Praise the Lord Who is Victorious

“And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, ‘Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever.’ And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Sier, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.” (2 Chronicles 20:21-22) 

The Lord our God is worthy to be praised. He holds the victory, but his victory often comes in unconventional ways. From Gideon’s victory with 300 men holding trumpets and torches against the entire armies of the Midianites, Amalekites, and people of the East (Jdg. 7) to his victory at Calvary in dying on a cross (Matt. 27, Mk. 15, Lk. 23, Jn. 19), God’s victory comes in ways that we really can’t predict!  

Two particularly interesting victories are seen in the passage above and in Acts 16:25-40. In both cases, God works out a great victory through the praises of his people. 

In 2 Chronicles, King Jehoshaphat was faced with impending war and the odds were not in his favour. He prayed to God saying, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (20:12). Then he instructed his people to praise the Lord, not to strategize, not to form more weapons or enlist extra help, not even to come up with an intimidating chant, but to make the praise of God their battle cry. And God set up an ambush against their enemies and delivered them.  

Then, in Acts, Paul and Silas were imprisoned for preaching about Jesus. While in prison, they sang hymns and songs of praise to God and God brought down the prison walls with an earthquake and brought about their deliverance.  

God is worthy of all our praise and when we praise him and give him glory, he shows himself to be victorious. In all circumstances, let us turn first to praising the Lord. Let us not forget that he holds the victory. Let us praise him and trust that he will act for our good and for his glory!