Songs In The Night

⁴ Be angry (agitated), and do not sin;
    ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵ Offer right sacrifices,
    and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
    Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
⁷ You have put more joy in my heart
    than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
    for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. – Psalm 4:4-8

Fear

I don’t know a word that more aptly describes the world in which we live today. An unseen threat in the form of a virus has not only claimed the lives of thousands of people, but has enveloped much of the world in a cloud of fear. A cloud so thick and ominous that the buzzwords of the day are quarantine and social distancing. It feels like hourly, if not more frequently, we are being updated with the casualties as they mount. We have been advised to take every precaution to keep the virus out of our homes, but keeping the cloud from casting it’s shadow over our hearts is an equally important battle. And perhaps more difficult.

Because of this unseen enemy, many families are living in isolation from one another. Senior citizens are passing the long days with no company or social interaction. Nursing homes are closed to visitors. Sick patients are turned away by overwhelmed Hospitals. Businesses are forced to close their doors and workers are forced to stay home and draw unemployment. Likewise, schools are closed and sports have been put on hold. If the boredom of it all won’t do us in, the constant negative news will certainly finish off our sanity (supposing we ever had any).

The Book of Ecclesiastes says “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9), but this feels new to most of us. How do we respond in such a time? As quoted above, the Psalmist tells us to be “Raghaz”: to quiver, be moved with fear (tremble), but not to sin.

Ponder

Instead of allowing fear to dominate us and causing us to sin (in this particular case manifested in rage), the Psalmist (David) encourages us to ponder in our hearts as we lie in bed. When we are removed from the over stimulation of the world, we are to rest before the Lord and commune with, or speak to, our hearts. After being overwhelmed with the circumstances of the world and the inundation of information, much of which may not even be factual, we are to speak Truth into our hearts. Call it what you will: self communion, soliloquies, or meditation, but don’t underestimate it’s value.

All day long we are tempted by the world to panic. Our health is fragile. Our futures are uncertain. The bottom might fall out of the Market tomorrow. We could lose our jobs. We might lose our homes. A lifetime of toil and it’s reward could be wiped out in an instant. Yesterday I thought I was in control of my world, and then a pandemic strikes. We have been living a life of delusion. May we listen to David and allow our fear to shake us out of our complacency and bring us to our senses. Might we be still before the Lord and speak Truth to our hearts.

Light

David tells us we are to offer right sacrifices before the Lord. We are to come before Him in faith, with a proper view of His divine attributes and a proper motive. We are to come before His throne in humility, with broken and contrite hearts. As we come before him offering ourselves as a spiritual sacrifice, might we do so recognizing the depravity of our hearts and our utter dependency upon Him. As David admonishes us, we must put our trust in the Lord. To place it anywhere else is not only futile, it is foolish.

When things are darkest, the world cries out, “Who will show us any good?”, to which David replies, “Lift up the light of your face upon us O Lord”. This request reminds us of Aaron’s priestly prayer in Numbers chapter 6.

²⁴ The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

The world’s cry of desperation has already been answered.

Joy

David may have been a man after God’s own heart, but he wasn’t immune from heartbreak. As a young boy he may have defeated the Philistine enemy Goliath, but he was scorned by his brothers. Despite being the heir to the throne, the reigning King hunted him down like an animal and tried on numerous occasions to take his life. As a military leader he had no peers, but he couldn’t conquer the lust in his own heart. David buried an infant child and suffered the heartache of a rebellious adult child. But despite his circumstances, he knew experientially what is was like to bask in the joy of the Lord.

According to David, those around him could have their grain and wine in abundance, but it could not compare with his joy. Their grain will satisfy their appetites for a season, and their wine may bring them temporary “joy”, but neither will last like the joy God has placed in his heart. Worldly joys can never compare with Heavenly. Nor can life’s trials compare with the Gospel. Christ came to make our joy full. We just need to ask Him to fill our hearts with it (John 16:24).

The coronavirus is real, but in time it will pass. Not so the joy of the Lord. When heaven and earth have passed away, it will only be more real to us.

Peace

We began this section of scripture looking at fear, we end looking at peace. We may carry our burdens all day long, but we must not let them steal our joy or our peace. As we still ourselves before the Lord on our beds and speak Truth into our hearts, we begin to feel the embrace of the arms of the Lord. They have been holding us all along, but in our agitation and trembling we did no feel them. No longer.

I am not going to minimize the threat around us. The cloud is real and it indeed casts a dark shadow over us, but it is nothing the light of the face of the Lord cannot penetrate. And it will. History proves it.

The darkness over the void earth was no match for the voice of God. “Let there be light.”

The darkness over Egypt gave way to the Exodus. In the form of a pillar of light God would lead his children out of darkness and into the promised land.

A dark Bethlehem sky gave way to a bright Star, announcing the birth of a Savior. The light of Heaven was born in a dark world. Purity penetrated sin.

The darkness over Calvary was merely a prelude to the Resurrection. Friday’s dark grave would give way to the light of Sunday’s rising sun.

We may live in a dark world, but like David, we can lie down and sleep in peace. Because the fact of the matter is, God makes us dwell in safety. As children of God our eternity is secure. Ultimately, what can men (or viruses) do to us?

There is truly nothing new under the sun. Until Christ returns or the Lord calls you home, may you faithfully ponder Truth in your heart!!

Application

May I close by recommending an abbreviated outline from Jonathon Edward’s sermon entitled Christian Happiness?

1. Our bad things will turn out for good (Romans 8:28)
2. Our good things can never be taken away from us (Psalm 4:6-7)
3. The best things are yet to come (1 Cor 2:9)

As you rest your head in the safety of God’s hand tonight, might you ponder these basic Truths. In the midst of the storm, sleep tight. The tempest is no match for your Savior.