Stand By Night

Daily Reading: Habakkuk, Psalm 14, 44, 74, 104, 134, Proverbs 14

Psalm 134 “Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. (2)Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. (3) The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion."

The book of Habakkuk and the first three chapters I read in Psalms began almost exactly the same. A cry for help, a question addressed to God and a plea for His compassion. “How long?” The enemy is overtaking, the powers of evil are crushing and the promise you gave is still eluding me…How long until you save me? How long until you prove that my faith has been well placed? How long before you show the enemy how little he is?

I read on to see if there were instructions on how to act in those times of waiting. I know basically how to act, I just wanted to see if there were some specific thing that the Psalmist might mention. Psalm 134 brought something to mind that I never noticed before. “which by stand night in the house of the Lord.” I’ve known this verse since I was a child. We used to sing it in church when I was young. I thought before that it was odd that they were standing by night in the house of the Lord but never considered it too deeply. This just confirms what I already knew. Night often represents dark and hard times. Watchmen who wait for the morning are looking for a new day…a better tomorrow…a beginning and a consistency that God shows in His faithful rising sun. Everyday…the sun rises…we don’t have to wish for it, we don’t have to pray for it, it just rises…every morning. We praise God in those beginnings, in those fresh new days with His warmth full in our face. These servants were blessing the Lord as they stood by night. Praise Him no matter what…lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise Him for who He is. Praise Him for all the faithful things that cannot be destroyed. Praise Him that every night brings a morning and that every drop of rain brings life to a dry earth. Praise Him that Heaven is faithfully waiting to accept the humble soul and that provision is made to guarantee our home to come. Praise the Lord, Bless His Name and forget not all His benefits. He has not forgotten…He is always coming for His own.