Psalm 127 is our reading for today. Psalm 127. One of the Song of Degrees. Believed to be penned for the traveling pilgrim up to Jerusalem as the meals were required three times every year to go up to the hill of God, to the house of God. and to the holy city to celebrate the three great Jewish feasts. These psalms would have been sung in joyful traveling as the pilgrims went up. And this is a song of degrees for Solomon, believed possibly to be written by David IV, his son Solomon. Others believe that it was Solomon himself who wrote this psalm. But anyway, we're reading Psalm 127, the short psalm. And so let's read from verse number one The inspired writer said, except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late. Eat the bread of sorrows, for so he giveth his beloved sleep. Though children are in heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As sorrows are in the hand of the mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is a man that hath his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Amen, and we'll end at the end of the chapter. Let's pray. Our loving Father, we come before thy word. We pray for open hearts and open understandings, with respect to that which is before us even today. Lord, minister to each heart through thy word, and grant, O God, our hearts to be instructed and challenged as we consider the things that are before us, even for these moments. And so answer prayer, close us in with God, send thy spirit, O God, for how, O Father, he needs to work, how the spirit needs to apply the word. If any prophet is to be brought, O let the word be mixed with faith today, for we pray these, our prayers, in and through Jesus' most precious name. Amen and amen. When I came to think about this series of messages on life issues, there were various topics that I immediately jotted down on a piece of paper as I thought about the issues that I had been confronted with as a minister and as a pastor of a local church. congregation. Now to date we have thought about two of them. We've thought about depression and we've thought about loneliness. Now because time flew a little on us last week, I never really got to finish off the message. I want to try and do that very quickly because a few things that I wanted to bring to your attention from the late Mr. Spurgeon, because he dealt with depression in three ways, and I want to quickly give you those three ways before we move on. Firstly, Mr. Spurgeon saw that his depression was ordained by God for God's glory and for his own sanctification. Mr. Spurgeon at times would press through his depression with unwavering conviction that God was in sovereign control with respect to all that had happened and all that was happening to him. Never once did he believe that his sufferings were by fate or by accident. He said on one occasion, it would be a very sharp and trying experience for me. to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me, that the bitter cup was never filled by his hand, that my trials were never measured out by him, nor sent to me by his arrangement off their weight and off their quantity." He said it would be a very sharp experience for him to believe that nothing happened to him but by God. Secondly, Spurgeon considered that his ministry was benefited from or he was benefited from in his ministry by bouts of depression that he experienced himself. He considered that an effective ministry was birthed as a result of his own times of depression How much more could God use me, he said, to comfort one afflicted soul, after I have gone into the depths a hundred times myself? You see, Spurgeon believed that his pastorate ministry benefited from his own times of depression, and he found himself that he was able to comfort others with the comfort that he had experienced in his life. Thirdly, while Spurgeon used theological weapons to combat his depression, he also used practical means through rest and nature. We are told that Mr. Spurgeon kept, when possible, Wednesday as his day of rest. Every Wednesday, Mr. Spurgeon took his Sabbath. You get your Sabbath on the Lord's day. Preachers need their Sabbath. Mr. Spurgeon took a Wednesday off for his Sabbath. He said to his students, it is wisdom occasionally to take off some days. In the long run, we will do more by sometimes doing less. on and on and on forever without recreation may suit spirits released from this heavy clay." Speaking about the glorified. But while we are in this fleshly body, while we are here on earth, we must now and then cry, and serve the Lord by holy inaction and consecrated leisure. Spurgeon used nature as a remedy for his depression. He gave this counsel to the depressed soul. Now you need to remember that Spurgeon was living in London. London had just come through the Industrial Revolution. Spurgeon used to call London the city of Gog, Magog, and Fog. The city of Gog, Magog, and Fog. You can think about all of the chimneys pumping out their smog and out their smoke. What a depressed atmosphere that Spurgeon lived in. And so this is what he said to the depressed soul. He said, breathe country air and let the beauty of nature do its appointed work. He said, a mouthful of sea air. or a stiff walk in the wind's face would not give grace to the soul, but it would yield oxygen to the body, which is next best. It doesn't produce grace, but it