Awaken the Dawn

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 108:2-3 Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

OBSERVATION: I love the imagery that this verse expresses. David is talking about waking up early in the day. As he looks over at his instruments, his lute and his harp, they are lifeless and motionless. What better way to waken them then with praise? David didn't need to be wakened by the lute and the harp. He would awaken them. He didn't need to be stirred to praise by instruments. He would stir them.
The same picture is extended to the dawn. Before the dawn was awake, David was, and he was already praising God. The army used to have a commercial that said, "We do more before eight a.m. than most people do all day." David could say, "I praise more before eight a.m. than most people praise all day."
David didn't need a beautiful, sunny day to praise the Lord. He started while it was still dark and was already praising the Lord.

APPLICATION: David was ready, always ready, to praise the Lord. he didn't need beautiful instrumentation to get him into the mood for worship -- he is the one who got the instruments into the mood. He didn't need sunshine. He praised the Lord in the darkness and allowed it to become sunshine all around him. Am I ready, always ready, to praise the Lord?
Praise is not dependent on or determined by skillful instrumentation. We can praise God in dark times. Have I become spoiled, so that I can only praise God when certain conditions exist? David was saying, "I will let my praise create the conditions, not the other way around."
Wake up! and praise God!

PRAYER: Jesus, I praise You. You are worthy of praise. Like David, I want my praise to be an instigator, not a responder. May my praise wake others up to praise Your Name. Amen.