The prayer is most precious and instructive--full of divine intelligence. He makes it altogether a question between the God of Abraham and the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. This is what faith ever does, and the issue will ever be the same. "They come," says he, "to cast us out of _Thy possession, which Thou hast given us to inherit_." How simple! _They_ would take what _Thou_ hast given! This was putting it, as it were, upon God to maintain His own covenant. "O our God, _wilt Thou not judge them? for we have no might_ against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon Thee." Surely, we may say, victory was already secured to one who could thus deal with God. And so Jehoshaphat felt. For "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 forever." Nothing but faith could raise a song of praise before even the battle had begun "Faith counts the promise sure." And as it had enabled Abraham to believe that God would put his seed into the possession of Canaan, so it enabled Jehoshaphat to believe that He would keep them therein, and he therefore did not need to wait for victory in order to praise; he already stood in the full results of victory. Faith could say, "Thou _hast guided_ them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation," though they had but just entered upon the wilderness. But what a strange sight it must have been for the enemies of Jehoshaphat, to see a band of men with musical instruments instead of weapons in their hands. It was something of the same principle of warfare as that adopted by Hezekiah afterward, when he clothed himself in sackcloth instead of armor. (Isa. xxxvii. 1.)[13] Yes, it was the same, for both had been trained in the same school, and both fought under the same banner. Would that our warfare with the present age--with its habits, manners, and maxims--were more conducted on the same principle. "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one."