heart of our exclamations of praise? God is on our side! Almighty God is in our corner and backs us all the way! God is before us, behind us and around us, who can withstand us? Our cause is His cause, He has justified us and will stand with us, who can stand against us?  All the powers of evil and of hell may array themselves in our path but none can withstand the power that protects us! God sits enthroned as the only righteous Judge and He will validate and vindicate His people. He will never fail us and He has the full weight of the righteous law behind Him. No one can withstand Him, we know that in Him and with Him we are greater than any who come against us! The difference between those who are defeated and those who are victorious is simply faith in the power of the Lord. That faith is expressed in praise and thanksgiving, and praise and thanksgiving, and more praise and thanksgiving that honours and exalts the name of our God. 

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