March 25
REFRESHING SLEEP
"When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt
lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet" Prov. 3:24
Is the reader likely to be confined for a while to the bed by
sickness? Let him go upstairs without distress with this promise upon
his heart -- "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid."
When we go to bed at night, let this word smooth our pillow. We
cannot guard ourselves in sleep, but the Lord will keep us through the
night. Those who lie down under the protection of the Lord are as
secure as kings and queens in their palaces, and a great deal more so.
If with our lying down there is a laying down of all cares and
ambitions, we shall get refreshment out of our beds such as the
anxious and covetous never find in theirs. Ill dreams shall be
banished, or even if they come, we shall wipe out the impression of
them, knowing that they are only dreams.
If we sleep thus we shall do well. How sweetly Peter slept when
even the angel's light did not wake him, and he needed a hard jog in
the side to wake him up. And yet he was sentenced to die on the
morrow. Thus have martyrs slept before their burning. "So he giveth
his beloved sleep."
To have sweet sleep we must have sweet lives, sweet tempers, sweet
meditations, and sweet love.