| Proverbs 3:24 – “When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you rest, your sleep will be peaceful.” |
Every night, about 70 million Americans climb into bed but they don’t fall asleep. They suffer from insomnia.
No one is sure what causes insomnia but most report a single idea–they cannot turn off the voice in their head.
They think of undone things.
They think of things weighing on them.
In short, they worry. And we know that worry chases rest from mind and body.
It was this sense that drove a young man to write a song.
His name was Sabine Baring-Gould.
Baring-Gould was born into an aristocratic family who traveled throughout Europe. The family even had a registered coat of arms, signifying a certain station in Victorian England.
For most of his youth, he had a private tutor.
But he decided he wanted to go into the ministry.
He also became a songwriter.
He collected ballads from Cornwall and Devon and modified some of the words since they were too coarse for the times.
He was also a novelist, writing many popular works at the time.
But it was for two songs, two church songs, that he is remembered.
One, perhaps his most familiar, is Onward Christian Soldiers, as song I remember singing as a boy mainly at vacation Bible school, even though it doesn’t fit. But I suppose the marching motif helps it.
In his reading, he came across a verse in Proverbs that spoke to weary and worn minds.
“If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” (Proverbs 3:24)
And so, he wrote a song intended to be sung to children as they were tucked into their beds. It was one of those calming songs, those quiet, slow melodies that beckon sleep to come.
It appeared in 1865, but soon, adults found it soothing as well.
Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh; shadows of the evening steal across the sky. Jesus, give the weary calm and sweet repose; with Thy tend’rest blessing may mine eyelids close. Thru the long night-watches may Thine angels spread their white wings above me, watching round my bed. When the morning wakens, then may I arise pure and fresh and sinless in Thy holy eyes.
The solution it gives is one we all need to hear.
In times of stress, we know of a God watching, protecting, and acting. And should that not calm us, whether in sleep or awake?
Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
