The Lodestar

The psalmist is excited to sing for the Lord, and he invites his soul to get up from the slumber it has fallen into so that a new song can fill his inner being. He exhorts the instruments he had put aside for a while to wake up from their sleep and join him in the singing. He invokes the dawn to awaken. Usually, dawn comes in its own time, waking up people and animals.

However, the psalmist who wants to sing a song for God cannot wait for the dawn to come in its own time. He would instead ask the dawn to come a bit earlier than usual so that he could start singing for the Lord. He cannot wait!

The psalmist's enthusiasm to sing for God is unparalleled and unexpected. It is not easy to sing in the situation that he had described in the previous verses. In verse four, he tells the severity of his situation: “I am in the midst of lions, I lie among ravenous beasts; men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp arrows.” It is not easy to sing to the accompaniment of stringed instruments like the harp and lyre. The reality of his situation is unsuitable for such joyful singing, but it calls for lamenting.

However, though the situation worries and burdens his heart, another aspect of his life makes him sing. It is his faith in God that will rescue him from all the troubles that he goes through. It is the faith in a God who “sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends his love and his faithfulness” (v. 3). It is the faith in God who rescues us from all malice and wicked plans of the enemy that makes a song reside in our lips.

The psalmist focuses on God, who rescues him, and not on the enemy, who vainly tries to destroy him.

Don’t wait for perfect circumstances to praise God. Like the psalmist, awaken your soul—even amid trials—and let faith give rise to a new song. Pick up the instruments of joy and worship, and let your praise rise before the dawn.

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