Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
Parallel Translations
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Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
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Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
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Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning, for in Thee do I trust; cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for unto Thee have I lifted up my soul.
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Psalms 143:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 25:4-5 Show me your ways, Yahweh. Teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth, and teach me, For you are the God of my salvation, I wait for you all day long.
- Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
- Psalms 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you.
- Isaiah 48:17 Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go.
- Isaiah 30:21 and when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”
- Psalms 46:5 God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn.
- Psalms 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
- Psalms 27:11 Teach me your way, Yahweh. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.
- Psalms 59:16 But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress.
- Psalms 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
- Psalms 86:4 Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul.
- Lamentations 3:41 Let’s lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens.
- Psalms 25:1-2 To you, Yahweh, I lift up my soul. My God, I have trusted in you. Don’t let me be shamed. Don’t let my enemies triumph over me.
- Psalms 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Psalms 119:34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law. Yes, I will obey it with my whole heart.
- Genesis 32:24-29 Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day. When he saw that he didn’t prevail against him, the man touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained as he wrestled. The man said, “Let me go, for the day breaks.” Jacob said, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob”. He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” He said, “Why is it that you ask what my name is?” He blessed him there.
- Psalms 119:73 Your hands have made me and formed me. Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.
- Psalms 5:8 Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face.
- Psalms 42:8 Yahweh will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life.
- Hosea 6:3 Let’s acknowledge Yahweh. Let’s press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 8. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness. In this…
8. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness. In this verse he again prays that God would show him his favor visibly and effectually. The expression cause me to hear, may seem not very proper, as the goodness of God is rather felt than heard; but as the mere perception of God’s benefits, without a believing apprehension and improvement of them, would do us little good, David very properly begins with hearing. We see how wicked men riot in the abundance of them, while yet they have no sense of the Lord’s goodness, through want of attention to the word, and a believing apprehension of God as a father. The adverb in the morning some confine to a reference to sacrifices — which is a meager interpretation — in allusion to the well-known fact that sacrifices used to be offered twice, in the morning and in the evening. Others give a more strained sense, understanding that when God deals in a more favorable way with his people, he is said to form a new day. “Que Dieu quand il commence a traitter ses serviteurs plus doucement, fait (par maniere de dire) luire un jour nouveau.” — Fr.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, speedily and in due season.
That is, speedily and in due season.
Let thine holy Spirit counsel me how to come forth of these great cares and troubles.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in…
Psa 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Ver. 8. Cause me to hear … in the morning] Mane, id est mature, as soon as may be, or (at least) as is meet, make me to hear of joy and gladness, speak comfort to my conscience, and help to my afflicted condition.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In the morning, i.e. early, as this phrase is…
In the morning, i.e. early, as this phrase is taken, Psa 90:14, and elsewhere; seasonably and speedily.
Wherein I should walk; so as to please thee, and to secure myself.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning,....…
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning,.... Not only externally in the ministry of the word; but internally by the Spirit, so as to feel and perceive, and have some sensible experience of it; which he desired he might have in the morning, early, speedily, by the next morning; it being now night perhaps when he was in this distress, and put up this prayer; see Sa2 18:1; Jarchi interprets it, when the redemption arises or springs out; meaning the deliverance of the Jews from their present captivity: and so Kimchi, of the time of salvation; as a time of distress is called the evening;
for in thee do I trust: alone for salvation; being encouraged by his loving kindness, and the goodness of God being for such that trust in him, Psa 36:7; the Targum is,
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"in thy Word do I hope;''
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; either literally, which way he should take to escape his enemies, and get out of danger; or the way and course of his life and conversation, according to the will of God; the way or truth, and path of faith; the way of righteousness and holiness, the way of God's commandments and ordinances; which he desired to have a more distinct knowledge of, and grace to enable him to walk therein;
for I lift up my soul unto thee; "in prayer", as the Targum adds, which this phrase is expressive of; and unless the heart is lifted up to God, and the affections of the soul, and the desires of it, are drawn out unto him, and grace is in exercise on him in prayer, the lifting up of the hands will be of no avail; see Psa 25:1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Morning - Seasonably and speedily.
Morning - Seasonably and speedily.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in…
Verse 8. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning] This petition was probably offered in the night-season. David had despatched his messengers in all directions; and prays to God that he might by the morning get some good news.
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk] Absalom and his partisans are in possession of all the country. I know not in what direction to go, that I may not fall in with them: point out by thy especial providence the path I should take.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness - The voice…
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness - The voice of thy lovingkindness, or thy mercy and favor. Permit me to hear thee addressing me in the language of kindness, and with the assurances of mercy.
In the morning - Early; speedily; with the first rays of the morning. Let it be, as it were, the first thing in the day; the first thing that is done. The idea is not that he would wait for another day, but that he would interpose as the very first act - as when one enters on a day. See the notes at Psa 46:5, where the margin is, when the morning appeareth; Hebrew, In the faces of the morning.
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For in thee do I trust - I have no other confidence or ground of reliance; but I have confidence in thee.
