The entryway to the Psalter is Psalms 1–2, and this pair contains language about day and night. Psalm 1:2 tells us about the blessed man’s heart and mind: “his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
The day-and-night rhythm is then picked up by phrases in series of subsequent psalms. What I want to observe is something we can notice when we look at a psalm alongside the one that precedes and the one that follows it. Sure, studying a psalm as an individual song will be both meaningful and edifying. But what if we also study a psalm in light of what surrounds it?
In the opening of the Psalter (Pss. 1–2), there’s a “day and night” reference. Now watch what happens in the following psalms.
Psalm 3, “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me” (3:5). This perspective is in the morning, because the psalmist reflects on recent sleep and how he has woken up by God’s sustaining power.
Psalm 4, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (4:8). Now this language reflects the psalmist’s confidence in the evening. Peaceful sleep is coming.
Psalm 5, “O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch” (5:3). No need to imply a morning reference; it’s explicit—twice! The psalmist is discussing morning prayer and morning sacrifice.
Psalm 6, “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping” (6:6). Here is a night reference. The psalmist is overwhelmed emotionally, soaking furniture with tears.
Psalms 3–6 were all written by David, as the four superscriptions make clear. If we understand these psalms in light of the entryway (Pss. 1–2), David is planted by streams of water and delights in the law of the Lord. He’s Israel’s king whom God protects and sustains. This protection doesn’t mean everything is going well around David. In Psalm 6:6, he’s weeping into his couch and his bed.
But the Lord’s presence and power give David confidence and hope. David can sleep because God is God. David’s peace is present despite threats. David’s sleep happens despite troubles around him. David prays and cries. Trusting God doesn’t mean there are never tears. But day and night, morning and evening, the psalmist looks to the Lord. Let us do likewise. Let us pray and worship, let us weep and sleep, let us wake and hope, let us grieve and sing.
Why not try one of these buttons?