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God’s Lullaby

December 14, 2023

1 Kings 19:1-9  |  Psalm 121  |  John 16:12-22

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills; *
       from where is my help to come?
² My help comes from the Lord, *
       the maker of heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot be moved *
       and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel *
       shall neither slumber nor sleep;
⁵ The Lord himself watches over you; *
       the Lord is your shade at your right hand,
⁶ So that the sun shall not strike you by day, *
       nor the moon by night.
⁷ The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; *
       it is he who shall keep you safe.
⁸ The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, *
       from this time forth for evermore.

The familiar opening phrases of Psalm 121 offer comfort and reassurance, and are often read at funerals, along with Psalm 23. Looking up to the hills, to the heavens, for help and protection, and beyond our own capacity, is a natural response, built into our human psyche. Indeed, the Latin title for this psalm is Levavi oculos – the raising of one’s gaze.

As affirming as this conviction is, it is the belief in God’s presence with and among us, not perched somewhere up there and viewing us from afar, that offers reassurance. He’s involved. He cares. Whether major calamities or minor annoyances, “the Lord himself watches over you.” 

The notion of God watching over us is stated four times within the eight verses of this psalm, and twice tells us that He will not fall asleep, and neither slumbers not sleeps. Thinking back to the Creation account in Genesis, we are told that God finally rested on the seventh day. Has He slept since? Even as we tend to attribute anthropomorphic characteristics to God, we know that He really doesn’t suffer from insomnia, or need a caffeine boost to function. For that, we are thankful.

We mortals, however, need our rest, and a good night’s sleep. That can be elusive, especially as we age. While illness, aches and pains can make it difficult to slip off into slumber, it is what is happening in our heads that defy or disrupt sleep. We grapple with regrets over the past and fears for the future. Wound up and worn out over worldwide concerns and uncertainties, while overwhelmed with worry over personal woes, we toss and turn, as our dark thoughts are amplified in the deep recesses of the wee hours. No “sleep in heavenly peace” on those nights.   

As babies and young children, we were likely blessed to have a parent or loving adult tuck us into bed, and perhaps sing a lullaby to send us off into Dreamland, comforted with the assurance that we were safe, and someone was watching over us. Apart from an occasional nightmare, there were sweet dreams and happy thoughts, which assisted in “sleeping like a baby.” Sigh. Other than the “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” prayer (with its foreboding inference of death), or “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” falling from the treetop, such lullabies and prayers instilled sleepy smiles as the Sandman arrived.  

In my mother’s girlhood bedroom, there was a plaque on the wall printed with a prayer, “Sleep Sweet.” I can picture my grandmother putting the words to a simple tune to sing to her little daughter, concluding with:

Thy Maker is thy changeless friend,

His love surrounds thee still.

Forget thyself and all the world,

Put out each feverish light.

The stars are watching overhead.

Sleep sweet!  Good night!  Good night!

As wearied and sleep-deprived adults, we might consider Psalm 121 to be a lullaby from God, who keeps watch over His beloved children, preserves us from all evil, and watches over our comings and goings. For evermore.

Sweet dreams.

Laura Sullivan