Tag Archives: Songs in the night

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Songs from God

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Alistair Begg

God, my Maker, who gives songs in the night.  Job 35:10

Any man can sing during the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When money is in plentiful supply, any man can praise the God who provides an abundant harvest or sends home a loaded ship. It is easy enough for a tuneful harp to whisper music when the winds blow; the difficulty is for music to carry when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but it takes a skillful singer whose song springs forth when there is not a ray of light to read by. No man can make a song in the night by himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired.

Let everything go well, then I can weave songs, fashioning them from the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and with what shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord without jewels? Let this voice be clear and this body full of health, and I can sing God’s praise: Silence my tongue, put me on a bed of suffering, and how will I then chant God’s high praises, unless He Himself provides the song? No, it is not in man’s power to sing when everything is against him, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip.

It was a divine song from Habakkuk that filled the night when he sang, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”1 So, since our Maker gives “songs in the night,” let us wait upon Him for the music. Chief musician, let us not remain songless because we face affliction, but tune our lips to the melody of thanksgiving.

1) Habakkuk 3:17-18

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The family reading plan for October 19, 2014 * Daniel 4 * Psalm 108, 109

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Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Songs in the Night

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greglaurie

The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me — a prayer to the God of my life. —Psalm 42:8

The great British preacher C. H. Spurgeon said, “Any fool can sing in the day. . . . It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skillful singer is he who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by. . . . Songs in the night come only from God; they are not the power of man.”

When Paul and Silas were imprisoned for preaching the gospel, it was a hot and horrible environment. Prisons back then were far more primitive than they are today. Archaeologists have discovered what they believe was the actual prison where Paul and Silas were imprisoned as recorded in Acts. It was nothing more than a dark hole, without ventilation.

But instead of cursing God and questioning how a God of love could do this to them, Paul and Silas realized it was time to pray. The Bible tells us, “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). Songs — not groans — came from their mouths. And instead of cursing men, they were blessing God. No wonder the other prisoners were listening.

When we are in pain, the midnight hour is not the easiest time to hold a worship service. There are times when we don’t feel like singing to the Lord or praising Him. But Hebrews 13:15 reminds us, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

Are you facing a hardship today? God can give you songs in the night.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013