AWAKEN THE DAWN
Aug 25, 2025
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AWAKEN THE DAWN
Psalms 57:8 NIV
“Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.”
When we hear the cock crow, and see the sun rise, we would be foolish to think that the cock’s crow brought about the sunrise. No, the sun rises on its own. Rather, God makes it rise, and only God can do it. So, what does the psalmist mean when he claims, “I will awaken the dawn.” Is he saying that he makes the dawn happen?
The Psalms belong to the genre of poetry, and poetic language should not be taken literally. One example: “Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together.” (Psalm 98.8) Another example: “My tears have been my food day and night.” (Psalm 42.3) Poetry lets us imagine rivers with hands, and mountains with voices; also tears as meals we eat for lunch and dinner. In Psalm 57, we can hardly wake up the sun than we can make it to rise at our command. What then does the psalmist mean?
The clue is found in the first part of the verse: “Awake, my soul….” This is the NIV; the ESV translates it literally as, “Awake, my glory….” Our soul bears the image of God’s glory, and is called to awake and make music with harp and lyre. Interestingly, these are stringed instruments, not percussion which we would expect to wake everyone up! But nothing like music to stir up our soul to meet God.
Thus, the poetic sense means, not we waking the dawn, but the dawn waking us. As the psalmist declares elsewhere, “O God, thou art My God; early will I seek thee….” Psalm 63:1 KJV When the sun rises to meet its Creator, we too rise to meet our God. This is right as we owe each day to him. Such a practice is also beneficial. To begin each day early with the Lord will set us off in the right direction, with all the strength and wisdom needed for the day. While our Lord Jesus was on earth, he sets us the example: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1.35
Wake up with the dawn.