Songs in the Night
Scripture Job 35:10
“But none saith, Where is God, my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?”
Mans Problem
Many men are terribly tormented, because they focus on their troubles, their distress, and their fears. They look within themselves to escape their troubles.
A. They forget to look to the hills whence all real help cometh (Psalm 121:1)
B. They do not say, “Where is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?” (Job 35:10)
Understanding the wise words of Elihu “But none saith, Where is God, my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?”
Job: A just man who felt like giving up
Read from chapter 3
"I’m sorry I was ever born. Why didn’t I die at birth? I’d have been better off. At least there’s no misery then.
"I knew things were going to no good. I was afraid of something like this all along.
"I’d be better off dead than suffering all this trouble."
Wrong: Bildad, Eliphaz, Zophar: The problem is with you Job, change!
Right: Elihu The problem: Man tries to take care of it, without God.
Job faced terror and needed a night song.
1st Job in his great lose, felt the need for God, he sought comfort from God, but the trials seemed to be endless.
2nd His prayers seemed to go unanswered.
3rd There seemed that there was no end in sight.
4th Job felt the night (Absence of God)
He learned:
5th Continually look to, know God is present, and understand God is providing.
His statement of faith
6th Job 42:5 NIV My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you
Night is the season of terror and alarm for men.
We face Nights of all kinds, which press upon our spirits and terrify our souls.
Nights of sorrow, nights of persecution, nights of doubt, nights of bewilderment, nights of anxiety, nights of oppression, nights of ignorance
Satan delights in our terror in the night
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Our songs and psalms sorely vex and grieve the devil, whereas our passions and impatiences, our complainings and cryings, our "Alas" and "Woe is me" please him well, so that he laughs in his fist. He takes delight in tormenting us, especially when we confess, praise, preach, and laud Christ.
The sweetest songs often come from nights of affliction.
Anybody can praise God when things are going good.
Songs sung with faith
But it was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said
“Though the fig-tree shall not blossom,” and so on, “yet will I trust in the Lord, and stay myself in the God of Jacob (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
Songs sung out of sorrow
A piece of wood once bitterly complained because it was being cut and filled with rifts and holes. But he who held the wood and whose knife was cutting into it so remorselessly, did not listen to the sore complaining. He was making a flute out of the wood he held, and was too wise to desist for such an entreaty.
Instead, the flute carver said, "Oh, thou foolish piece of wood, without these rifts and holes thou wouldst be only a mere stick forever--a bit of hard black ebony with no power to make music or to be of any use. These rifts that I am making will change thee into a flute, and thy sweet music then shall charm the souls of men. My cutting is the making of thee, for then thou shalt be precious and valuable and a blessing to the world."
David could never have sung his sweetest songs had he not been sorely afflicted. His afflictions made his life an instrument on which God could breathe the music of His love to charm and soothe the hearts of men by such an entreaty through the ages.
Songs sung from seeking God presence.
“Thomas Andrew Dorsey was a black jazz musician from Atlanta. In the twenties he gained a certain amount of notoriety as the composer of jazz tunes with suggestive lyrics, but he gave all that up in 1926 to concentrate exclusively on spiritual music. "Peace in the Valley" is one of his best known songs, but there is a story behind his most famous song that deserves to be told.
In 1932 the times were hard for Dorsey. Just trying to survive the depression years as a working musician meant tough sledding. On top of that, his music was not accepted by many people. Some said it was much too worldly--the devil’s music, they called it. Many years later Dorsey could laugh about it. He said, "I got kicked out of some of the best churches in the land." But the real kick in the teeth came one night in St. Louis when he received a telegram informing him that his pregnant wife had died suddenly.
Dorsey was so filled with grief that his faith was shaken to the roots, but instead of wallowing in self-pity, he turned to the discipline he knew best--music. In the midst of agony he wrote the following lyrics:
Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand.
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light;
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home.
If you live long enough, you will experience heartache, disappointment, and sheer helplessness. The Lord is our most precious resource in those hours of trauma.
"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble (Ps. 9:9).
Tom Dorsey understood that. His song was originally written as a way of coping with his personal pain, but even today it continues to bless thousands of others when they pass through times of hardship.
Night songs are our strength
Robert Lowry
What though my joys and comforts die? The Lord my Savior liveth;
What though the darkness gather round? Songs in the night he giveth;
No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?
We can sing night songs.
We are to teach and admonish one another by psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Col. 3:16)
Night songs of praise to helps us gain tranquility
Night songs of praise to helps us feel His everlasting love.
Night songs of praise to helps us know God.
Night songs of praise to helps us rest, and renew our mind through God.
Night songs of praise to helps us appreciate the blessings and gifts we have from God.
Night songs of praise to helps us have a greater hope in our God who is able to overcome any discouragement.
Night songs of praise to helps us gain a greater awareness of how enriched we are through God’s blessings
The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.
While on a short-term missions trip, Pastor Jack Hinton was leading worship at a leper colony on the island of Tobago. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around.
"It was the most hideous face I had ever seen," Hinton said. "The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, ’Can we sing Count Your Many Blessings?’ "
Overcome with emotion, Hinton left the service. He was followed by a team member who said, "I guess you’ll never be able to sing that song again."
"Yes I will," he replied, "but I’ll never sing it the same way."
Lets learn from Elihu, Job, and the above saintly leper. Let’s face life in a different way, with a song in the night. Yes God leads his children on with a song.
Some through the water
Some through the flood
Some through the fire
But all through the blood
Some through great sorrows
But God gives a song
In the night season
And all the daylong.
