Episode Details

Psalm 5: The Morning Voice

Notice where the psalmist begins his day. Not with a list, not with the news, not even with his troubles — though his troubles are considerable and he will get to them. He begins by directing his voice. "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." There is something almost athletic about that verb — direct — as if prayer were an arrow that had to be aimed, and the aiming had to happen before the day's winds picked up. Most of us, left to ourselves, would wake up and drift; the psalmist wakes up and aims. And the target is worth noticing too: not merely heaven in general, but the house of God, entered in the multitude of his mercy. He is not pleading his own worthiness at the door. He is walking in on the strength of someone else's welcome. Perhaps this is what it means to be defended by joy — to have a mercy large enough to walk into before the sun is fully up.

00:00 Give Ear to My Words
00:18 In the Morning Will I Direct My Prayer
00:38 Into Thy House in the Multitude of Thy Mercy
00:58 Let All That Trust in Thee Rejoice