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk ... - The safe way; the way in which I may find safety. See the notes at Psa 5:8.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Cause me to hear—The morning will bring the…
8. Cause me to hear—The morning will bring the trumpet call, and the marshalling and march of the host. For that reason the guiding voice of divine mercy, and the pointing of divine guidance, are a more pressing necessity. In this verse is a certain sense of relief, as if the psalmist were consciously casting his burden on the Lord.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. Cause me to hear &c.] Possibly we should…
8. Cause me to hear &c.] Possibly we should change a letter, and read as in Psa_90:14 satisfy me (הַשְׂכּיצֵנִי for הַשְׂמִיעֵנִי).
in the morning] Let the dawn speedily end this dark night of calamity, and bring the sunshine of Thy lovingkindness to gladden my weary heart. Cp. Psa_30:5; Psa_49:14.
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for in thee do I trust … for I lift up my soul unto thee] Cp. Psa_25:2; Psa_25:1.
cause me to know &c.] Teach me how to avoid the dangers which beset me (Psa_142:3), and to order my conduct according to Thy Will (1Th_4:1). Cp. Psa_25:4; Psa_32:8; Exo_33:13.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) In the morning.—Comp. Psa_90:14. The expression either means…
(8) In the morning.—Comp. Psa_90:14. The expression either means “early,” or is figurative of the dawn of hope and salvation.
The way wherein I should walk—i.e., the way at once of duty and safety.
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I lift up my soul.—Or, my desire.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning;…
Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; i.e. early, speedily. (comp. Psa_46:5 Psa_90:14) For in thee do I trust. His utter trust in God gives him a claim to be beard and helped. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; i.e. illumine me, so that I may perceive the course which I ought to follow. (comp. Psa_5:8, "Make thy way straight before my face For I lift up my soul unto thee. Again, a sort of claim seems to be urged, as in clause 2.
"The way wherein we should walk.
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The tone and language of this psalm lend color to the general belief that it was written by David, and, perhaps, as the LXX adds, when he was a fugitive from before the rebellion of Absalom. He had very great need of help. He could not plead that he had done no wrong; on the contrary, he virtually confesses that he has (ver. 2). But his present distress was very great; and we can well believe that he turned to his accustomed arms of prayer and supplication. His prayers, however, do not seem to have, thus far, much aided him; he is still in desperate straits his spirit overwhelmed, his heart desolate; he was nigh to becoming "like them that go down into the pit." And amongst his other troubles, there was this one that he was in utter perplexity as to the way he should take. He did not know what that way was; and hence he prays, as in this eighth verse. But he feels that if only it were well with his soul, if the life of God there could but be revived, then most of his difficulties would clear away. Now, this perplexity of the psalmist teaches us
I THERE IS A WAY IN WHICH MEN SHOULD WALK.
1. There are some ways in which a man cannot walk; as e.g. the way which would reverse the past, which would undo or alter that which is past. How much we should like to be able to do this! But it is impossible. What is done cannot be undone: even God cannot make that not to be which has been. Nor can we walk so as to retrace our steps. We cannot put back the clock of life, so as to recall the years that are gone. Forward our path lies; backward we cannot go. What urgency this fact gives to the Preacher"s charge, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for," etc.! (Ecc_9:10) But:
2. There are some along which we must walk. Those which lead to the grave and to the judgment-seat of God. If death did end all, even then the squanderings of life"s opportunities would be miserable folly and grievous wrong; but when we read and know that "after death the judgment," then the seriousness and responsibility of life become vastly greater so great that we cannot over-estimate them. And there is yet another path in which we must walk that which leads to the formation and fixing of our character. We are forever building up the fabric of character building in the wood, hay, stubble, or the gold, silver, and precious stones. We are forming habits which are the garment of the soul. No day leaves us without having added its contribution to the final character we shall bear. But:
3. We have to speak of the way in which we should walk the way we should deliberately choose and decisively prefer and cleave to, as the only right way. There can be no doubt of there being such a way. (see Isa_45:5) There is a life-plan for each of us, a definite will of God.
(1) Nature attests this. There, everything from the minutest atom up to the most magnificent star, the drop of water as well as the wide ocean, have each and all of them their course marked out, the way they are to take. Nothing is left to chance or haphazard. Is it likely, then, that man, the highest creation of God, should be sent purposeless and without definite course in the world?
(2) And experience and observation confirm this belief. See the history of Joseph. (Gen_45:5-8) And of Moses and many more. We can see how God ordered their lives, and fitted them for the work he had for them to do. And for us there is no joy greater than to know that we are in the way God appoints. All difficulties and sorrows of the way can be borne if we know we are where God would have us be.
4. But man can refuse to walk in this way. How often he does refuse, and turn aside to his own self-chosen way! It seems right to him, but it ends miserably. It must do so. How terrible is this power of choice! Happy the man who has said to God, "Choose thou for me"!
II THIS WAY IS OFTEN DIFFICULT TO DISCOVER, Who does not know that very often the doing of what is right is far less difficult than the discovering of what the right is? Many causes may contribute to this difficulty. It may be part of God"s discipline for us. Earthly sorrow and trouble may bewilder. The faculty of clear seeing in such cases may not be ours. Self-will may pervert judgment.
