It was with songs of praise that the armies of Israel went forth to the great deliverance under Jehoshaphat. To Jehoshaphat had come the tidings of threatened war. “There cometh a great multitude against thee,” was the message, “the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside.” “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” And Jehoshaphat, standing in the temple-court before his people, poured out his soul in prayer, pleading God’s promise, with confession of Israel’s helplessness. “We have no might against this great company that cometh against us,” he said; “neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon Thee.”[260] [Sidenote: “_The Battle Is Not Yours_”] Then upon Jahaziel a Levite “came the Spirit of the Lord; ... and he said, Harken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.... Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord.... Fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them; for the Lord will be with you.”[261] [Sidenote: _Victory_] “And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa.”[262] Before the army went singers, lifting their voices in praise to God,—praising Him for the victory promised. On the fourth day thereafter, the army returned to Jerusalem, laden with the spoil of their enemies, singing praise for the victory won. Through song, David, amidst the vicissitudes of his changeful life, held communion with heaven. How sweetly are his experiences as a shepherd lad reflected in the words:— [Sidenote: _The Shepherd Psalm_] “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters.... Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.”[263] In his manhood a hunted fugitive, finding refuge in the rocks and caves of the wilderness, he wrote:— [Sidenote: “_In the Shadow of Thy Wings_”] “O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee; My soul thirsteth for Thee; my flesh longeth for Thee, In a dry and weary land, where no water is.... Thou hast been my help, And in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.” “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; For I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, And my God.”