Singing On Their Beds

Psalm 149:5-9

5Let the faithful rejoice in this honor.

Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.

6Let the praises of God be in their mouths,

and a sharp sword in their hands—

7to execute vengeance on the nations

and punishment on the peoples,

8to bind their kings with shackles

and their leaders with iron chains,

9to execute the judgment written against them.

This is the glory of his faithful ones.

Praise the LORD!

People sing in strange places. Some sing in the shower, others when driving their cars.

Sometimes worry keeps us from sleeping. The longer we stay in bed, the more we fret about tomorrow’s problems, and the more upset we become. Finally, we get up and do things to get our mind off of negative thoughts.

But the psalmist calls us to sing for joy as we lie on our bed, and other psalms mention singing songs in the night.

Perhaps this is a skill we can learn from one of the many great hymn writers who have suffered from a long-term illness or physical limitation.

Songwriter Fanny Crosby went blind when she was only six weeks old. As a girl she heard someone sing the hymn “Alas and Did My Savior Bleed.” When the line “Here, Lord, I give myself away” was sung, Fanny Crosby stood up and shouted, “Hallelujah.” After that, joy characterized her life, and this shows through in many of her eight thousand hymns. She once said, “Darkness may throw a shadow over my outer vision, but there is no cloud that can keep the sunlight of hope from a trustful soul.”

Whether you are bedridden or not, use one of Fanny Crosby’s hymns to drive the clouds away.

Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!

Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!

Hail Him! hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;

Strength and honor give to His holy name!

Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,

In His arms He carries them all day long:

Praise Him! praise Him! tell of His excellent greatness;

Praise Him! praise Him! ever in joyful song!

FANNY J. CROSBY

Bible Networking

A time is coming when the Lord will assert his superiority over all other earthly authorities. Compare verse 8 with 1 Corinthians 15:24 and Philippians 2:9-11.

Notable Quotable

“Joy and judgment are wedded. Praise and power go hand in hand.”

W. GRAHAM SCROGGIE