III GOD CAUSES MEN TO KNOW THIS WAY. By angels, visions, pillar of cloud and fire, by dreams, by Urim and Thummim, so in ancient days he guided his people. And he guides them now: his Word, his providence, his Spirit, acting on our minds: reveal his will.
IV HE DOES THIS FOR THOSE WHO LIFT UP THEIR SOUL UNTO HIM. S.C.
The fear of not doing right in times of stress.
The people of Israel, on coming to the banks of the Jordan, and facing a time of great strain and difficulty, were called to stop and consider, and estimate their needs, and their sources of strength. They were reminded, "Ye have not passed this way heretofore." They were even more forcibly reminded, "The living God is among you." If they responded aright to this call, they would pray the prayer of this text, Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk.
I THE SPIRIT WE OUGHT EVERY DAY TO CHERISH. A man"s heart is revealed in every true prayer that he offers. This prayer shows
(1) a great sense of God"s nearness and personal interest. Contrast the renewed man"s cherished ideas of God, and God"s relations, with those of the unrenewed man.
(2) A true humility under God"s mighty hand; not merely the impression that God is great, but the feeling, too, that we are wholly dependent on him.
(3) A happy trusting of all our interests to God"s care. Power and wisdom do not satisfy reliant, trustful hearts. They find rest only in personal affection, interest, and service. Tenderly beautiful are the words, "Thou knowest, Lord!" when upon the humble, quiet-minded, loving Christian"s lips.
II THE PRAYER WE OUGHT DAILY TO OFFER. Offer each day anew, and as freshly as if then offered for the first time. The promise comes to us anew every morning, "As thy day so shall thy strength be.
1. Cause me to see the way. We always walk in twilight; sometimes in utter darkness. In thy light we shall see light.
2. Cause me to choose the way. Because even when we know the right, we will not accept it or do it; so we want the Divine strength in our will and decisions.
3. Cause me to understand the claims of the way. For it must be full of duties and responsibilities. He is the truly happy man who can see clearly what God"s work for him is, chooses it for himself, is satisfied with it, and wants to do it.
4. Cause me to meet the claims of the way. We need grace first in order to know the right way, and then grace to act aright in the way. So this prayer covers the whole field of the religious life. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 8. The two prayers "Cause me to hear",…
Ver. 8. The two prayers "Cause me to hear", and "Cause me to know." The two pleas"In thee do I trust", and "I lift up my soul unto thee."
Ver. 8. Ps 142:3. "Thou knewest my path." Ps 143:8. "Cause me to know the way."
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1. Trusting Omniscience in everything.
2. Following conscience in everything.
Ver. 8. On fixing a time for the answering of our prayer.
1. By whom it may be done. Not by all believers, but by those who through dwelling with God have attained to a holy boldness.
2. When it may be done.
a) When the case is specially urgent.
b) When God's honour is concerned.
c) What renders it pleasing to God when done. Great faith. "For in thee do I trust." J. F.
Ver. 8. Listening for Lovingkindness.
1. Where to listen. At the gates of Scripture; in the halls of meditation; nigh the footsteps of Jesus.
2. When to listen. "In the morning"; as early and as often as possible.
3. How to listen. In trustful dependence: "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust."
4. Why to listen. To "know the way wherein I should walk." W. B. H.
Psalms 143:8*
Ver. 8. Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust. Lord, my sorrow makes me deaf, cause me to hear: there is but one voice that can cheer mecause me to hear thy lovingkindness; that music I would fain enjoy at oncecause me to hear it in the morning, at the first dawning hour. A sense of divine love is to the soul both dawn and dew; the end of the night of weeping, the beginning of the morning of joy. Only God can take away from our weary ears the din of our care, and charm them with the sweet notes of his love. Our plea with the Lord is our faith: if we are relying upon him, he cannot disappoint us: "in thee do I trust" is a sound and solid argument with God. He who made the ear will cause us to hear: he who is love itself will have the kindness to bring his lovingkindness before our minds. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. The Great First Cause must cause us to hear and to know. Spiritual senses are dependent upon God, and heavenly knowledge comes from him alone. To know the way we ought to take is exceedingly needful, for how can we be exact in obedience to a law with which we are not acquainted? or how can there be an ignorant holiness? If we know not the way, how shall we keep in it? If we know not wherein we should walk, how shall we be likely to follow the right path?, The Psalmist lifts up his soul: faith is good at a dead lift: the soul that trusts will rise. We will not allow our hope to sink, but we will strive to get up and rise out of our daily griefs. This is wise. When David was in any difficulty as to his way he lifted his soul towards God himself, and then he knew that he could not go very far wrong. If the soul will not rise of itself we must lift it, lift it up unto God. This is good argument in prayer: surely the God to whom we endeavour to lift up our soul will condescend to show us what he would have us to do. Let us attend to David's example, and when our heart is low, let us heartily endeavour to lift it up, not so much to comfort as to the Lord himself.