helps the body. heals the body and the human constitution. Because Spurgeon believed that at times depression is very much linked with physical, our physical abilities and our physical health. And so he would take a strong walk, a stiff walk in the wind's breeze or a mouthful of sea air. Now that doesn't mean that you stay at the seaside. That doesn't mean that you go off and enjoy the seaside every Lord's day. Some people do that, got into the bad habit of that. Don't see their duties as members of a congregation. Oh no, he said now and again, take in the country air and breathe in the sea air. Now, as I said, when I thought of this series on life issues, there were matters that came to my mind straight away. But I must confess that what we're going to consider today was certainly not one that immediately came into my mind. However, in my own readings, I came to this Psalm, Psalm 127, and the details of verse number two especially, and especially the latter state, came with freshness to my soul. Now, the reason why it probably did was because the previous night, It just wasn't the best sleep experience that the Sturts had in the household. And that's why I came with such freshness on that morning whenever I read it. And so we want to read the verse number two. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows, for so he giveth. his beloved sleep. And it's really that latter statement at the end of the verse number two, so he giveth his beloved sleep. And so today I want to speak to you about insomnia, the inability to sleep. I wonder, have you ever thought about what the Bible has to say about sleep? The Bible has much to say about it. In 2016, the bed manufacturer Sealy UK, along with Loughborough University's Clinical Sleep Research Unit, conducted the world's most comprehensive online sleep study. And it revealed a sleep-deprived world. They find that 77%, that's two-thirds, or three-quarters, sorry, of Britain's population feel to wake up refreshed and well-rested each morning. China as a country came from the study and emerged from the study as the most sleep-deprived country and this most sleep-medicated country. One in five adults in China consume prescription sleeping tablets. The Daily Mail on the 17th of March this year said that there were 12 million prescriptions for insomnia that were written in 2017 by doctors within the National Health Service, costing the NHS 72 million pounds in 2017. Now you might sleep like a baby, but others don't. Believe it or not, we find both good and bad sleepers in the Bible, and we want to consider them today. Now, no one is to fall asleep in the service today. We all know what happened to a young man whenever he did that by listening to the Apostle Paul. He preached to midnight, and as he did so, a young man was listening. He found himself perched up in one of the windows, and he fell asleep. And as a result, he fell from the window, and he died. And really only a miracle by the apostle Paul saw that young man brought to life. Well, I don't have apostolic power today. If anyone decides to fall, I can't bring you back to life again. And so if you feel sleepy today, then let the words of Ephesians chapter five and the verse 14 arise you out of that sleep. Awake thou that sleepest, awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light. I want to consider then the subject of insomnia, two main truths I want to think with you. First of all, I want you to think with me about the reasons for sleeplessness or the reasons for insomnia. Now as we think about those reasons, I want to point you in the direction of a number of examples that we have in the Word of God. The first reason why people may suffer from insomnia is because of the burden of God's work. because of the burden of God's work. Now you'll know that I'm primarily speaking to the saints of God on this particular point, but especially to a gripping within the gripping of the saints of God that incorporates any Christian worker, from minister, to elder, to committee man, to Sunday school teacher, children, to youth worker. The burden of God's work. The weight of God's work, the troubles of God's work can bring a Christian worker to a point where sleep is an absent commodity in the lives of that believer for a period of time. You turn to 2 Corinthians in the chapter number six, and I'll prove this to you from the word of God. Now in 2 Corinthians chapter six, the apostle Paul, he's putting out, as it were, a job description of what a New Testament minister should expect. He doesn't paint a nice picture. He's very honest with the ministerial candidate. What are you going to expect as a first century ministerial candidate? Now some of these things are not relevant for us today as so much as they are not impressed upon us, we're not going through at this time imprisonments or stripes at this time, but there are a number of things that we do deal with as God's servant. Let's read from the verse number 4, 2nd Corinthians chapter 6, but in all things approving ourselves. as the ministers of God in much patience, and afflictions, and necessities, and distresses, and strifes, and imprisonments, and chill-months, and labors, and watchings, and fastings, by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned." Now, you may say, well, where's sleeplessness in that list of requirements? Well, underline