ISAIAH 30
29. You shall have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept: and gladness of heart, as when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one marches in procession with a flute to come to the temple on the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30. And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard, and the descending blow of His arm to be seen, in indignant anger and with flame of a devouring fire, amid crashing blast and cloudburst, tempest and hailstones.
31. At the voice of the Lord the Assyrians will be stricken with dismay and terror, when He smites them with His rod.
32. And every passing stroke of the staff of punishment and doom which the Lord lays upon them shall be to the sound of Israel’s timbrels and lyres, when in battle He attacks Assyria with swinging and menacing arm.
The scene is the last days judgment. The sun and moon have just been darkened. The first part of the chapter is telling how He binds up the hurt of His people as they sing while He brings judgment on their enemy.
This is a special time for His people. He causes His voice to be heard and gives them a song in the night. They are having a blessed time in praise and worship while He defeats their enemy.
This is just what He says to King Jehoshaphat. He tells them to send out the singers before the battle. And He does not change. “Send Judah first and the battle will be won.” That is an old song we used to sing. And how true it is.
Any battle we face we are not to slack up on our praise and worship. That is always the time to sing louder. The enemy hates our praise and worship. If death and life are in the power of the tongue, what does our praise do in times of battle? It defeats the enemy!
He will give us a song in the night. That means when times are rough, and we want to run and hide. But He says pick up your weapons and march. Or pick up your tambourines and sing!
The songs He gives are powerfully anointed. They lift us out of this world into the heavenlies where the pain is gone. He lifts with a song! He turns our night into day and rolls our blues away (as Phil Driscoll says). Thank you, Jesus!