Ver. 8. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness. Here he craveth God's favour and kindness, as tie doth in many other psalms. Because in his favour is life, wealth, and grace, all good things, and pleasure for evermore, so that if he look kindly to us we need be afraid of nothing. But how shall he be assured of his favour? Even by hearing it, as he saith in the fifty-first psalm: "Make me to hear joy and gladness." The voice which is heard is the word of God, which, being apprehended by faith, is able to comfort our souls in whatsoever temptation. It is no marvel that such atheists and papists who altogether refuse the word of God, live comfortless and die without comfort, because they refuse that instrument which should carry joy to them. Good reason they die athirst, since they reject that vessel, the word of God, by which they might be refreshed. Therefore since faith cometh by hearing of God's word, and all our comfort cometh by it, let us pray God to bore our ears and our hearts, that we may receive the glad tidings of reconciliation from God.
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk. The second petition ariseth very well from the first. For when we have obtained an assurance of God's favour, as he is reconciled to us in Jesus Christ, it followeth next that we should desire to conform our lives to the obedience of his commandments. For no man will frame himself to walk in God's ways till he be assured of God's favour. Therefore faith in God's promises is the most effectual cause to bring forth good works; and an assurance of justification the surest means to produce sanctification.
For I lift up my soul unto thee. Behold what a wonderful effect God worketh by afflictions: they depress and cast down the outward man, and our inward man by them is elevated and raised aloft; yea, the more we are afflicted, the more we are stirred up. The oftener the messenger of Satan is sent to buffet us, the more earnestly (with Paul) we cry unto the Lord to be delivered (2Co 12:8). So if we be cast down to hell in our feelings, what the worse are we if by that we be raised up to heaven? Archibald Symson.
Ver. 8. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the mourning, etc. To hear thy lovingkindness in the morning makes my waking to be saluted, as it were, with music; makes my troubles seem as if they were but dreams; makes me find it true that though "weeping may endure for a night, yet joy cometh in the morning": Ps 30:5... It may well be said we hear this lovingkindness in the morning, seeing it makes it morning to us whensoever we hear it. Sir Richard Baker.
Ver. 8. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning. If evil fall upon us in the night, we would have it removed ere the morning; if in the morning, we would not have it our bed fellow in the evening. We would have the Lord's promise run thus, Your sorrows shall not endure the whole night, your joy shall come long before the morning. The luxurious Emperor ?Smyndirides the Sybarite and his drunken mates sat and drank all the night, and slept all the day, insomuch that it was said of them, they never saw sunset nor sunrise. Such would we have the evils we sufferof so short continuance that, neither sunset nor sunrise might see us in our misery. This makes me wonder at that strange Egyptian beast called Pharaoh, who being demanded of Moses when he would have God's plague of the frogs removed, answered, "Tomorrow." Surely, here he spake not as a man, to whom one hour's trouble is accounted a day, a day a month, a month a year. For in leaving of two things we change our desires, and are much different.
1. In leaving of sin, then we procrastinate and put off; and when God says, "Today hear my voice", we answer, "Tomorrow", and are like the Levite's wife's father (Jud 19:6), too kind hosts to such bad guests: saying to our sins, "tarry till the morning." Our pace to repentance is slow, we are far from haste in that matter.
2. But for afflictions to leave us, then we wish they had feet like hinds' feet, to run away from us, or we the wings of a dove to fly away from them, and be at rest...What prisoner desires not to be presently set free, and that liberty's soft hand may loose his iron knots? What mariner wishes a long storm? What servant sighs not over his hard apprenticeship? Yea, who is he, that if there were an appearance of an offering to take the cup of calamity from his mouth, saying, "Thou shalt drink no more", would answer, "This cup shall not yet pass from me, I delight to carouse and drink deeply of these bitter waters"? Yea, this desire extends so far that it comes to the Son of man, the blessed Seed of the woman, who was so clad with human weakness that he earnestly prayed for speedy help from his heavy anguish; and that not once, but often, "Oh, my Father, if it be possible", etc.; and when his Father answers not, he cries like one ready to fall under the burden, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" The reason for Christ's thus complaining is to be fetched from thence, whence his flesh came; even from us. It was our human flesh, not his Divine spirit, which was so weary of suffering; his spirit was willing, it was our flesh that was so weak. Thomas Calvert.
Ver. 8. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning. This is a short and sweet morning prayer. God hears early prayer, and lovingly responds to it. The smiles of his face, the sweetness of his voice, the gifts of his hand, bless the morning, bless all the day. Do we write and read experimentally? Then we know the blessedness of divine love. The subject is truly pleasant and precious. "Lovingkindness" is a favourite expression, is a choice theme of David's. It is used more in the Book of Psalms than in any other book in the Scriptures. Lovingkindness is love showing kindness; it is the sun of love shining with rays of kindness; the river of love sending forth streams of kindness; it is the heart of love uttering itself by words of kindness, doing deeds, and giving gifts of kindness.