at least in your mind the word Watchings. The word watchings. In stripes, verse number five, in imprisonment, in chill months, in labors, in watchings, and in fastings. The word in the original Greek is aropnia, and it translates simply to mean sleeplessness. in sleeplessness. Paul said that the ministers of God would have to suffer times of watchings, times of sleeplessness. Now we asked ourselves the question, how did the Apostle Paul, how did he know? How did he know? That involvement in God's work, especially the gospel ministry, would lead to times of sleeplessness. Well, you turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, and you'll find the reason why Paul knew that a minister would have to experience it, because Paul, the apostle Paul, experienced it in his own life. 2 Corinthians chapter 11, let's read from the verse number 23. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool, I am more, in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often of the Jews. Five times received I forty stripes, save one. Thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day have I been in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen. in perils of the city, in perils of the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. That word watchings there in the verse 27, the exact same word. It's only used twice, that Greek word is only used twice in the whole of Scripture, and it's found in 2 Corinthians 6, when Paul lets the individual know this is what to experience as a minister of the gospel, and then as he relates from personal experience, I know that to be the case, because there were times that I had many nights of watchfulness, or watchings. I had many nights. of sleeplessness. Why? Why did Paul, why did Paul at times lie on his bed and sleep was an absent commodity from his life? Well, I believe if you cast your eye down to the verse 28, you'll find the reason, or at least part of the reason, because of the care of all the churches. Because of the care of all the churches. It weighed heavily upon him, his responsibility as a gospel preacher, and his responsibility as the individual who had founded many of these churches. He was responsible for their continuance, as it were, financially. That's why he gathers the saints' money together and he takes it up to Jerusalem, whereby it then is distributed among those flagelling congregations. The pressure financially was upon him, but most importantly, the spiritual well-being of the congregation, the care of it. came heavily upon God's servant. He was burdened for those that were associated with the congregation. He was concerned that those within the congregation that were going on with God, that they would continue to go on with God. And then he was concerned for those who had become backslidden. He writes the letters here to the Corinthian saints to deal with issues within the congregation. Their walk with God is not as it ought to have been, and that concerned him deeply. And he was moved to tears at times. He wrote with tears because he saw the departure among the people of God within the congregation. And so that bore down heavily upon him as God's servant. And then the unsaved. Within those great cities in which those churches were established, the multitudes beyond the four walls of the congregation and the local assembly, the very thought of them dying and going to hell caused this servant of God to become deeply concerned, deeply burdened, so much so that sleep left him and he was troubled about these things. The burden of God's work. And the work of God, can I inform you as if you need to be informed? The work of God has its many burdens. The work of God has its many weights, its many troubles. And can I assure you that there can be many nights of disturbed sleep endured by the minister? and by the youth worker, and by the Sunday school teacher, and the superintendent, and the spiritual oversight of the congregation for many varied reasons. Sleep can be an absent commodity. Let me ask you, does your life cause your minister to lie on his bed at night because of concern for you with no sleep. Does your lifestyle add to the burden of God's servant? Let me ask you, does your wayward conduct, does your sinful living, does your backsliding, does your coldness, does your non-attendance at the house of God, does your lack of evidence of grace within your soul, Did your rejection of Jesus Christ in the gospel add to the burden of God's servant? If so, lift the burden off your minister. Lift the burden off your pastor. Let it be done by your willingness to part with your sinful way of living and bring your life back into line with the teachings and the standards of God's precious word. God's servant has enough to deal with than for you to go astray and for you to cause him to become deeply concerned about your spiritual manner of living. And so the burden of God's work can cause many a sleepless night. The second reason why people may suffer from insomnia is because a wrong needs to be put right. There is a wrong that needs to be put right. God can disturb sleep. God can remove sleep when a wrong needs to be put right. There are a number of examples in Scripture. The first example is found in the book of Esther. You'll recall that the gallows were constructed by the orders of Haman. Those gallows were to hang Esther's