THE PRAYER OF AZARIAH
9, 1:47-51	  Night and Day praise the Lord

47 Bless the Lord, nights and days; 
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.  
48 Bless the Lord, light and darkness; 
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. 

These verses (47-51) are a series of opposites that complement one another. As with love and marriage, "You can't have one without the other." Night and day, light and darkness, show the two sides of each and every day. From the very first day of creation, there was evening and morning, and God divided the light from the darkness. For darkness is not evil or the abode of evil, but the abode of rest and sleep, of recovery and peace. Darkness separates day from day, so that God's calendar works in the way he planned from the beginning (Genesis 1:14-19). And as with everything God made in the beginning, it was good (Genesis 1:19).

The coming of evil on account of Satan's rebellion, when he abandoned his proper dwelling (Jude 1:6) and was driven away when there was war in heaven, for he was not strong enough, and lost his place in heaven (Revelation 12:7-8). He tempted Adam and Eve to sin, and delights in tempting all of us to sin. he also spreads chaos and disruption everywhere, ruining God's good creation and even trying and often succeeding in killing some of God's holy people (Mark 9:22). But he does not stop the Lord God from using his creation for the good of his people, including light and darkness, nights and days. 
 
49 Bless the Lord, ice and cold; 
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.  
50 Bless the Lord, frosts and snows; 
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.  

What is the good of ice? What is the good of cold, frosts, and snow? Ice stores water, especially fresh water (salt water has a lower or colder freezing point). The ice caps of the world on the poles and on the mountain peaks hold water that God uses when it suits him, melting them from time to time, or releasing vast icebergs into the sea. 

Frost is a blessing because it is a harbinger of cold weather to come. It teaches us to expect the cold wind and snow, and therefore it is a blossom, not of springtime, but of autumn. The frost is a warning, like a little sermon on the law but nevertheless a good little reminder: Be careful! Don't forget your coat, your warm socks, and don't forget to dress your children so that they will be safe, as Solomon says (Proverbs 31:21). 

Snow is the blanket of the fields, preparing to soak them with important moisture at the first breath of warm air, to soften them up for plowing. It is the plaything of children, and the deep breath for their parents, for snow causes all of us to slow down. And more than this, snow is the blessing that drifts next to the ice. For when one might slip on ice, snow is your friend, for it offers at least a little traction and grip for the shoe, hoof, or wheel. 

51 Bless the Lord, lightnings and clouds; 
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.  

Lightning is terrifying and thrilling, and a danger. It can start forest fires, it can destroy trees, and frighten traveling monks into making oaths that will ultimately be pleasing to the Lord of the Church. Lightning and the thunderheads from which it darts is a physical representation of God's holy and awesome glory. When he gave Moses the law, he did so in a terrible, thick, black storm cloud, with flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder that terrified the people. "They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die'" (Exodus 20:19). This is a reminder and a perfect illustration that the law is terrible and frightening. People don't like to hear the law preached. People mock pastors who preach the law severely from the pulpit, like a little child who whistles when he is afraid of the dark. "The law," Luther says, "oppresses the conscience so harshly that it does not know where to turn. The law says, 'If you do this, you are condemned, and you deserve to die!'" (LW 56:5). But how does the gospel come? A baby in a shabby cradle. A poor man talking to a few friends. A gentle man healing people, touching their hearts, loving their children, telling them about God's love. This is the fresh scent of the air after the thunderstorm is done, when the air, the stones, the land, the rooftops, are all washed clean, and the world feels new again. This is the gospel of the forgiveness of our sins, when everything is washed clean and new, and we will be raised from death to life to be with our Jesus forever in paradise. Sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever!

In Christ,
Pastor Tim Smith