“In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for thou alone, O Lord, makest me dwell in safety” (Ps 4:8).
Blessed is the one who applies these words of the Psalm! He will not be afraid of the “terror of the night” (Ps 90:5), nor will he lose the peace of his heart when he is disturbed by restless dreams, because he knows that the Lord is watching over him.
This is the true security that can permeate our whole life. Our Father is pleased when we appeal to His promises with unwavering faith, for this attitude is a sign of our trust in Him and reflects the spiritual reality of our existence. We also honor our Father by taking His Word seriously and resting in Him without worry.
God is and always will be our refuge, and in Him we can feel protected and secure. He is the only security on which we can build our lives without reservation. As we walk in His ways, this reality will become natural to us.
We can learn from the spiritual experience of the monks. Before going to bed, they close the day with a prayer that St. Benedict the Abbot introduced into the life of the Church: the recitation of Compline, which includes the Psalm we are meditating on today.
It is certainly wise to reflect before our Father on the day that has passed and to ask His forgiveness for the ways in which we have not corresponded to His love. In this way, our soul becomes more and more purified and more and more sensitive to the most subtle faults, whether in thought, word or deed. In this way, God’s love can penetrate more deeply into the soul, making us more attentive to love and increasing our gratitude for His goodness.
Then we can trust more firmly and naturally in God’s protection and go to bed in peace. Our last thought before going to sleep might be this:
“You, Lord, are with me. Therefore I can rest in peace”.