cousin, Mordecai, who had brought her up, the Jew, and it is all set in place in Esther chapter 5. However, you'll know that that was a wrong. That was a wrong. This was a child of God, an individual who believed in God. Haman was a wicked, sinful, ungodly man. And so there is a wrong within the nation, even though it be in Babylon, though it be in the place of captivity, though they be far away from home, there's still a wrong. There's still a wrong with respect to Mordecai, and it needs to be put right. And so what happens? God takes sleep from the kings. from the king's night, take sleep from the king's life. If you read verse number one of chapter number six of Esther, you'll find on that night could not the king sleep. And he commanded to bring the books of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bignatia and Tirish, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. The king said what honor and dignity had been done to Mordecai for this. Then said the king's servant that ministered unto him, there is nothing done for him. There's a wrong. Here's a man who has spared the king's life, a plot to murder him. A plot to kill him has been found out. Mordecai has revealed he has heard it. God has given to him the understanding that there is a plot for the king that is related to the king. The king's life is spared and Mordecai is forgotten about. The kindness shown to the king has never been rewarded. There's a wrong there. And the wrong is going to be put right. Providence so ordains it that a king can't get to sleep. And so providence asks or causes him to rise from his bed and to ask for the book of the Chronicles to be brought. Now you think of the many of the library that could have existed within the nation as a result of all that had happened from the birth of that nation to the present day and providence guides the individual's hand to take out one volume and to open that volume and to read it at the specific place with respect to Mordecai and all that he had done. Now, we all know what happens. As a result of this being brought to light to the king, the king orders that Mordecai is exalted and that Haman is hung on his own gallows. But it can all be traced around and the wrong being put right can all be traced back to a night when a king just couldn't get to sleep. A wrong had to be put right. We also find it in the life of a king called Darius. You'll know him because he was the king during the days of Daniel. In the days of Babylon, he was one of the kings that ruled over Babylon during the lifespan of Daniel. Now you'll know that Daniel is thrown into the lion's den. That decision was a wrong decision. Daniel was worshipping the God of heaven, the true and living God. And yet a decree had been put in place that if anyone had made a request of God for 30 days outside of Caindarius, then that individual would have to be thrown into the lion's den. And this all takes place. Daniel is thrown into the lion's den. It's covered over by a large stone. The signet ring seals the very doom of Daniel. What do we read there? In the book of Daniel, with respect to it, Daniel 6 and the verse 18, after all that has happened and Daniel is left into the lion's den, it says that the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting. Neither were instruments of music brought before him and his sleep went from him. They tried to soothe him to sleep by playing music. It availed of nothing. It was no good for this king, because a wrong had been done, and a wrong had to be put right. Daniel had to be delivered, and thank God he was. But Darius knew within his own soul that he had done a wrong, and that wrong had to be rectified. And as a result of him doing that wrong, God took sleep from him. He was troubled by his actions. That happens on the journey of life. It happens for the sinner. The sinner, there is a wrong between you and God that needs to be put right, and well you know it. Your sin, by your sin you have wronged him, and your conscience has made you fully aware of it. And maybe as an individual you have been troubled about your sin in recent days, so much so that you've struggled to sleep at night. Testimony has been given even with respect to the gospel mission of those who find it difficult to get to sleep at night because God was troubling the soul. God was convicting the heart, and such has been your conviction that rest has not been afforded to you when you've gone to bed, rather it has been restlessness that has been your lot. Your testimony is a bit like Job's. Job said in Job 7 verse 3 and 4, I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed me. When I lie down, I said, when shall I arise and the night be gone? I am full of tossings to and fro until the dawning of the day." Has that been your experience as a sinner? As someone who is unregenerate, someone who's not saved, someone who knows not Jesus Christ as Savior, can you say that you're full of tossings to and fro until the dawning of the day? Later on in Job 7, in the verses 13 and 14, Job speaks of his hope to try and find comfort in his bed, and yet God meets him there. He's hoping that bed will bring relief to his troubled soul and to his guilty conscience. He says there, when I said my bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint, then thou scar'st me with dreams and terrifies me through visions. God