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We are looking at singing into battle. When you’re faced with opponents and difficult situations in front of you, you can go into warfare with singing. Our story is from 2 Chronicles 20:21. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord and who should praise the beauty of holiness as they went before the army and were saying, «Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.»
This story is about King Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, going into battle. In this battle, he’s faced with three armies: the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Seir. They have come against Judah, and these armies were far more numerous than the armies of Judah. King Jehoshaphat, perplexed by the situation he was faced with, calls the nation to prayer. They engage in prayer and begin to seek the face of the Lord. After they had prayed, the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the Levites, and he gave a prophecy to the nation of Judah, telling them, «The Lord says, 'This is My battle. I’m going to fight it; I’m going to take care of business for you.'» The people were encouraged by that prophetic word because although the armies were far more numerous than theirs, they knew that if God was going to get involved, then they were going to win.
In response to this assurance from the Lord, King Jehoshaphat took the initiative. When the army was ready, he went to the Levites, looked for the singers among them, appointed them, and told them to go out in front of the army and sing. That’s quite an interesting battle strategy, with singers in front of the army. If you listen to the words of the song, the words are very familiar to us; we sing those words in hymns and choruses: «Praise the Lord; His mercies endure forever.» Sometimes we sing it because He’s good, and His mercies endure forever. That’s what they were doing.
If you take note of what they were doing in this singing, they were not singing about how tough the battle was or how difficult the enemy was, nor were they singing about their weaknesses. They were singing about the beauty of God’s holiness. They were focusing on God, not on their battle. You know, many times when we are faced with challenges, we sing songs that amplify our problems. But here, their song says, «The Lord, His mercies endure forever.» The passage states they were praising the beauty of God’s holiness. The kinds of songs we sing when we are faced with difficulties will determine the outcome of our battles.
Of course, they had prayed, but when the time for battle comes, it is through praise, worship, and thanking the Lord. It is lifting up holy hands unto the Lord and praising Him in the beauty of holiness. There’s a lot we can learn from King Jehoshaphat in our own lives, in our battles, and in our difficulties. You know, sometimes we pray so intensely that our prayer moves from faith to anxiety and to worry because the intensity is no longer an expression of faith but an expression of anxiety. But that’s not what they did here. They prayed, they heard the word of the Lord, and they praised the Lord.
So today we’re going to learn from him, and as you go out today into the day and throughout the rest of your life, remember God is with you in this battle. Just go ahead, worship Him, praise Him, and sing the beauty of holiness. Exalt His holy name, magnify Him. In the midst of all your challenges, let the name of the Lord be magnified, and see what He will do for you in that situation.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, I sing in praise of the beauty of Your holiness. You are good, and Your mercies endure forever. In Jesus’ name, Amen and Amen.»