The singers in front of the army

"And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten." 2 Chronicles 20:21-22

Jehoshaphat is in a hopeless position. Three armies are marching on Judah, and his prayer a few verses earlier is rare in its honesty: we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.

And the decision he then makes is militarily absurd: he puts the singers in front of the army. Not behind, to keep morale up. In front, where the first blow lands, unarmed, in liturgical dress.

Consider what that assumes. These men have no way to defend themselves. If Jehoshaphat has read the situation wrongly, they die first and the country falls. Praise here is not an accompaniment to victory — it is the risk taken beforehand.

And the next verse gives the exact moment: "when they began to sing and to praise." Not when they finished. Not when they reached a certain fervency. At the beginning. Which means nothing in the quality of the singing triggered the intervention — only the fact that it started.

The content of the song matters too, and it is very short: Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. Not a request. No mention of the enemy. A statement about the character of God, and nothing else. It is the most repeated line in the whole Old Testament, and here it serves as a battle cry.

Today. If you are waiting to be delivered before you praise, you have reversed the order of the text. Choose one short sentence about who God is — not about what you want — and begin. The beginning is what counts.

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