Here it is the voice of the lovingkindness of the Lord that David desires to hear. This voice is the music of heaven, the joyful sound of the gospel, and it makes a jubilee in the Christian's heart. To him there is beauty, sweetness, fulness in the theme; it is his joy and rejoicing. This is the voice that speaks pardon. Pardon is through Jesus the medium of this kindness. Apart from this there is no hope of forgiveness. We plead this and realize pardon. "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions": Ps 51:1. It is the Lord's lovingkindness that pardons me. This voice speaks peace:"The Lord will speak peace unto his people." Precious peace is the result of pardoning kindness. This voice also speaks joy. This is the alone and all sufficient source of joy. It is sought elsewhere, but found only here. It sweetens every bitter, and makes sweeter every sweet. It is a balsam for every wound, a cordial for every fear. The present is but a taste, but a drop of the future fulness of joy. How sweetly refreshing is the joy of the Lord's lovingkindness. This voice speaks hope. With the sweet music of this voice falling upon our ears, the night of hopelessness passes away, and the morning of expectation opens upon us. It assures us of supplies for our wants, of safety in danger, of endurance to the end, and of a glorious portion in eternity.
The morning is the season in which David desires to hear the voice of the lovingkindness of the Lord. The morning is a season often mentioned by him, and as a time of devotion is much prized by him. "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up": Ps 5:3. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning: let it engage my thoughts and affections. It is well to have a subject like this to occupy our waking thoughts, and to take hold of our first desires. If other thoughts get into our hearts in the morning, we may not be able to turn them out all the day. Prayer and praise, reading and meditation, will be sweet with such a subject occupying and influencing our minds. They will be exercises of cheerfulness, freedom, and blessedness.
Cause me to hear this voice. It speaks every morning, but many ears are deaf to it. But while others are indifferent to it, cause me to hear it; let me not lose the opportunity: waken my ear morning by morning, so that I may hail the season and enjoy the privilege. And when the morning of eternity shall come, "cause me to hear the voice of thy lovingkindness" welcoming me to its joys. W. Abbot, in "The Baptist Messenger", 1870.
Ver. 8. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk. The whole valley is surrounded by ranges of regal crags; but the mountain of the Gemmi, apparently absolutely inaccessible, is the last point to which you would turn for an outlet. A side gorge that sweeps up to the glaciers and snowy pyramids flashing upon you in the opposite direction is the route which you suppose your guide is going to take; and visions of pedestrians perilously scaling icy precipices, or struggling up to the middle through ridges of snow, begin to surround you, as the prospect of your own experience in this day's expedition. So convinced was I that the path must go in that direction, that I took a short cut, which I conceived would bring me again into the mule path at a point under the glaciers; but after scaling precipices and getting lost in a wood of firs in the valley, I was glad to rejoin my friend with the guide, and to clamber on in pure ignorance and wonder ...Now what a striking symbol is this of things that sometimes take place in our spiritual pilgrimage. We are often brought to a stand, hedged up and hemmed in by the providence of God so that there seems no way out. A man is sometimes thrown into difficulties in which he sits down beginning to despair, and says to himself, "Well, this time it is all over with me"; like Sterne's starling, or, worse, like Bunyan's man in the cage, he says, "I cannot get out." Then when God has drawn him from all self confidence and self resource, a door opens in the wall and he rises up, and walks at liberty, praising God. George Barrell Cheerer, 1807-.
Ver. 8-10. After thou hast prayed, observe what God doth towards thee; especially how lie doth guide thy feet and heart after prayer; there is much in that. That which was the spirit of supplication in a man when he prayed, rests upon him as the spirit of obedience in his course. That dependence which he hath upon God for the mercy he seeks for is a special motive and means to keep him fearful of offending, and diligent in duty. He looks to his paths, and endeavours to behave himself as becomes a suitor, as well as to pray as a suitor. David walked by this principle when he said (Ps 66:18), "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me"; that consideration still came in as a curb unto sin. Therefore David, in these verses, when he was to pray, even as for his life, for deliverance from his enemies, he specially prays God to direct him and keep him, that he might not sin against him; for he knew that by sinning he should enervate and spoil all his prayers. He cries not only "Hear me speedily", but also, "Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; teach me to do thy will." This he especially prays for, more than for deliverance, for else he knew God would not hear him. Therefore when thou art in treaty with God for any mercy, observe, doth God still after praying keep thee in a more obedient frame of spirit? If so, it is a sign he intends to answer thee. The same is true when he keeps thee from using ill means, etc. When he meant to give David the kingdom, he kept him innocent, and made his heart tender, so that it smote him but for cutting off the lap of Saul's garment. Thomas Goodwin.
Psalms 143:9*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning.
Psa_143:8
Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning.
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How to have a good day
There are days and days. There are days of darkness such as this psalm illustrates. Many think that David sung this psalm when he fled from Absalom.
I. It was a dark day for David.
1. It was a day of hard environment. The enemy hath persecuted my soul. Think of David fugitive, and climbing, in sackcloth, the slopes of the Mount of Olives. There are days when everything seems to go against us.
2. It was a day for David of clean discouragement. He hath smitten my life down to the ground. Have you not been in such a discouraged day?
