“At the close of the day”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, May 2, 2025
Psalm 134 (Forward, p. 4) CEV p. 638
Today’s psalm offers up some intriguing possibilities, both then and now. From 1 Chronicles 9:33 we learn that the Levitical singers were ‘on duty day and night’, but is this to be applied literally, that is, twenty-four hours a day, or is it an example of the frequently used Hebraic figure of speech, synecdoche, meaning ‘all the time’, in a more generalized sense? Either way, it raises some questions. Firstly, how did they ‘manage’ to worship God continually in an environment bereft of incandescent lighting or, in fact, any lighting of a reliable nature”. And secondly, was this worship delegated, confined, only to a select few, the Levitical singers, meaning that the rest of the congregation was not involved? This would be somewhat sad. And thirdly, from this context, it appears that this worship was confined only to the Temple, suggesting once again, that the laity were not expected or able to take part.
However, let us now go on to some present-day possibilities. In monastic settings evening prayer has long been part and parcel of their community life, and in many Anglican churches even within my recent memory evening prayer was often part of the regular Sunday routine. But, sad to say, this practice has largely been lost except in just a few situations and most of us do not have ready access to a monastic community. So, what about us?
Formal evening prayer typically had two functions, firstly, to close out the day with an invocation and a thanksgiving to God, committing that entire day and its doings, good and bad, into the hands of God, and secondly, to ask God’s blessing and protection over the forthcoming night, being fully aware of the dangers and unexpectancies of night. I would suggest that neither of these would be amiss, even in these modern times, so maybe a kind of abbreviated Compline would be in order. I am not sure just what is available, but perhaps something could be devised: just a simple and uncomplicated, simple prayer just prior to ‘turning in’ for the night. We don’t
have to be Levitical singers, but surely, we could all do that. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the Lord, you that stand by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD; the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion” (verses 1-2).
“One of the loneliest moments of my life took place during my turn to keep overnight vigil in my mother’s hospice room. I was still reeling from the shock of her accident and coming to terms with her approaching death. That night and the weeks leading up to it showed me the meaning of desolation in a new way. Even though my mother was not conscious, I took time that night to say what I felt I needed to say to her before she died. When I had said all that I could think of, we settled into a long period of silence. In my need to break the silence, I picked up my prayer book to pray Compline.
“As I sat in my grief, I found myself reading Psalm 134. This short, two-verse psalm reminded me that while I felt alone, ‘The Lord who made heaven and earth’ was keeping vigil alongside me and my mother and extending a hand of blessing over both of us during that long night watch.”
Moving Forward: “When have you felt the abiding presence of God?”