Praise Before the Battle: Psalm 48-Supplication through the Scriptures
Praise Before the Battle
Psalm 48
At the same time, let us remember that a nod alone on the part of God is sufficient to deliver us; and that, although our enemies may be ready to fall upon us on every side to overwhelm us, it is in his power, whenever he pleases, to strike them with amazement of spirit, and thus to make their hearts fail in a moment in the very midst of their efforts against us.
John Calvin
2 Chronicles 20 records the return of King Jehoshaphat and all of Judah to Jerusalem after a great battle. They come to their beloved Jerusalem “with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies” (2 Chronicles 20:27). It is an incredible story of God’s deliverance from an overwhelming foe.
The chapter starts as Jehoshaphat hears that a great multitude is coming against him (20:2). He is afraid, yet he seeks the Lord. In fact, he gathers the people of Judah to fast and seek help from the Lord. Jehoshaphat prays and reminds God that God is the ruler over all the kingdoms and might and power are in His hand so that no one can stand against Him. Jehoshaphat cries out to God in his distress and ends his prayer with these words, “For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee” (2 Chronicles 20:12).
Then a Levite, Jahaziel, encourages the people to trust in the Lord because the battle is the Lord’s, and they only need to stand and see the salvation of the Lord on their behalf. And they begin to praise the Lord before the battle even begins and before they even see a victory. And the next morning when they go out to battle, Jehoshaphat appointed men to lead them out in praise, “And when they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir” (20:22) and they destroyed each other. Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah never even had to fight. They arrived and they saw the corpses lying in the ground, no one had escaped, and it took the men of Judah 3 days to collect all the spoil. They trusted in the Lord and praised Him before they knew what He would do. He fought for them, and so they return to Jerusalem with great joy.
Psalm 48 may have been the song they sang on their way. They are returning to their great city, where God’s temple and His name dwell. The city which God Himself has defended. They went out of the city in praise, and they return the same way. So take heart. God sees your insurmountable trouble and as He fought for Judah, He fights for you and raises you exceedingly abundantly above all your insurmountable distresses. You can praise Him today before you see what He will do.
We, too, are returning to a city. And as magnificent as Mount Zion, Jerusalem, was to God’s people of old, we “are seeking a city which is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). And this heavenly city, this better country, this New Jerusalem, has been prepared by God for His people. In that city, He declares, “Behold I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
There is coming a day when that which has caused your pain will be no more, for in that city, “there will no longer be any curse” (Revelation 22:3). The pain, sorrow, sadness, and emptiness will be gone, for “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;” (22:4). The darkness you have tasted here in this broken world will vanish because “there will no longer be any night” for that city “has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (21:23).
And best of all, the dim mirror will be removed and we shall see His face. And on that side of eternity, these former things will have passed away, we will know then by sight what we believe by faith now, that this “momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Eyes up, dear christian. He is coming quickly. And the nearness of your pain will be replaced by the nearness of your Savior. Let’s come to Him with our distresses and praise Him as we go out today to fight the good fight in His power and might.
God’s Presence*
48:1-3 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress.
Let’s praise Him:
▫️For He is great and greatly to be praised. He has promised that He is now preparing a place for us, and He will come again and receive us unto Himself, that where He is, we may be also (John 14:3).
▫️He is our fortress on this pilgrimage toward our heavenly city.
Let’s pray:
▫️Our hearts would not be troubled by our distresses, but we would turn our attention to seek the Lord for His help (2 Chronicles 20:3-4).
▫️We would trust in His power to save because power and might are in His hand so that no one and nothing can stand against Him (2 Chronicles 20:6).
God’s Protection
48:4-8 For behold, the kings assembled; they came on together. As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic; they took to flight. Trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in labor. By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever. Selah
Let’s pray:
▫️As God fought for His people, and the enemy was astounded, panicked, trembling, and retreated, so God would fight for us in our current difficulty.
▫️In our powerlessness in our situation, we would keep our eyes looking to the Lord and waiting for His help (2 Chronicles 20:12). What are you feeling powerless to change in your hardship? What seems impossible to you today?
▫️We would seek God’s wisdom if we do not know what to do.
God’s Love
48:9-11 We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments!
Let’s pray:
▫️We would fix our thoughts on His faithful and steadfast love to us, knowing that He chose us before the foundation of the world to be His children.
▫️God’s name and His praise would be known in the midst of our trouble. He would get the glory.
▫️We would be glad and rejoice in everything because He is a God of righteousness. He always does what is right, so we would rejoice in His judgments.
God’s Guidance
48:12-14 Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.Let’s pray:
▫️We would consider the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, which awaits us and our hearts would be filled with anticipation and hope for the day when we go to that city.
▫️The anticipation of the joy of Heaven would make us stand in awe and wonder of our God. He is our God forever and ever. Victory will be His. He alone remains undefeated.
▫️The Lord will guide us through this difficulty and all of our lives and lead us to our heavenly home.
May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
*the first 3 heading ideas taken from VanGemeren’s Commentary on Psalms.
Photo credit to robertbye
Comments