3. It was a day of despair. When hope has gone out and despair has come in, your hands hang and your step stops.
4. This was a day for David when memory made contrast (verse 5). The only comfort for the soul in such plight is the memory of better days. That is a very bad, enervating mood when one, instead of looking forward, is perpetually looking backward. Oh, the brave apostles Though prisoner in Rome, forgetting the things which are behind.
II. How to get out of such a dark day and mood into a good day.
1. By prayer. Cause me to hear. The soul addresses God; turns resolutely Godward.
2. By beginning the day with a sense of God. Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning. Count your mercies and begin the day by doing it. There is a way of looking at disadvantage in the light of advantage. Mr. Edison, partially deaf since childhood, was told by a specialist an operation would help him. He answered, Give up an advantage that enables me to think on undisturbed by noise or conversation? No, indeed.
3. By constancy in trust. For in Thee do I trust. Trust, and keep on trusting anyway.
4. By determining to do, and at all hazards to do the right. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk. Notice that--the praying and the walking; the search for the right and the resolve to do it. Darkness shall surely flee from such a soul. Such turning of dark days into good ones makes--character! (Homiletic Review.)
In the morning
I. The morning comes after the night.
1. The night of mourning. Our light affliction, etc. This is higher and sweeter than the motto on the sundial, I count only the sunbeams. The child of God will count, to his wealth and joy, the darkness also. The night is glorified in the morning lovingkindness, as night-formed dew is in the morning sun.
2. The night of conflict. The morning of victory will come.
3. The night of weary waiting. There is a morning of fruition and satisfaction.
4. The night of sin. Oh the morning of fresh and wondrous purity!
II. The morning comes before the day. Gods lovingkindness brings morning--the harbinger of a long day. Always, only morning; pointing on to a day whose sun shall go no more down. A day of joy. Everlasting joy shall be upon their head. A day of work. When men have a journey to make, or work to do, they start in the morning. So let us seek Gods morning lovingkindness.
1. In the morning of every day. Let me hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning, that this whole day may be blessed and fruitful.
2. In the morning of life (Pro_8:17).
3. In the morning (at the beginning) of every new undertaking. Begin with prayer for Gods lovingkindness and blessing.
4. In the morning of this year. It is still pure and sweet. Let its future hours be devoted to God. (Homiletic Magazine.)
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk.--
The way wherein we should go
The text may be said to comprise every other prayer. If God gives His servant to know the way wherein he should walk, and strength to walk in it, peace, and order, and liberty, and joy will soon come. Life is difficult. It is difficult every day; on some days, and at some times, unusually so. Are there not continual circumstances and trials and duties of ordinary life which, in one way or another, make life a continual difficulty? Think of the number of things that are to be believed, that are to be renounced, that are to be examined, that are to be distinguished in themselves and from other things, that are to be tentatively dealt with, that are to be done, that are to be left undone, that are to be waited for, that are to be suffered. All these are included in the way wherein we should walk. Take some of them in succession.
I. Opinions and beliefs. There can be no living way for a man that does not involve these. A man is more than a growing tree or a grazing animal. Even those who speak slightingly of opinions, and lay stress rather on what they call spirit, and instinct, and practical action, when they rigorously analyze their own thought in this matter, are obliged to confess that in one form or another, separated from other things, or solvent in them, opinion and belief must be comprehended in spirit, even in instinct, in a measure, and certainly in practical action. But how hard it is now to form opinions and settle beliefs! Harder perhaps than it has ever been before, not only because we have more than the common amount of scepticism in the world, but because (as I verily believe) men are in some ways more sincere and more earnest than they have ever been before. They cannot so easily subscribe creeds, composed of many, and some of them hard enough propositions. What, then, are we to do? From this hour any one of us, if we will, may be of them that believe to the saving of the soul. How? By bringing the whole case fully and earnestly before God. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto Thee. There, and there only, you have the whole case; the meeting, and, in a measure, the settling of the difficulty. If we come really to Him, we have solved the difficulty, we have come into the new and living way, and God will make that way more and more plain before our face; whereas if we abide among the exterior things--examining, considering, comparing, putting this opinion against that, and working the whole matter simply as a high intellectual problem, without ever making the last and highest appeal--we have no certainty of a good and true issue.
II. Conduct. Even those who know the way they should go, so far as it consists of beliefs, convictions, principles, find it still in their practice to be a way of continual difficulty. It is easy to say, Act on principle. Of course we must act on principle, but on what principle? What is the right principle for the case? Or what is the proper combination of principles? And how are they to apply?
1. It will sometimes be that all is dark as to what is about to happen in the immediate future, and yet action must be taken at a certain time; and, in order to be well taken, preparation must be made for it now. And that darkness, perhaps, cannot be made any less by our intellectual activities, or by our moral impatience. We may knock at the doors of the future with all our importunity, but they will not open a moment before the time. What can we do? We can pray. We can use this text, and get the benefits it carries, Cause me to know the way wherein I should go, for I lift my soul to Thee.
