(by Lorie Codispoti)
Rocking a baby is something that comes natural to almost every human being - whether they have children or not. Most parents-to-be include a rocking chair on their nursery wish list. I recall putting many miles on mine, as I had a fussy infant whose health issues kept her from being comforted any other way.
If I were to ask you what song most people default to, what would be your guess?
Rock A Bye Baby? Yep! It’s the universal hummer.
Some of the lyrics are quite disturbing though … “when the bow breaks the baby will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all.”
The origin of the song varies from it being a political allegory to the observations of a pilgrim boy as he observed Native American mothers placing infants in cradles made of birch bark attached to low hanging branches. The goal was for the soothing motion of a breeze to gently rock the baby to sleep. Others credit the song to a real life family of tree dwellers in England. Davy Crockett’s cousin publicly claimed she was the author of the song, saying she was inspired after babysitting a fussy child. Whatever its origin, you’d have to agree, it’s a strange nursery rhyme (as most are).
I never liked it, so along with tunes like Jesus Loves Me I made up my own songs as I rocked my baby to sleep.
One of my favorites borrows its lyrics from a verse in the book of Zephaniah. “The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (3:17)
Read that again, slowly!
First of all, there’s no doubt about who the Author is. It’s an absolute, objective proclamation given to the prophet Zephaniah by the God of Scripture. The warning is given and the “day of the Lord” - a day where the sovereign God will deal with the malignant sin problem that plagues humanity - is imminent.
The second thing is that it’s worth singing about. Not because of the doom and gloom predicted, but in that while we read that God will “utterly consume all things from the face of the land” (1:2), He simultaneously extends His mercy to those who humble themselves and repent. God's universal judgement includes cleansing, redemption, and restoration. It always has!
The part I love to ponder is the comfort that comes from knowing that the Creator and Almighty King of the universe, cares enough about us to quiet us with His love, “in the midst” of all the chaos and calamity that can fill our hearts with fear. And, as if that weren’t enough, He rejoices over us with gladness and singing. It’s like He cradles us in His arms and shields us from the surrounding devastation, and then drowns out the noise of all the confusion with His gentle, reassuring voice.
Can you hear Him singing over you?
There’s nothing more soothing than to be held and comforted by someone who loves you. Trusting the outcome of our circumstances to the One who is truly in control not only brings peace to the heart, but it fills the mind with the assurance we need to fully rest in His care.
When the bow of this world breaks, and the cradle of chaos falls, make sure you are tethered to the One whose arms remain steadfast and secure.
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