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Education Ministry

Posted on January 24, 2006 ...

Have you ever found yourself in the dread of the night ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú those dark middle-of-the-night hours when you find yourself awake or awakened by something? It can be unnerving. All is quiet and still, yet you feel as if something is not quite right. It seems as if the whole world rests in peaceful slumber while you alone face unseen monsters. If only morning would come, all would be well in the light of a new day. You long for those first rays of sunshine to drive away your fear and calm your soul. But the clock beside your bed tells you morning is still hours away.

Yesterday I was reading Psalm 130 and the Lord halted me at verse six: ?¢‚Ǩ?ìMy soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù In ancient times, it was necessary for cities to post watchmen by night so defensive measures could be activated at the first sign of trouble. Guards kept watch from high atop the walls of the city while its citizens slept in peace. The final watch would have begun around 2:00 am and ended at sunrise, the beginning of the new day. It must have been a lonely duty. On most nights nothing would happen, but the watchman always had to be alert to the possibility of attack. Imagine how he must have anticipated the first signs of light in the eastern sky. Sunrise signaled not only the end of his shift, but the end of the city?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s vulnerability. It must have been a tremendous relief to know he had seen his city safely through another night.

Do you get a sense of what it meant for the watchman to wait for morning? That word wait carries a lot of meaning. It suggests eager anticipation. The Hebrew word also implies stillness and a quiet trust. The watchman knew the morning would eventually come, yet he anticipated its coming all the same. Had he the ability to hurry its arrival, he would have. Is it possible that the psalmist had been a watchman? Perhaps it was his own experience of longing for the morning that enabled him to use it as a comparison. ?¢‚Ǩ?ìMy soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù

Can you say that your soul waits for the Lord with this same intensity? Do you long for the Lord as much as you long for morning when faced with the dread of the night? Some of you feel as if you are currently in some sort of dark night. Maybe you see yourself as that night watchman guarding your city against unseen enemies poised to attack. If only morning would come. If only you could hold out for the new day. The conclusion of Psalm 130, though written for Israel, applies to us today. Whatever constitutes your dark night, receive this comforting promise: ?¢‚Ǩ?ìO Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù
Peace. Morning is coming. ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Michael