“On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night” Psalm 63:6.
What do you think about in the night watches? When you wake up and it’s dark and quiet and you can hear the clock ticking? The street light casts streams of light and shadow across the ceiling and if you are like me, your imagination may roam from the bogey man to the cares of your life.
I’ve never had to run for my life as King David did centuries ago. I wonder what it was like to thirst in the sands and sun during the day and try to sleep in the caves at night. Did he watch flames flicker across the roof from the torches probably mounted on walls? Were there bats or other ugly crawlies and did they get in his sleeping bag (or whatever they called it then)? Did the snores of his companions—on—the—lam keep him awake? Maybe he worried about their welfare as well as his own.
I wonder what kind of night sounds he heard from the mouth of the cave? Did every noise tense up his muscles and make him want to jump up, shout and go after an enemy?
Then, the psalm says, he remembered whose hand was on him. He put his mind on the safety of that hand and the glory of the One behind it. He began to sing softly so as not to wake the others and declared in his song, “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” Psalm 63:7, 8.
When I wake up in those wee hours and listen to the sounds of wind, rain or traffic, I, too, trade bogey man thoughts for those of my heavenly Father’s power and glory and I don’t need to be afraid. I can cling to Him in the night watches and the shadows. He won’t let go of my hand. He reassures me of His constant Presence. All is well. I can sleep again because His right hand still upholds me and I am safe.
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