Music is one of the most potent elements at work in the world. Its potential is manifested in man’s soul, culture’s movements, and a nation’s destiny. It was the eighteenth-century politician, Andrew Fletcher, who wrote, “I knew a very wise man that believed if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation.”

The Bible makes the connection between music and dominion early and often. Scripture’s first song was written by Moses after the Egyptians were subdued in the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 15). Moses’ anthem was followed by Deborah’s ballad after her victory of Sisera (Judges 5). Hannah’s hymn was given after her victory over childlessness (1 Samuel 2), and the Hebrew women’s chorus was rehearsed after David’s victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 17). When dominion was achieved, the anthems of God’s people rose to Heaven! Music was also indicative of God’s presence. Singing preceded God’s coming into the Temple (2 Chronicles 5), and nearly one thousand years later, it filled Bethlehem’s skies when the angels announced the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:14). Ultimately, Heaven exploded in praise when the worthy Lamb of God opened the book of consummation (Revelation 5). Thus, music speaks of God’s dominion and victory.

There is an Old Testament account, however, that reminds us that praise is not only a response to the dominion and power of God, but it is part of our spiritual arsenal. In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat found himself in the unenviable position of facing a coalition of Judah’s enemies. Jehoshaphat was powerless against these threats, but he turned to God. He proclaimed a fast and gathered all of Israel together to seek the Lord’s face. And he prayed: “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” (2 Chronicles 20:12).

What followed next is amazing. God’s people sang their way into the battle: “And when he [Jehoshaphat] 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 for ever. 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” (verses 21–22).

But there’s more. We not only sing after victory is won and before the battle is waged, but we also sing as a means of strength in our spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 5, Paul connects the Christian soldier to the Christian song: “…be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18-19). Of this truth, one author noted, “The church marches into her spiritual war singing.”

One of the examples of this from more recent history is the story behind the hymn “The Lily of the Valley,” written by one of the volunteers in the Salvation Army.

During England’s Industrial Revolution, life in London was hard for all but for the aristocracy. Crime, poor sanitation, child labor, and overcrowding hung over England like a dark cloud. Drunkenness, harlotry, debauchery, profanity, and uncleanness were rampant. In 1852, however, a light had was beginning to shatter the darkness. This gospel light did not emanate from the aristocracy or the Anglican church but came through a gospel preacher named William Booth.

Booth was anything but conventional. Although liturgical styles of worship reigned supreme in England, Booth abandoned the established concept of church and pulpit by taking the gospel directly to the people. He walked London’s sad and sullen streets, preaching to the homeless, the hungry, and the destitute. His first converts were thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards, but he challenged them to live for Christ and reach others like themselves with the gospel.

Soon, these first converts were also preaching and singing in the streets as living testimonies to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that is how the “Salvation Army” was first enlisted. In 1867, Booth had ten full-time workers, but by 1874, the number had grown to one thousand volunteers and forty-two evangelists.

In 1878, the evangelistic enterprise of the Salvation Army had spread to the town of Salisbury, England, where a faithful laborer named Charles Fry lived and ministered. Fry, along with his sons, formed an “army” that consisted of two cornets, a trombone, and a tuba. As they marched, they played their instruments, sang gospel songs, and provided protection for Booth’s evangelists. Bright sounds of Christian joy were heard in dark alleys of despondency, and were mightily used of God to reach the lost for Christ.

It was Fry himself who wrote “The Lily of the Valley”:

I have found a friend in Jesus—He’s ev’rything to me,
He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The Lily of the Valley—in Him alone I see
All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay,
He tells me ev’ry care on Him to roll;
He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He’s the greatest of ten thousand to my soul.

Like Jehoshaphat and Booth, we are living in dark times and often feel that “we have no might.” But our God is greater than the darkness, and we can sing our way to victory as we lean upon the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.