speaketh in a dream, in a vision in the night. God speaketh once, yea, twice, yet man perceiveth not in a dream, in a vision in the night. God has the ability to terrify you in your sleep, to think that you're dying. I remember on one occasion within my own life, I was a Christian, but I remember one night, I remember dreaming about being in hell, being in hell. And the most terrifying thing about hell was not the flames, It was not the torment, but it was the thought, I'm never getting out of here. I'm never getting out of here. I was a Christian, but I believe that God, God can trouble you and can take the sleep from you, that even your bed becomes the place where there is no comfort to be found. where there is that constant turmoil of soul and heart, that rest is not afforded to you. Can I encourage you then to lay the burden of sin down at the cross today? Let the peace of God flood your heart and soul. Listen to the command, the invitation of Christ. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He'll give you rest. and you'll sleep, sleep of the beloved. Or the backslider, they too can have a similar experience. Maybe a distance has opened up between you and God. Some lifestyle choice is hindering your walk with God, and well you know, well you know that you're in the wrong. You're in the wrong. Not God, God is true. God is just, God is right, but you're in the wrong. Maybe you've lay in your bed unable to sleep. You're a backslider having gone far from God and you've asked yourself in the wee small hours, as we would say, you've asked yourself the question, is there any hope of my recovery from backsliding? Is there any hope that God would ever take me back again? Can I ever be in the place where I was once with God." Maybe you've thought of that in the night watches. God is speaking. God is drawing you back. Oh, may today mark a turning point in your Christian life and bring you out of that backslidden and cold state. Things are put right between you and God. Believer, maybe there's some wrong that needs to be put right in your life. God reminds you of it. You escape it through the day because of the busyness of the day, but there's a wrong that needs to be put right. wrong between you and God, maybe it's with respect to tithing, maybe it's with respect to his day, or maybe the wrong is between you and another brother or another sister. And when you go to bed at night, God reminds you of the wrong that needs to be put right. I remember I can't remember if my brother told this. He possibly did. He told it somewhere anyway and publicly shamed me for it. I remember my own experience. My uncle had a Scouts tent and we had a fire lit one day and for some odd reason I thought that we would try and make smoke signals by putting the canvas tent over the top of the little fire. Well, you'll know what happens. The fire caught, caught the tent, and like Achan, we hid the tent far away. But God troubled me about that for many, many years. Never confessed it. I had done wrong, it didn't belong to me. Remember God troubled me and I was before the Lord, I can't remember, I was maybe coming up to take a gospel mission. I was asking the Lord, was there anything between me and him? And he said, the tent. The tent. Thank God, I did something about it, made restitution. I went and bought my uncle a tent, took it around, and he thought, what a silly thing to do. He's a Christian. I'm not saying anything about his spiritual state. He thought, what a silly thing to do. That was many years ago, but you know what? It pacified my troubled conscience. I was troubled about it. Maybe there's something that you need to put right. Maybe the tax reform needs to be put right. Maybe claiming for some benefit that you're not right, you have no right to, maybe that needs to be put right. God only knows. God can take the sleep. The third reason why people may suffer from insomnia is because of the cares of this life. And that takes in so many things. Family cares, financial worries, health complications, work difficulties, exam pressure, relationship problems, even legal issues. And I could go on and on, but life's cares can lead to many a sleep-free night. We go to bed, we lie in our beds, we try to get to sleep, but worry consumes our minds so much that our minds, they just go over and turn the thing over and over again until the day breaks and we have to get up and face a new day. Maybe last night the cares of life kept you awake, and you're in God's house and you're exhausted. You can hardly stay awake because of the cares of life. They've drained you even as you sit in the house of God today. These are many, not exhaustive, but many reasons why we suffer from insomnia, but let the word of God Let it be your comfort today. Want to give some time to consider the relief, the relief for insomnia. Now I'm not a sleep expert, but God's word does point us to ways in which we can at least deal with it in some way, the problem of sleeplessness. And I say the first thing that will bring relief from insomnia is a recognition that sleep is a gift from God. It's a gift from God. The Psalm that we read together points us to that very truth. Because the Psalmist in Psalm 127, he said these words, so he giveth, he giveth his beloved's sleep. God gives us sleep. God gives us sleep. You remember the first mention of sleep in the Bible? It's