A Road Map for Life | Beginning With GodSample

IN THE NIGHT SEASONS (Psalm 16)

We have come now to what we call “the Golden Psalm.”

Psalm 16 is a psalm of David but it is also about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only 11 verses long but it is rich and wonderful.

There is a title over Psalm 16 that reads, “Michtam.” That word means “instruction.” This is a psalm intended to teach us something. "Michtam" implies "a composition so precious as to be worthy to be engraven on a durable tablet for preservation; or, as others render, 'a psalm precious as stamped gold" (Easton's Bible Dictionary). This is why Psalm 16 is often referred to as the “Golden Psalm."

I want to begin with one verse in the middle of the chapter, verse 7. “I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.”

Did you know that the night becomes the Lord’s classroom? When things are quiet in the night, the Lord speaks most clearly to us. We can meditate on Him, and even when lying in bed He can speak to us.

In a broader sense, there are night seasons in life. Not just the literal night; in the dark hours. I can tell you today that our God is present in the night seasons. If you turn one page over to Ps. 18:9, you read these words: “and darkness was under his feet.” Don’t you love that? I think of the first chapter of Genesis when God spoke light into the darkness. You can rest because God is working the night shift.

We do not know the exact setting of this particular psalm, but we know that everyone has their night seasons. Israel did, and the Lord was a pillar of fire for them. Abram and Jacob did, but God came to them and spoke to them during that time. The disciples did, but that was when Jesus came walking on the water. Paul and Silas did, but that was where they learned to worship and they saw God work in the jail house.

David had his night seasons, and he referenced them all through the Psalms, not just here. What do we learn in the night seasons?

1. In the night seasons, the Lord is near. Verse 8: “I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” He repeated that expression in the last part of verse 11: “at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

I love the fact that He is at our right hand and we are at His. It is a place of nearness and of access.

Sometimes in Scripture, the accuser likes to stick his head up. As Zechariah 3:1 says, “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.” That is when Jesus steps up to speak for us. The Lord is near in your night seasons.

2. In the night seasons, rest is possible. Verse 9: “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.” Daniel comes to mind, as he is sleeping in the middle of the lion’s den during the greatest night season of his life. How could he do that? He had inner rest. When God gives peace to your heart, you can rest.

Thank God that “he giveth his beloved sleep,” as Psalm 127:2 says. He gives rest to our flesh. The night is designed for rest. If that is true physically, would it not also be true in the great spiritual struggles of life? The nighttime hours are not the time to sit up and worry, trying to fix it all yourself. That is the time to rest in the Lord.

I remember hearing a story years ago of a boy who came home one night with his father after they had buried his mother, who had gone to be with the Lord. The two of them came back to an empty house, and in the middle of the night the boy came down the hall to ask, “Daddy, can I sleep with you?”

He climbed up and lay down on the side of the bed where his mother used to pillow her head. After a few moments, he said to his father, “It’s dark in here. There’s no night light.”

The father said, “That’s right. There is no night light in this room.”

A little while later the boy said, “Daddy, is your face toward me?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good enough for me.” He closed his eyes and went to sleep. The very thought that his father was facing him was enough.

Friend, you may not be able to see Him, and there may seem to be no light right now, but I can tell you on the authority of the Word of God that His face is toward you today. Let that be good enough for you. Rest in the Lord.

3. In the night seasons, there is always something to look forward to. The nighttime never lasts forever; morning is coming. In the familiar words of Ps. 30:5, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Now look at verses 10-11 of this psalm. “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

I mentioned that this psalm is about Christ. Think about the nighttime hours of His life — in Gethsemane, on Golgotha when God turned His back on His own Son. Think of those three nights in the grave. Yet, His soul was not left in Hell and He did not see corruption. He rose from the dead. Morning always comes. If it came for the Lord Jesus, it will come in your life as well. Think about how the final chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, describes Heaven in verse 5: “And there shall be no night.”

4. In the night seasons, you need to keep your own heart right with God. Remember what the psalmist wrote in verses 1-3: “Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.”

What is he saying? “I must make very sure that my trust stays with the Lord and my heart stays right with Him.” The Lord works in the nighttime hours, but the devil loves to work there, too. The flesh is always weak; it never gets better.

I remember reading a story years ago about an obscure 19th-century preacher named George Young who was a very poor man who worked in rural communities. He scrimped and saved to build a small house. He built it himself as he was a carpenter.

While he was away preaching in another village, some boys living near his home who did not like him set fire to his house and it burned to the ground. He came home devastated; everything he owned was gone.

For some time it seemed as though he lived in the darkness. Then one day his wife said that he came to the house humming a tune. He had written a song which has now become famous:

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet

God leads His dear children along

Where the water's cool flow bathes the weary one's feet

God leads His dear children along

Some through the waters, some through the flood

Some through the fire, but all through the blood

Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song

In the night season and all the day long

I think George Young had been living in Psalm 16, and I want to encourage you to do the same today. Keep your song, keep your heart, keep your trust in the Lord.

He works the night shift.