2. Or the case is exceedingly perplexed and intricate. It lies all open before us. There is nothing more to reveal, and yet we cannot understand it. Our way, the way wherein we should go, lies right through the heart of those perplexed and ravelled things, and our going is sure to alter them somewhat, perhaps much. What shall be the ruling principle of our action? Shall we go quickly or slowly? And shall prudence or firmness have the reins? Who can tell us? And in this pause what can we do? We can ask Him who knows the way that is all unknown to us to cause us to know it, so that, as we tread it step by step, and make it thus our actual way, it may prove to be indeed the way of righteousness and peace.
3. Or the case, in its two sides, is perfectly balanced. There is nothing to choose between them. We may cast the weight of our action on this side or on that with equally good conscience. And yet, out of the choice we make, a very different class of results will spring; and other things will come in then, and issues never contemplated as possible will arise. So that there is a right side, a way in which we should go, even when no human wisdom could give any sufficient reason why the one side should be taken rather than the other: How shall we find it? How, but by coming to Him who knows all ways that human feet are to tread. He has His eye on that best way, that perfect way, that Christlike way, which my feet ought to mark, and if I come to Him to ask about it, it may be that, while I am yet speaking, the light of revelation will illumine it, the finger of Providence will point to it, and the voice that has directed so many pilgrims will say to me also, This is the way, walk ye in it. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
Gods pathway for the soul of man
The psalms of the rebellion differ from the psalms of the persecution under Saul, in that a strain of penitence mingles with the narrative of misfortune and suffering. That an ambitious young man should have so easily overthrown a strong government was itself suggestive. Absaloms success could not be really accounted for by his good looks, or by his popular manners, or by his splendid retinue, or by the widespread discontent of the tribe of Judah with Davids domestic policy, The truth was that the old respect for him had been largely undermined by his conduct; and under a system of personal government, respect for the ruler is essential to social safety. Davids own conscience ratified the tacit verdict which his people had passed upon him; and when he fled across the Jordan, while Absalom took possession of his palace and his throne, he recognized the hand, not of his undutiful son, but of his Lord and Judge. And thus, in the last of those seven psalms, which have for so many ages nourished and expressed Christian repentance, David mingles with his pathetic review of his reverses a loyal prayer for mercy and guidance.
I. the way that I shall walk in. David was thinking, no doubt, of some path across the mountains of Gilead, by which he might hope to make good his escape in that hour of danger. But that was not all. David would be thinking also of other ways. For the soul of man is perpetually moving, in whatever direction, through the wilds of moral and intellectual space: and the various directions which its thought, feeling, and action take, are variously characterized in Scripture. On the one hand we read of the way of understanding, the way of righteousness, the way of truth, the way of Gods testimonies, the way of wisdom, the way of life, the way of good men, the way everlasting, the right way, the way of the Lord, the way of peace; and on the other we are told of the way of the froward, the way of evil men, the way of mans heart, the way that is not good, the way that seemeth right unto a man, while the end thereof are the ways of death. And so particular types of human life, the way of David, the way of Asa, the way of Jehoshaphat, contrast with the way of Cain, the way of Jeroboam, the way of the house of Ahab, the way of Manasseh. And thus the expression comes to mean a certain moral and mental temper, or a body, or System of doctrines, or precepts, whether false or true, which claim to be, and are treated as forming the path to a higher or to a lower world. Above all, we must not forget that the spiritual sense of this expression has received a consecration which can never for long be absent from Christian thought. We know who has said, I am the Way.
II. This petition for guidance, like all serious prayer, implies a faith, a faith which at once dictates and shapes it. The lex credendi is also the lex supplicandi. Two truths, at least, prompt and govern the prayer.
1. The first is, that one path enables each man to correspond with the true ideal of his life. The way that I should walk in. One path only is perfectly loyal to the highest truth that has been placed within each mans reach. Only one path, and not many, enables each man to make the most of his faculties and of his opportunities, to develop most harmoniously his intelligence, his affections, his will, his character; to satisfy most adequately the just claims that others may make on him; to satisfy the demands of Him to whom the gift of existence itself is due.
2. And the second implied and governing truth is this--that there is one Being, at any rate, who sees and can tell each one of us what this his path should be. A clear sight of the track along which each of His responsible creatures should walk with the view of making the best of the gift of life, is the least that can be ascribed to an Intelligence that knows no bounds, and to a Will by whose good pleasure we each and all exist. A willingness to show each one of us what He thus sees to be the best for each may be reverently taken for granted in Him who is not only and chiefly Power and Intelligence, but also, and especially Goodness.
III. How does God answer this prayer?
1. First of all, and generally by the language of events, by that importunity of circumstances which, in different degrees, accompanies every human life. It matters not that the environment of every life can be traced to antecedents, and these to other antecedents that have preceded them till the long evolutionary process is lost sight of in the distant haze. It matters not because, first, we know that a point must at last be reached where no material antecedent is discoverable, and where bare existence can only be accounted for by the fiat of a Creative Will; and secondly, because the relation of each antecedent to that which precedes and follows it, the direction and law of this long evolutionary sequence--if so we must provisionally term it--itself implies, no less than its first impact implies, a presiding and guiding Mind.
