II Chronicles 20:21 states, “And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, and they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth forever.”
In December of 1964 while my dad was working overseas, Mom needed to trade in our ’55 Ford for a new car. She wanted another 6-cylinder, three-speed with overdrive. I got to help her choose. They didn’t offer overdrive. We passed up a Galaxie—too big of a car for a six-cylinder. We tried a Falcon—no soap. I talked her into a Mustang. They were just coming out and everybody had their eyes on it. You might say it turned out to be a beauty.
I want us to think for a moment about the beauty of holiness. It has features that outshine any automobile. It was King Jehoshaphat who appointed the singers to praise the beauty of holiness. It was in a time of the enemy approaching to do battle against Judah and Jerusalem. There is a spiritual battle going on every day. We need God, the Holy God. The beautiful thing is He is available. “Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (II Chronicles 20:3). If we seek the Lord we will find Him. If we hunger and thirst after righteousness we will be filled. People filled the house of the Lord. What a time of revival. It often takes tragic situations for people to cry out to the Lord.
In verse 12 the people didn’t know what to do. They turned their eyes upon God. “The Heavenly Vision,” a hymn by Helen Howarth Lemmel published in 1918, says, “O soul are you weary and troubled, no light in the darkness you see, there’s light for a look at the Saviour, and life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strongly dim in the light of His glory and grace.” That is what Jehoshaphat and his people did. It worked! It still works. The beauty of holiness is that when we don’t know what to do, Jesus does.
In verse 15 we see, “…for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” In verse 17, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you…” As they faced the enemy they were to simply believe in the Lord and they would be established. The plan was simply to praise the beauty of holiness.
We see the beauty of holiness in verse 22, “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.” They actually destroyed each other.
All that Satan can throw against us will not prevail in the face of the beauty of holiness. It is said so well in the hymn, “Holiness unto the Lord,” by Lelia N. Morris, 1900. The chorus says, “Holiness unto the Lord is our watch-word and song; Holiness unto the Lord as were marching along, Sing it, shout it, loud and long: Holiness unto the Lord now and for ever.” Praise God for the BEAUTY OF HOLINESS!
