All Through the Night

 

Sleep my child and peace attend thee,
All through the night
Guardian angels God will send thee,
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and vale in slumber sleeping,
I my loving vigil keeping
All through the night.

While the moon her watch is keeping
All through the night
While the weary world is sleeping
All through the night
O’er they spirit gently stealing
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling
All through the night.

Love, to thee my thoughts are turning
All through the night
All for thee my heart is yearning,
All through the night.
Though sad fate our lives may sever
Parting will not last forever,
There’s a hope that leaves me never,
All through the night.

What a beautiful song and the notion that God wants us to sleep well and rest, children and adults. He tells us so in Psalm 127:2 Sleep my child and peace attend thee, Jesus is our peace and angels watching, God sending them to keep a loving vigil, we should all be, slumbering because He doesn’t. And we should be well rested and refreshed, but it is, unfortunately, something we are having to relearn, as well as teach children. All through the night.

While the moon, her watch is keeping, the light He created to rule the night, the weary world is sleeping as the spirits or angels steal over us and reveal visions of delight. I have watched sleeping babies smile, and even waking ones and pets, gaze in amazement toward the ceiling, oh, they can see angels, only as we grow up do we begin to lose that spiritual sense and we must relearn that as well. By being born again, waking to Him, then entering rest. Now, not all babies will be that way, I am talking about those being raise in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If you are never in His presence, how will you know Him? I pray He sends them through orphanages and foster care. Breathe on them that holy feeling. All through the night.

God’s thoughts and ways are higher the psalmist reminds us and they are so many to us, love, our thoughts are turning to God or His to us, night can be a sacred time. Our hearts do yearn for Him, even if we do’t know it, we long for His presence and rest. His peace. even though our lives may send and personally, I believe we can be alive to see His coming, He is our hope and that never leaves, Jesus will never leave or forsake us, daytime, or all through the night.

John Ceiriog Hughes wrote this originally in Welsh, it was sung to music in 1784. It is used as a carol, but I used to sing it to children at nap time as a lullaby. This is one I’ll be singing today and when I get sleepy, I hope it will make your little ones rest well tonight. In fact, I might need a nap now,  but kidding aside rest is a serious teaching from God and I pray you are safe and angels watching all through the night. Rebecca Jones / Joseph Karl Stieler