2. But independently of that which belongs to single lives, there are certain broad characteristics of the pathway which God has traced for the soul of man. Mans will, as well as his understanding, needs the guidance of truth. Mans character needs the discipline of sacrifice. And He who said, He that followeth Me walketh not in darkness, said also, Let a man take up his cross and follow Me. What then are the characteristics of this truth which can furnish true guidance to the soul of man, and which thus is the answer to the prayer of the psalmist?
(1) It will first of all be positive, and not merely negative truth. The psalmist prays God to show him, not the way in which he should not walk, but the way in which he should.
(2) Again, the truth which is to serve as the pathway to the human soul must be definite. The road that will bring us home at last must be plain to the eye, and firm beneath the feet. It must not lose itself in a forest; it must not sink away into a morass. The psalmist prays for guidance; and indefinite guidance is all but a contradiction in terms.
(3) Once more, the truth which will conduct the soul heavenward must be truth which the soul knows to be independent of itself. Show Thou me the way I should walk in. The truth that will support our steps is true, whatever we may think or feel about it. It has, in modern phrase, an objective existence.
(4) Yet, once again, the truth that is to form a pathway for the human soul will be in its import specially practical; The way that I should walk in suggests practice rather than speculation. Christian truth is nothing if it be not practical. Gods Word is a lantern unto the feet, and a light unto the path; Scripture is profitable for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, as well as for doctrine; Jesus Christ came to purify to Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Surely a Christian should not read his Bible or repeat his creed without asking himself the question, What does this statement say to me, what does it suggest, what does it command, what does it reprove in me? How can it contribute to lighten my path through time towards eternity? What dangers does it unveil, what encouragements does it proclaim, what obstacles does it remove, what efforts does it warrant? This practical instinct is always energetic in a seriously believing Christian, it is an inseparable corollary of the prayer, Show Thou me the way I should walk in; for I lift up my soul unto Thee. (Canon Liddon.)
The guiding hand
There is no need more imperatively felt by the Christian than that of Divine guidance.
1. We must admit that God has an ideal or plan for each one of us in life. We also know how weak and unwise we are, and that light is needed outside of ourselves. Now we know that the Bible is a historic revelation. What was written aforetime was given for our learning. So by looking back over the history of the Church we are helped in the discovery of Gods will.
2. Three special methods were used in ancient times to reveal the will of God. Dreams, the Urim and Thummim, and prophetic teaching.
(1) The dream then, as now, was often incoherent, uncertain and misleading, but we have every reason to believe that God did, at times, send with a dream a firm conviction that it should be acted upon.
(2) Again, the mysterious oracle was a method of guidance. The Urim and Thummim was used by David, but after his day it ceased. It gave the yes or no to the inquirer.
(3) As the priestly office waned, the third method, the prophetic, came into prominence. The prophet did not necessarily predict, but uttered forth truth as to the past and present, as well as future.
3. The important thing is not the agency through which God reveals His will, but the fact that in some way He will lead them who trust in Him. Therefore the psalmist says, Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto Thee. The lesson is one of faith in Gods guiding hand. This mode of Divine direction is wholly unlike the method seen among heathen and superstitious people. It is spiritual, exalted and progressive. A moral discipline is needed, a heart in sympathy with God. The spirit of truth guides us into all truth. If we are willing to do the will of God we shall know the way.
4. The spirit of prayerfulness should be cultivated. It is on the knees that we learn the lesson of trust. It is there we are brought face to face with God. Let us, therefore, always lift our soul unto God, and, above all, seek the aid of His Holy Spirit. The example of Christ is a guide; the advice of His true disciples is helpful; our own common sense is to be used, but above all, the direction of the Holy Spirit is to be sought and followed. He will keep us from perverting the truth we hear to our own ruin.
5. Finally, if after honestly following what light you have, the issue is not what you supposed or wished, rest patiently in God till He clears the darkness. If you have erred, make it sure that He has forgiven, and then cheerfully go forward, saying, My times are in Thy hand, knowing that all things are working together for good to them that love God and are sincerely doing His will. (A. Foster, D. D.)
Knowledge and love of spiritual guide
The relation resulting from the intercourse of an Alpine traveller with his guide, writes Dr. Parkhurst, is not exactly like anything else. The one whom you had employed in this service would henceforth stand to you quite apart from other men. The peculiar quality that is in your intimacy has not resulted merely from your walking so long together; nor has it come because of your fellowship with one another in peril, or perhaps even in suffering. You learn to know your guide by obeying him, and you learn to love him by committing yourself to him and trusting him. Something about our Divine Guide, Jesus Christ, you can learn from the Scriptures; something, too, you can gather from the testimony of other men. But if you want to know Him you have got to obey Him, and if you want to love Him you must first trust Him. (Christian Endeavour Times.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 143:8-10 The psalmist prays for wisdom (see 5:8; 25:4-6;…
143:8-10 The psalmist prays for wisdom (see 5:8; 25:4-6; 138; 143:10). • your gracious Spirit: The Spirit brings God’s goodness (see 23:6).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.