We Wait for the Morning

Waiting for Dawn while Camping

^Scripture

^{Psalm 130}

^{A Song of Ascents} 

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
²     Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my supplications!

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with you,
    so that you may be revered.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope; 

⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is great power to redeem.
⁸ It is he who will redeem Israel
    from all its iniquities.   (NRSV)

Devotion

Have you ever sat in the darkness and longed for the first rays of morning light to appear?  If so, you share something in common with the author of Psalm 130.

Songs of Ascent (also called Pilgrim Songs or Gradual Songs) were  sung by worshipers going to the Temple in Jerusalem. Some Bible scholars believe they were sung by pilgrims as they walked the steep uphill road to Jerusalem; others believe that Levite priests sang them as they climbed the steps into the Temple itself.  In both times of joy and times of sorrow, the Songs of Ascent reminded worshipers who were literally striving to ascend to God's house that the Lord is just, merciful, and loving.  They could put their hope and trust in God.

We don't know what worshipers were going through when they sang this particular Song of Ascents, but it must have been painful.  They sing about the power of God's faithfulness and forgiveness.  They cry out that their souls long for the Lord more than a night-watchman longs for morning light.  The psalmist doesn't go into details about why the watchman longs for dawn.  Perhaps he is simply weary.  Maybe he is afraid that an army may attack the city under the cover of night.  Whatever the watchman's reasons were for wanting the night to be over, he knew that the darkness would not last forever.  He could count on dawn to eventually come.  Like the watchman, the pilgrims who sang this psalm while ascending to the Temple longed for help and relief.  The psalm reminded them that just as the morning always arrives to dispel the darkness of night, God would always come to bring them love and forgiveness. They came to the Temple singing God's praises and keeping watch for signs that the light of God's love was about to shine in their lives.

 The night seems pretty deep right now.  When the world grows quiet and everyone is supposedly at rest, the anxieties of our current situation press in on me and make it hard to sleep.   I know I am not alone, because friends and colleagues keep sharing stories about what causes them to look out into the darkness and long for the morning light. Some awaken from nightmares of not being able to keep their family members, places of business, or churches safe.  Others have trouble falling asleep, because their brains keep cycling back to how they are going to pay their bills or  complete all the steps they need to take before they can safely do something again.   One stares at the camper parked in her family's driveway and longs for the day that her mother (who works in a healthcare facility treating COVID) can move back into the house with her immune-compromised relatives.  And a small but slowly growing number spend their nights weeping for someone they've lost.  All of these people are grieving the world as they knew it a few months ago and longing for the day when it feels safe to hug someone...or have dinner with friends....or sing together.  The night they are living in is dark and long.  They yearn for the Lord to usher in a new and better day.

Yes, the darkness is real.  Yes, our souls long for it to end.  But the Good News is that God is ever-faithful.   Like the psalmist before us, we can trust in God's steadfast love.  A new day will dawn.  The world may look different than the one we remembered from before the night fell, but God will still be there to redeem, empower, and guide us.  And one fine day, God will take us beyond this realm and wrap us in the bliss of his Eternal light.  For what is Christian life if not a long and winding ascent to our Father's home in Heaven? 

When you feel the night and all its worries pressing in on you, take heart.  Remember that like those who came before you, you are a pilgrim who on the pathway to God.  The ascent may seem steep, and it may feel hard to find your way in the darkness, but you are making it.  So keep watch and hold onto hope as you make your way to the Lord.  Our faithful God is coming to meet you.  He brings with him the dawn.   

 

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Prayer

Ever-faithful God, thank you for your promise to always be with us.  We long for you more than a night-watchman waits for the morning.  May the light of your new day shine throughout the world and disperse the gloomy clouds of night.  We know that you are coming, and we trust that you will be here soon.  Amen.