with respect to Adam. Whenever Adam, when God was making a help meet for Adam, over there in Genesis chapter 2 and the verse number 21, it says, and the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept. The Lord did it. The Lord gave the sleep. God was the giver of the sleep. Let me quote again Mr. Spurgeon, sleep is a gift of God and not a man would close his eyes did not God put his fingers on his eyelids. True, there are some drugs and narcotics whereby men can poison themselves well near to death and call it sleep. But the sleep of the healthy body is the gift of God. He bestows it. He rocks the cradle for us every night. He draws the curtain of darkness. He bids the sun shut up its burning eyes. And when he comes and says, sleep, sleep, my child, I give you sleep. You think of the many in scripture that enjoyed good sleep. I'm thinking of one man in particular. His name is Peter. Now, Peter has been arrested by the authorities. He's going to suffer the same fate as what his fellow brethren had suffered, martyred him. That's what's ahead for Peter. But what do we find Peter doing in the book of Acts? Whenever he's in prison, beside the two prison officers, cheering to them, what do we find Peter doing? Sleeping. The angel has to wake him out of sleep. Now let me ask you, would you be sleeping? If you thought that tomorrow was going to be the day of your execution, I don't think that you would be sleeping. I think you would be pacing the prison cell, concerned about it all. But what happened was what was promised here in Psalm 127. God gave his beloved sleep. Even in the midst of coming death, God gave his servant Sleep, and God can give you sleep. It is in His power to withhold it, and it is in His power to give it. And maybe you have that problem with sleep. I at times do. But I always go to this verse, and I plead it in prayer. It's a promise. And I say, Lord, I can't sleep. Lord, thou hast said that you give your beloved sleep. And I'm one of your beloved children. Give me sleep. And God does. God rocks me to sleep at night. Because it's a gift from God. God, every good and perfect gift, and is sleep not a good gift? It is. And where does it come from? From the Father above, from the Father of lights. And folks, while we sleep, He doesn't. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. And so you can sleep. He's watching over you and He's working it all together for good. So you sleep while He watches. Rest on that. Another thing that will bring relief from insomnia is remember that God's work is his work. God's work is his work. Matthew 16, verse 18 reminds us that it is God's unchangeable purpose to build his church. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The words prevail against literally mean to overpower. The gates of hell will never overpower the blood-bought church. And so at times you may feel that, well, the work of God is going to be snuffed out. You may feel that difficulties and problems, you may think as they arise, that the very existence of Christ's cause within a congregation, within a community, within a country is going to end, that the church of Christ is going to be overpowered and overthrown. But that is never to be the case because that would then negate God's ultimate purpose for the church, an ever-advancing, into the kingdom of darkness. God is building his church. And so, brother, sister, sleep easy. Sleep with the assurance that if the work be of God, then nothing can overthrow it, lest happily it or they be found to fight against God. That's what the apostles said in the face of persecution. The work of God is His work, and we must at times just throw it over to Him and say, Lord, work it all out. Bring us through the storm within the work of God. Bring us through the time of difficulty. Bring us through the barrenness, the fruitlessness. Lord, it's Your work, it's Thy work, and Lord, Thou has said that You're going to build Your church. Lord, take Thy work forward. Protect it and keep it as the apple of your eye. The battle, brethren and sisters, is not ours, but it's God's. The battle for truth and righteousness. The third thing that will bring relief from insomnia is a rectifying of our wrongs. That's very simple. It is the Christian's responsibility at all times to have a conscience that is void of offense towards God and man. Paul had such a conscience In Acts 24, in the verse 16, however many have troubled consciences because they have said things, because they have done things that need to be put right. And brethren and sisters, it's very easy. Until those things are put right, you'll not have a conscience void of offense towards God and man. And it may result in many a night's sleep be taken from you. Many a night, whenever sleep is at a premium. Only you know why your conscience is troubled at night. Listen, child of God, you've been justified. You've been justified freely by grace. Rest on that tremendous position, that tremendous privilege that you enjoy. Rest that all is well with the soul. All is well with my soul. The fourth and final thing that will bring relief from insomnia is a relinquishing of our cares. Psalm 3, we sang it this morning. Psalm 3 was written by David. The title tells us that. A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son. You'll know that Absalom by craft and subtly has taken the throne