Song in the night

Song in the night

Out of the greatest trials songs were born!

 

Job’s song in his darkness

Job 35:10

He suffered severely and lost all he had except his own life. He lost his song as Elihu reminded him. But God can give a song in the darkest night. God healed him and gave him double!

 

Paul & Silas in the dark prison

Acts 16:25

In the peak of their painful trial, at midnight, they sang praises to God in the prison. The Lord sent an earthquake that loosened the chains of prisoners and the jailer got converted and so a church was planted in Philippi! When they sang other prisoners were listening! The place was shaken and people set free!

 

When God created it was dark

Gen 1:1

The earth was dark and void. God composed a new song and created the earth and the universe! And saw that it was good! What a wonderful world! (Louis Armstrong)

 

Moses’ song of deliverance

Exodus 15:1 – 19

I will sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously

The horse and rider thrown into the sea!

The Lord my God is my strength and song

Has now become my victory!
Moses’ psalm 90

Moses sings about the Eternal God and mortal man.

We spend our years as a tale that is told.

Oh, Lord, satisfy us with your mercy!

Establish the work of our hands.

 

Miriam sings and leads people in a dance

Exodus 15:20, 21

She repeats the song of Moses and leads people in a dance before the Lord!

 

David sings 150 Psalms!

He sang about the way of the righteous in Psalm 1; triumph and confidence facing the enemy Ps 2 & 3; thoughts in the night Ps 4 and sang a morning prayer in Ps 5! In Ps 6 he sings about mercy during trouble and sings the prayer of a wronged man in Ps 7. Ps 8 is about God’s glory and in Ps 9 he thanks God for deliverance because God hears and acts on our behalf in Ps 10. In Ps 11 God is our refuge and in Ps 12 he thinks good thoughts in bad times. In Ps 13 God restores his soul and Ps 14 predicts the fate of a fool that says there is no God. Ps 15 rejoices about the happiness of the holy ones and Ps 16 speaks of joy in the presence of the Lord!

 

Solomon’s song about his beloved

He sings about the rose of Sharon and the maiden’s search for her beloved; he sings about the king that offers his love to her; he sings about the torment of separation; the maiden’s beauty and the maiden’s desire for her beloved. The whole song speaks about Christ and the love He has for the church and how the Church desires His return: ‘make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountain of spices.’ In Revelation the Church cries out: ‘Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!’

 

Jeremiah’s song of lament

Jeremiah sings about the desolation of Jerusalem, the judgment of the Lord and in his lament he still expresses hope for the salvation of the people. Even though there is punishment he sings to God to have mercy on the people.

 

Jehoshaphat’s song facing overwhelming odds

II Chronicles 19, 20, 21

Jehoshaphat brought reforms to Israel and defeated Moab and Ammon that came against him. He told the people to believe in the Lord’s prophets and then they will prosper. He taught them to praise the beauty of holiness and to praise the Lord that His goodness and mercy endures forever! As they sang the Lord set ambushments against Ammon and Moab and they were smitten. The people of Israel did not even have to fight in the battle! They saw the salvation of the Lord!

 

God composed a body for His Son

Heb 10:5-7

He created a physical body for Jesus and when Jesus left the earth He created a body called the Church! A continuous song is going up – when one suffers another one cheers! When one is sick another one sings healing! When one lack another one sings El Shaddai – My great Provider! There is a song of continuous victory in the body of Christ. The therapeutic healing virtue of praise and worship is inestimable! The neurons of your brain come together when you worship God in song! There is a song of deliverance, courage and strength in the body of Christ. In the midst of a world full of darkness there is a song going up all around the world! Blessed be the Lord God our Creator who gave His church a continual song of redemption through Jesus Christ!

 

Zacharias the father of John the Baptist sang

Luke 1:67 – 80

After his tongue was loosened he praised God in a song and prophesied about his son by singing!

‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel – that he would grant us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.’ And to his son he sang: ‘And you shall be called the prophet of the Highest to prepare His ways, to give knowledge and salvation by the remission of their sins, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace!’

 

Mary’s song after she was chosen to be the mother of Christ

Luk1: 46 – 55

My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly estate of His handmaiden, for behold, from now on, all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty has done great things unto me and holy is His name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He has showed strength with His arm and scattered the proud in their imagination of their hearts.’

 

Jesus sang in his darkness

Mark 14:26

After the Last Supper Jesus sang a hymn. On the cross when the whole earth was covered in darkness He sang out: ‘It is finished!’ and fulfilled all the requirements of the Old Testament Laws and introduced the New Testament in His blood!

 

Being part of His Eternal Church He gives you a song

Col 3:16/ Eph 3:18/ Ps 2:9

God inhabits the praises of His people! While we worship God manifests Himself. We make melody in our hearts all day long! Your spirit is constantly singing praises to God! You are singing new songs all the time as we do in praise and worship in church. When you praise the Lord your enemy falls backwards! We join our voices with the angels on high because we are part of the Eternal Church! God also sings about us with joy!

 

The true value of a song that God gives in our darkness:

Amazing Grace” is a Christian hymn published in 1779, with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807).

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life’s path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed (conscripted) into service in the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. He continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. “Amazing Grace” was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year’s Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses; it may have simply been chanted by the congregation. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper’s Olney Hymns but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States, however, “Amazing Grace” was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named “New Britain” to which it is most frequently sung today.

With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, “Amazing Grace” is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world. Author Gilbert Chase writes that it is “without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns,”[1] and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually.[2] It has had particular influence in folk music, and has become an emblematic African American spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. “Amazing Grace” saw a resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, occasionally appearing on popular music charts.

 

Song from Miracle Valley

Dr. Roy M. Gray used to sing a song in class:

Wonderful, wonderful Jesus

In my heart He has planted a song

A song of deliverance, of courage and strength

In my heart He has planted a song!

 

Our God gives us songs in the darkest night! May He give you a new song to sing today! May your spirit be revived and refreshed as you sing the song that your Redeemer gives you!