Nougat 19

Hi my dear,

There is a saying, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going; which I assume means we do what needs to be done rather than roll over and die. In today’s Holy Nougat we find a great suggestion for what we can do when the going gets tough.

“My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119:148‬ ‭ESV‬‬

At a first glance, one may miss the fact that the psalmist is having all-night prayer meetings and Bible studies. And part of that is related to phrasing. One could interpret ‘before the watches of the night’ as referring simply to a one-time awakened state, which precedes the night watches. That is very reasonable. And for many of us, it is our reality.

Again however, we can apply context clues. This is very important for this nougat if we are to correctly grasp its meaning. With that, as we did last time, we apply some ‘prior knowledge’. (I don’t remember mentioning this as a step; we had just done it).

What we know about this nougat is that it is part of a very long psalm, and the entire psalm is a tribute to the love of God’s Word. It mentions the psalmist hiding God’s Word in the heart for sin avoidance. AND further, the psalmist sees God’s Word as essential to every step in a dangerous and shadowy world. And by reading the verse prior, we can tell the psalmist also reads God’s Word at daybreak.

We may (not) also know that a watch compromises either three-hour or four-hour spans depending on the ‘military time’ one chooses to apply. This represented the shift of the soldier when at the watchtower. This premise applied both day and night. And, whether Jewish or later Roman time is used, in biblical literature night/evening began at six PM (sunset) and ended at six AM. To be awake BEFORE six PM does not imply a sacrifice.

If however, the psalmist was to be awake prior to EACH and EVERY watch of the night, that person would still be up before the 10:00, 2:00, and 6:00 AM or the 9:00, 12:00, 3:00, and 6:00 alarms sounded the changes of the watches. It implies that the psalmist didn’t really sleep during the night.

When one considers the stereotype of night being a time of greater prevalence of evil activities; one might see the merit in emulating the psalmist. For, staying up to study God’s Word sets the tone for our day. And it also suggests that as long as our troubles last we are constantly immersed in God’s Word.

That is another thing that this nougat offers. It hints at the reason behind the psalm. We are all (maybe mostly) agreed that the entire psalm speaks to the love of God’s Word; but here we are told the psalmist is meditating on God’s promise. It implies that the psalmist may be troubled by a matter and seeks God’s intervention in the situation.

With that, one can then surmise that the psalmist undertook a season of fasting to find direction and comfort for the troubled spirit. And before you disagree, please note that our context clues imply that the psalmist forfeited Sleep all night to meditate exclusively on God’s Word. Whether it was a dry fast (the act of forfeiting all food and only drinking water) or just having an all night prayer meeting; that is a serious sacrifice.

What are we willing to forego when earnestly seeking God’s face?

In Christ’s love and grace . . .