Mantle of Praise

Garment of Praise

“61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has chosen 1 me. 2
He has commissioned 3 me to encourage 4 the poor,
to help 5 the brokenhearted,…
61:2 …
to console all who mourn,
61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes,
oil of joy, 7 instead of mourning,
a garment of praise, 8 instead of a spirit of despair. 9
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 10
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor.” Isaiah

“Garment of praise”….that made think of some sort of bejeweled shawl that women wear or even the metallic ones I’ve seen some charismatic churches wear in their praise and worship services. The phrase seemed to suggest a Holy t-shirt worn to bedazzle and entertain on-lookers. It seemed so shallow and nothing like what I could possibly need from my Lord in the most painful time of my life. It seemed so thin, weak and superficial - not the supernatural support I needed as I looked at a casket containing the body of my son.

What is “garment of praise” suppose to mean anyways?

Garment – from the Hebrew “Ma ‘ateh”: meaning a wrap or mantle; From the Hebrew “ata” meaning to enwrap or envelope.

Ok, so what does garment or mantle mean?

Mantle – “garment worn over other clothes, something that enfolds or envelopes, the casing of a blast furnace or any insulated support in which something is heated (i.e. a fireplace mantle or the earth’s inner crust).”

At eleven O’clock at night, two hours after the wake for my son was suppose to end, the remaining friends and family gathered around to pray. At that time, someone started singing praises to God and one by one others joined in. I was amazed to realize that one of those voices came from my body and, as shocked as I was, I did not want to stop. My soul (I say that because it was most definitely not by body or mind involved!) was singing - not because I felt like singing or even had the muscle control to support such an endeavor, but because it was the praise itself that enveloped me with support and was the salve I needed for the pain I was feeling. My life was being superheated in the most intense pain and torment I had ever experienced and praise was the mantle that was insulating me from complete destruction. I wasn’t singing because I felt joyous or full of praise, but because the Holy Spirit knew I needed a covering - a supernatural protection.

I now realize that, for me, Isaiah 61:3 must be translated “mantle of praise”. After experiencing the deepest grief I’ve ever known I decided that garment is too light-hearted of a word for me. Mantle more accurately describes the true purpose of praise. Actually, if I could, I’d rewrite it to say, “…to bestow on them…a blast shield of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” That’s a more accurate description of what I experienced!

It is praise that needs to be worn over everything else. It is praise that enfolds and envelopes the shattered, torn pieces of life in order to hold them together while the Creator mends the broken places. It is praise that insulates against the most intense heat so we can endure the pounding, molding and polishing the Blacksmith is doing to form us into a more perfect creation. Praise needs to come out of us and cover over us most especially during those times that we don’t feel happy or thankful so that we can be shielded from the flaming arrows of life.

I read a story that firefighters were walking through a completely burned-out forest in California one year and came upon the charred remains of an eagle. The eagle was an eerie sight as it stood proud against the trunk of a tree where it boldly faced its death. One of the firefighters tapped the carcass with a stick only to have it crumble to the ground and three perfectly safe chicks scamper out from underneath her. That mother eagle was the perfect mantle for her chicks. (Interestingly enough, the upper back of a bird is also called the mantle.)

Psa 36:7
How precious 1 is your loyal love, O God! The human race finds shelter under your wings.
Psa 91:4
He will shelter you 1 with his wings; 2 you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.

How our God longs to protect us under His wing and shield us from the fires and floods of life! And He has made a way for us to live under the shadow of His wing through praise. We can’t wait to feel joyful, cheerful or even thankful – praise has to come first. It’s my armor against the blast of the most painful times of life. It’s what I must wear especially when I don’t feel like it.

And so I remind myself,
Put on the “mantle (blast shield) of praise to replace the spirit of despair”