from off King David he has stolen the hearts of the nation away from him and on to Absalom on to himself and as a result David has to leave Jerusalem he has to escape he has to flee he's now in a place of exile and he writes this psalm he writes this psalm as he's fleeing from Absalom notice what he says in the verse number five I laid me down and slept I await For the Lord sustain me. How could David sleep with the thought that Absalom at any moment could seize him and to put him to death? How could he sleep? Because he knew that God was watching over him. He knew that God was caring for him. He knew that an all-wise and an all-loving God would not permit into his life anything that would cause him damage personally. And if it meant his own death, it only meant promotion to glory anyway. And so David went to bed that night and he slept as if he had no concerns and he had no worries because David had learned what Peter encourages us to do in 1 Peter 5 verse 7, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. He careth for you. David had learned to throw his burden upon the Lord, knowing that God would sustain him. He knew that in the day of trouble, that God would revive him in the midst of trouble, that God was going to be with him, that God was a refuge and a strength for him, a very present help in trouble. David knew it all. David believed it. So he slept. He slept with the assurance that God is faithful to his promises. And God will bring me through faith in God's ability to deal with the situation, allow David to relinquish to God the care that otherwise would have kept him awake that very night. By casting his care upon God, David was able to lie down and sleep. Now here's the question, folks, and it's a very simple question. Can you trust your problems to God? Can you? Can you trust your problems to God, whatever those problems are? Can you trust God with your problems? Because folks, that's what it comes down to. Whether or not you and I have faith in God to deal with that which causes us to lie awake and either look at a white ceiling or some digital clock beside our beds on some bedside cabinet. Can you trust your problems to God? Can you trust God with your problems? An act of faith, by an act of faith cast all, not part, not the greatest proportion, but cast all your care upon God. And I will say, folks, you will find to your relief that he careth for you. He careth for you. Jesus Christ, when he was on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee, in Mark chapter four, the disciples were panicking on deck. But Jesus Christ was found in the hinder part, asleep on the pillow. They had to awake him out of sleep. And they had to ask that God, in the person of Christ, would still the storm on their behalf. Christ slept in the midst of the storm. And we who are united with Christ can sleep in the midst of life storms. knowing that all things work together for good. To them that love the Lord. David said in Psalm 4 verse 8, you're maybe there in Psalm 3, and with this I close. He says, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thy Lord only makest me to dwell in safety. See that yield lock that you have on your front door? Don't trust that to keep you safe at night. Trust God. God keeps his people. God surrounds his people. God secures his people. Only makest me to dwell in safety, Lord. Lord, you alone make me dwell in safety. May God grant then to us the sleep of his beloved. As we lie down in peace, Because folks, if you know Christ as Savior, you have the peace of God as a result of you being at peace with God. And whatever else comes in life, at least that is sorted. At least the soul is secure. So sleep, sleep easy. God is in control. that he giveth his beloved sleep. I trust you are his beloved today. I trust you're part of the family. If not, then come to Christ and Christ will save you and give you his peace, a peace that passeth all understanding. Let's bow our heads in prayer. O God, our loving Father, we come before Thee. We pray that Thou wilt help us to understand all that Thou has done for us. Help us, dear Father, to rest. The very fact that we have been redeemed by blood and our eternal destiny is secured by Thee and through Thee. Lord, we pray that Thou wilt give us sleep and rest. and help, Lord, by our lives, not to add to the burden of thy servants, those within spiritual oversight and leadership. O God, we pray that thou will come and help us by our living, our godly living, to cause the hearts of thy servants to rejoice in a going forward with God and an advancing in the Christian life. We recognize that there are problems and difficulties that the church family need to communicate to us. And, oh God, we do not want them to think, well, we cannot share that. We recognize that there are burdens to bear, but there are also burdens to share. And we pray that thy children will avail themselves of pastoral help. Lord, we pray that they'll cast their care upon thee, knowing that thou dost care for them. O God, give thy children such sleep, such sweet sleep, that they'll be able even in the midst of the storm to rest and to find a place, a place of refuge, a place of refreshment in the arms of Christ himself. Answer prayer and take us safely home and bring us back this evening. For we pray these our prayers in and through Jesus precious name. Amen and amen.