Songs in the Night
By Pastor Jerry Alway
Elihu was a wise man. He said that when men are troubled and tried, they often think on their trials and seek deliverance in any place, but they do not say,
“Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night?”
While they seek any possible answer, they do not look toward God, who is the only one who has the answer. The sun shines in the daytime so that work will get done. Then, as a cloak, night comes to cover the earth. In the natural, the night is a great blessing, as it is given so that we humans may rest.
The night hours are good for many reasons. One of those is so that we may learn to sing in it. There are nights of pain, nights of trails, nights of scarcity, anguish, and difficulties. “But blessed be the Lord who gives us songs in the night.”
Who is the Author of the Songs in the Night?
The author of the songs in the night is God himself, the Giver of all things. Anyone can sing a song during the day, when he is blessed and all goes well. It is easy to sing during the day when the harvest is great, when the sun shines and the little birds sing.
But attempting to sing at night is not as easy. When sick and confined by the darkness that surrounds us, while walking through a deep and dark valley, God is the only one who can give us a song in the night, since it is not within a human’s ability to sing in the nights of trails, as he passes through dark experiences.
The song in the night does not mean signing about the circumstances—the song is about God, because He alone can inspire it! It is easy to sing with joy and gratitude about all that is well, but when all is not well, one sings only about God, because He becomes our only hope.
When the well is full and the barns overflow, the expression is, “Oh, praise the Lord!” But in the night, when the darkness appears to hide the Lord’s face, and one does not feel joy because of the circumstances, He gives us a song, a different song—a song that is dedicated to Him.
The song in the night that is given by God is the true melody of the heart that presses toward perfection! When one sings in the night, one sings about the sweetness, the compassion, and the glory of the Lord.
To sing a melody, it is not necessary to feel joy. One only needs to receive the song from the Maker. He composes the songs in the night and grants us the words and the melody.
The Night Experience is for Remembering What God has Done.
Anyone who goes through a dark experience needs to remember the blessings received and the way in which God has manifested himself intimately. It is important to remember the times of joy in His presence and all His blessings, which leads us to think that He has always been there.
Psalm 77:6 says, “I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.”
It is good to learn to sing in the dark nights about the many things that the Lord has done in our life. He has not changed, because He is God! Because of the night, will we forget all that He has done, knowing that He does not depart from us at any moment or in any step of the way?
It is also necessary to think on the times and moments when the desperate soul was cast down, the body was weary, and the mind was confused, but He was there when we could not find anyone else. If we review the pages of our diary, we will find that His joy was poured out in the midst of our troubles, in the heights and in the depths. It is enough to remember the Lord’s goodness, but we should not stop there. Let us remember his goodness last week, last year—His goodness in all the years of our lives. Let us begin to sing a small song about this goodness, without forgetting any of his benefits!
Singing for the Day That is to Come
If one does not have the strength to sing about what He has done, then it is necessary to sing about what He will do in the future. We must sing about the blessings of the day that is to come.
Isaiah 40:5 says “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
The glory of the Lord will be revealed, and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. Then there is something for which to sing! Signing about what will soon happen is enough to be able to sing in the darkness of the night.
Paul says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
He also says, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1).
The song in the night must be related to the things God has spoken, because every word from His mouth will be fulfilled!
Singing About What He is Already Doing
It is good to sing about what God is doing in the present. Though it might be nighttime at this moment, we can sing about the presence of God.
Sometimes, His presence is not felt, but He is there and will never leave us nor forsake us. The Lord does not change His mind regarding His children—no, not even for a moment. The reality of His presence is sufficient to produce the song. His love does not flow like the waves of the ocean that come and go, but rather, like the abundant river that is always flowing.
Psalm 139:12 declares, “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” To God, the day and the night are the same.
Singing for What He Is
Psalms 59:16-17 says, “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy”.
If the Almighty is God, then why should we not sing? Paul and Silas sang in a dark and painful night, “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed”. — Acts 16:23–26
Exodus 15:2 proclaims, “The Lord is my strength and song.”
The song of Paul and Silas was probably not clear or beautiful, as they had been beaten many times and were held in stocks. They were bleeding and broken, but halfway through the night, two grim voices were heard singing. Was their song that night one of joy because of the circumstances, or was it a song related to their God? Surely it was a song that was saturated with words about God’s love for them, of His mercy and goodness in keeping them alive, of His power that was sufficient to deliver them!
Jesus also sang in the darkest night of His life. This is mentioned in Matthew 26:30 “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.”
Singing this hymn in the upper room was not only a good idea, it was exactly what the Father wanted Jesus and His disciples to do. The Father wanted them to sing on the night of the betrayal. It is also His will that we all sing when we pass through the great and small trials.
Singing Makes the Night Easier to Bear
When we sing, the mind is occupied. The worst battle is delivered in the mind. In the dark times, thoughts that are not from God come to mind. But singing can make everything fall into the right perspective again. In the night of trials, it is better to sing than to think.
Singing Brings Joy and Happiness to Others
How many times have we heard someone sing, and our heart is lifted and begins to sing too? But it is even more moving to hear someone sing when we know that he is passing through a dark and difficult time!
Corporal William Shurts, of the 5th Marine Regiment, was a man who learned to sing in the dark times of the night. He often sang in the trenches of Korea, which gave joy to the soldiers around him.
One day, he died on one of the Korean hills. His fellow soldiers said of him, “He brought God to the frontline with his song.” One soldier said, “With Corporal William near, the dark night was not so dark.” Singing brings joy to others in the dark moments of the night!
There are people in the world who do not need to hear truths. They do not need to be told that the Bible is the Word of God. They need to hear a song! The gospel has gained little ground with discussions and arguments. Singing provides extreme evidence of the truth. The song will mean more to the broken listener than other Christian actions.
Romans 15:9 shows the importance of signing among those who do not know God, “And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.”
Today it is strange to hear someone sing a sweet melody, especially amidst so much rock music, on top of the noise of our environment and the bad news of the day.
Singing Teaches and Admonishes Others
Colossians 3:16 exclaims, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
Singing for One’s Own Benefit
Ephesians 5:18–19 exhorts us, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but 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.”
Even when we do not feel like singing, it is necessary to do what David did in his own favor, because his heart was fixed on God, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise” (Psalm 57:7).
Before asking the Lord to deliver him from tribulation, he declares that he will first sing. The Bible says that the mountains, the valleys, and the trees sing. Will you not sing?