The words from Psalm 4:8 are the basis for A Child’s First Prayer, published in 1884, in a song attributed to an unknown author, with a melody by Hubert P. Main. The words are simple, but the meaning is not.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take;
And this I ask for Jesus’ sake.
Sleep in this prayer has multiple meanings. We can look at it as: 1. resting the eyes during a restorative period each day; 2. a time of spiritual unawareness; 3. the span between physical death and spiritual reawakening in Christ.
It’s all in the context in which we find the word. Now I lay me down to sleep…
From a child’s viewpoint, we see a tyke’s room, with horses and clouds on the walls, and a nightlight glowing in the corner. It’s a peaceful scene, that of a small girl or boy snoozing the midnight hour away.
From God’s viewpoint, we are drowsing through the most important hours of our days. We are spiritually asleep. His alarm clock went off 2,000 years ago on a cross on Golgotha. He’s been attempting to rouse us ever since.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 starts off:
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”
Paul speaks of those who have died, but his words fit equally well on the shoulders of those who have yet to recognize the authority of Christ over our world. Our hope comes in Verse 16:
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
Let’s return to our 1884 song. If I should die before I wake…
This hits close to home. If our unsaved friends and family refuse to accept Christ as their savior, this becomes their sinkhole of despair. What will happen to them once they are gone?
We find our answer for those who have accepted the salvation of Christ in the words of Psalm 4:8:
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Let’s read the last line of that old hymn once more. And this I ask for Jesus’ sake. Our job is to keep our loved ones held continually before the throne. We are to be the example that emulates the love of Christ so that Jesus can entreat them to come to him.
When we live the example of Christ, our faith in our God’s redeeming power will make an amazing difference in the lives of those we care most about.
When we come to the cross, Jesus lifts us into new life, waking us from the sleep of sin and decay.
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Code: FGO.D.04.16a.vp.esv