A Song in the Night

Did you ever toss and turn your way through a long, sleepless night when your troubles seemed overwhelming? Problems that seem manageable during the day somehow appear more depressing at night. We feel like crying out, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?" Yet the same Psalm that asks those questions goes on to say, "By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life" (Psalm 42:5, 8). People who trust in God can find something to sing about 24 hours a day—even in the middle of a long, hard night.

Jesus sang a song in the night. On the night of the Last Supper, the Lord gave his disciples bread to eat and a cup of juice to drink in remembrance of him. Then the Bible says, "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" (Matthew 26:30).

What did Jesus' voice sound like when he sang? Was it clear and melodious, deep and strong? What "hymn" did the Lord sing with his disciples that night? Did they sing words of comfort as he faced Gethsemane and the cross? Did the reassuring lyrics of the twenty-third Psalm reverberate through the upper room as the Lord prepared to walk through the valley of the shadow of death? Or was Jesus already thinking of the twenty-second Psalm and its poignant opening phrase, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

To this day, many Jewish people sing or read aloud sections from Psalm 118 during the Passover meal. Did the disciples leave for Gethsemane pondering the lines, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone" (Psalm 118:22)? Or despite the danger and uncertainty of that solemn night, did they find courage and hope as they sang, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24)?

Paul and Silas sang a song in the night. They had done no wrong, yet they were arrested, stripped, and severely beaten by a rowdy crowd. Making matters worse, their feet were fastened in stocks, which prevented them from moving their bruised bodies into more comfortable positions. "About midnight," though, "Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God" (Acts 16:25).

What a testimony of faith! Physically battered but spiritually strong, they praised God with music. The same verse says "the other prisoners were listening to them." What did the apostles' cellmates think about their late-night songfest in the prison? Did they understand why Paul and Silas sang? The other prisoners may not have tried to hum along, but they couldn't help but be impressed by the steadfast faith of these men who sang and prayed in the midst of suffering. By the time the night was over, even the jailer himself had the joy of the Lord in his heart!

All of us can sing a song in the night. The city of Ephesus was filled with spiritual darkness, and many people there stubbornly rejected the gospel or believed in sorcery. But there were strong believers in Ephesus, and there "the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor" (Acts 19:17). Paul told the Ephesian Christians, "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord." He said, "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8, 19).

Aren't you glad we can do that—even during the darkest night?