encode/decode

I am trying to use encode/decode to store passwords in a database and then retrieve it to email to a user who has forgotten their password. I am using the following code to encode the password: INSERT INTO users (name, password) VALUES ('$_POST[username]', 'ENCODE($_POST[password], encrypt)') This does enter a binary entry into the database, presumably the encoded data. I then tried to retrieve the password using the following: SELECT username, DECODE(password, 'encrypt') as password from users but all I got was gobbledygook characters. What am I doing wrong? Thanks, -Lisi