In the morning … look up

In my study time recently, I’ve been doing something different from what I usually do. I’ve been going through Psalms with an eye out for lines or phrases that stand out but that perhaps I’ve never noticed much before or never really isolated for reflection. For each Psalm, I jot down one such line. 

For example:

• Psalm 138:7 – “You will revive me”
• Psalm 116:16 – “You have loosed my bonds”
• Psalm 37:7 – “Rest in the Lord”

This morning, as I was reading Psalm 5, it was verse 3 that stood out, particularly the second half: “In the morning … I will look up.”

For context, here’s the full verse: “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning, I will direct it to You, and I will look up.” 

“… I will look up.”

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I love mornings. I love getting up when it’s still dark, having a cup of coffee, and reading. But sometimes in the morning, my first gaze isn’t “looking up.” While my intent is to dive into the Word first, sometimes before I do, I look at email, or I look mindlessly through Facebook on my phone. My first look is all around … but not up.  

Maybe that’s why this phrase from this verse struck me. David writes that in the morning, the Lord will hear his voice, and he will look up!

This isn’t the only time the Psalms talk of our focus in the morning. In Psalm 59:16, David writes, “I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning.” The morning is a time for song. 

In Psalm 92:1-2, we read, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.” The morning is a time for thanksgiving. 

And in Psalm 108:1-2, David writes, “… I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn.” The morning is a time for praise.

The word translated “look up” is sapa. It’s a verb that means “to lean forward, i.e. to peer into the distance; by implication, to observe, await.”

This brings to mind Psalm 130:6, “My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning—Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” 

My pastor as I was growing up had been in the Army. He often related this verse to the hours he spent on night watch, peering anxiously at the horizon for the first sign of morning light. 

Do we wait and watch for the Lord with this same eagerness? Leaning forward in anticipation of Him? Do we start our days with praise, thanksgiving, and gratitude for His mercies that are new every morning? When so much is pressing in around with the breaking of dawn, do we look away from everything that distracts and instead look up?