2 Sam 6:5, Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.
We are looking at the fact that the people of the Lord should find themselves so enthralled with God that we cannot but be in earnest whole-hearted celebration of His awesome presence in our midst. There should be that intense joy of fellowship with Our Heavenly Father; Jesus – Our Precious and Glorious Savior and Lord; and Our Wonderful and Amazing indwelling Holy Spirit. This should be to such an extent that frowns and sadness and discouragement should be the exception rather than the rule of our visages!
Our joining together as the family of the Most High should be characterized with the passion of hearts that have been changed from the mundane earthly concerns into a people with lightness of spirit and elation of heart as we join our voices and our thoughts and our entire beings. We must present one joy-filled, energized, anthem of adulation unto God. The focal point of our essence should be upon The Lord God Almighty from Whom all life comes forth as He holds the endless determination of eternity in His Hand. We are to rejoice in Him to the full measure of our melodious hearts contentment and enthrallment in Him. That is what should exude forth from those who are the redeemed of the Lord.
I put myself at the foremost need as to how to express the love and the passion and the elation that fills my being, yet seems to lose its translation in the course of how I present myself before God and before you. I love being with the saints in praise of Jehovah. I cherish the times of the study of His Word. I relish the opportunity to be together in prayer, even when those prayers are ones of ze’ akah on behalf of loved one who find themselves in such horrid and seemingly impossible situations. It is the fact that we are crying out to the One, Yahweh, Who can meet the every need and unto Whom nothing is impossible. 
Let us be very careful on this point. We are not talking about the drumming up of emotional response and disorder and commotion, as is done recklessly and insensitively in some places of worship. We are not trying to make a spectacle of ourselves before the eyes of those who would seek to be entertained. What we are trying to set before our conscious evaluation is how we come into the presence of God, with the depth of our joy in the Lord. The people of God should show forth the full measure of just how glorious and awesome and amazing and yes, spectacular is our privilege of coming before God! Our God! The Lord God Almighty! The Creator of Heaven and earth! The Altogether Holy and Righteous and Lovely One Who so loved us unto Himself at a cost that none of us can ever even begin to reckon. 
Our songs, our words, our demeanors, our hearts, our minds, and our spirits should be utterly rejoicing in the presence as the assembly of those who are gathered to bring praise to His name. The whole focal reality is that He is to be praised and praised to the endless depth of this, His creation!  
Even when everything is falling apart by our estimation, even when we are losing everything of earthly value, even when our very lives are on the line, we should find ourselves rejoicing in the fact that Our God reigns! He has us well in His hands. We are not without The One in Whom our every true treasure is concretely established in Jesus Christ! No matter what is forfeit on this earth, we know Who we trust and unto Whom we are absolutely committed – body, soul, and spirit! He deserves our joyous praise in spite of any and all our earthly travail.
Please turn to 2 Chron 20:5-30 where we can read of this exact situation within the entire populace of Judah. There was a vicious calamity of such earthly devastation cascading against the city of the people of God, Jerusalem. The nations were gathering together to destroy the city and the testimony of Jehovah as Jehoshaphat and the people were assembled to cry out to the Lord for His sake in the land of His people.  
2 Chron 20:5-30, Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court, and he said, "O Lord, the God of our fathers, art Thou not God in the heavens? And art Thou not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Thy hand so that no one can stand against Thee. Didst Thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and give it to the descendants of Abraham Thy friend forever? "And they lived in it, and have built Thee a sanctuary there for Thy name, saying, 'Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before Thee (for Thy name is in this house) and cry to Thee in our distress, and Thou wilt hear and deliver us.' "And now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom Thou didst not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), behold how they are rewarding us, by coming to drive us out from Thy possession which Thou hast given us as an inheritance. O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on Thee." And all Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives, and their children. Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; and he said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, 'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. 'Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 'You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you." And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed." And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." And when they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely, and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found much among them, including goods, garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much. Then on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore they have named that place "The Valley of Beracah" until today. And every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord. And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides. 
Look at the manner in which the heart and trust after the Lord was paramount in the gathering together of the people as they were facing seemingly insurmountable odds. There were three nations gathered together to destroy one city with all its inhabitants. Those of the citizens of Judah had all gathered together within the city of Jerusalem to live or die as one, the people of God’s inheritance in the land. They were in utter desperation as to what would happen to them, young and old alike. 
King Jehoshaphat did exactly what was properly determined before the Lord and before the nation. He went to Jehovah in the house of the Lord and set before God all the fears and the terror and the distress of the gathered people in the cry unto God for deliverance. And at a greater level, he set before God the praise that Jehovah was due in the accounting of the appraisal of the situation. Despite the overwhelming numbers in the onslaught that was befalling Judah, Jehoshaphat detailed the fact that God was worthy of praise and honor and worship despite the hordes gathered to destroy the testimony of the Lord from the land.
…"O Lord, the God of our fathers, art Thou not God in the heavens? And art Thou not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Thy hand so that no one can stand against Thee. Didst Thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and give it to the descendants of Abraham Thy friend forever? "And they lived in it, and have built Thee a sanctuary there for Thy name, saying, 'Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before Thee (for Thy name is in this house) and cry to Thee in our distress, and Thou wilt hear and deliver us…
Jehoshaphat, with all the people crowded in attendance pronounced the fact of how the nation was here before the Lord in full attention to His Sovereignty and power and assurance that God was listening to the cry of His people. Then, when the Lord did respond and the encouragement was put forth to rely on Him and He would fight the battle for the people, there was rejoicing and praise and worship and adoration poured out unto God. 
Please keep in mind this was still with the forces of those gathered nations marching against Jerusalem. God had not yet worked for their deliverance, but the people, altogether were praising and worshipping Him with their children and their elders. Their voices were loudly offering praise and adoration to Jehovah. 
…And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
Then, as instructed by Yahweh, the people gathered together the next morning to go forth to the wilderness of Tekoa. They wanted to see how the Lord would deal with those nations who were striving to eliminate the testimony of Jehovah from the earth. As the people were leaving the relative safety of their city wall, they did so with praise and with adoration and with worship flowing freely from the depths of their hearts. 
Remember, God had not yet done anything! That combined army of destruction was still marching toward these worshippers of Jehovah. Yet, the people set their faith and their trust and their obedience and their earnest, whole-hearted praise in God. They proceeded forth according to the instructions of The Lord with their entire beings in celebration of the goodness and the loving-kindness and the faithfulness of The One Who was their protection.
…And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed." And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting." And when they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed…
As the Lord always proves true to His word, the nations arrayed against His people were utterly devastated without Judah having to do anything! God showed Himself in all His glory as the people simply set their hope and their faith in Him and celebrated together in the magnificent worship of His glory and eternal Being. 
As a result, the increased measure of the praise due to God was so reminiscent of the celebration of David and all Jerusalem when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the city, symbolizing the very presence of Jehovah with His people. The singing and the playing of instruments and the joy that filled the entire populace was from the rejoicing that God reigns. They declared that Jehovah always shows Himself mighty beyond any measure as His people trust and obey and lift up their countenances and their entire beings unto Him in praise and adoration.
…And every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord. And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides… So be it!
Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals. Amen.

This morning’s benediction is 1 Thess 3:12+13. and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.