Songs in the Night

“…It is no surprise
that danger and suffering surround us.
What astonishes us is the singing.”
--Jack Gilbert (“Horses at Midnight Without a Moon”)

For some reason, as I started to write this post, I couldn’t help but think of the old Nickelodeon classic of our generation: "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" A masterpiece of television history….with episodes like "The Tale of the Pinball Wizard" (I actually remember seeing that one!). How on earth did Nick con all of us into being so terrified by weak storylines, flat characters, and a particularly un-original title? I guess it doesn’t take much, as long as you add some scary music, and a bonfire….in the woods, of course.

The truth is, I think it worked because we are all, to some extent, afraid of the dark. At least, I am! And as I’ve gotten older, it’s not so much literal room-smothering darkness that sends me crawling under the covers anymore, but NIGHT itself. I can almost gauge how well I am doing emotionally and spiritually by my relationship to Night. When I am rested, content, at peace—I cozy up in bed with a cup of tea and let myself enjoy the slow, sweet slipping into sleep….as Night quiets me and keeps me safe. When I am stressed, anxious, depressed, unsure, or lonely—Night is my worst enemy….taking my mortal-sized woes and projecting them, like funhouse shadow puppets—disfigured and grotesque—on the ever-moving walls of my mind. 

Knowing all this to be true about myself, I was delighted to happen upon C.H. Spurgeon’s sermon “Songs in the Night” today. I’ve been leafing through it and pulling out dozens of gems, and it has so encouraged my heart (hopefully I’ll post more on it soon!). But I also felt it connected perfectly to the aim of my blog….What does it mean to truly sing in the night? To, as Paul and Silas did (Acts 16), “pray and sing hymns to God?” And if we do sing in the night, will we, like those two brave men, see our shackles come loose, the doors of our prisons swing open in an earthquake of freedom? I dare to say the answer is….yes.

Perhaps it won’t always feel so dramatic, of course, but I want so much to believe that in the night, when I am anxious, if I choose to sing to God—in whatever way I can…even to simply breathe “Lord, have mercy”— He will not only hear, but he will free me from that anxiety. And I long to believe that in a “nighttime” season of life, when all doors are closed, and no fresh air is to be had, when I feel lost or confused, or alone and without hope, if I ask God, He will give me a song to sing. As Charles Spurgeon says over and over, the songs come from God—we are utterly incapable of producing songs in the night on our own:

“So, then, poor Christian, thou needest not go pumping up thy poor heart to make it glad. Go to thy Maker, and ask him to give thee a song in the night. Thou art a poor dry well…and so…go to God, ask him to pour some joy down thee, and thou wilt get some joy up from thine own heart.”

I don’t know exactly how to sing in the night. I’m asking God to teach me. I’ll keep you posted. For now….I challenge you to try singing a song tonight yourself. For God, for yourself, for me, if you like! Maybe God will teach us to be (in the words of my "buddy" Jack Gilbert) "astonished" by the singing in our own hearts.