A. The morning is the first part of the day, and it is fit that he that is the first should have the first, and be first served. The heathen could say, A Jove Principium, [Lit., “Begin from God”] whatever you do begin with God. The world had its beginning from him, we had ours, and therefore whatever we begin, it concerns us to take him along with us in it. The days of our life, as soon as ever the sun of reason riseth in the soul, should be devoted to God, and employed in his service; from the womb of the morning, let Christ have the dew of the youth, Psalm 110:3 (KJV) The first-fruits were always to be the Lord’s, and the firstlings of the flock. By morning and evening prayer we give glory to him who is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last; with him we must begin and end the day, begin and end the night, who is the beginning and the end, the first cause, and the last end.
Wisdom hath said, Those that seek me early shall find me; early in their lives, early in the day; for hereby we give to God that which he ought to have, the preference above other things. Hereby we shew that we are in care to please him, and to approve ourselves to him, and that we seek him diligently. What we do earnestly, we are said in scripture to do early, Psalm 101:8 (KJV) Industrious men rise betimes; David expresseth the strength and warmth of his devotion, when he saith, O God thou art my God, early will I seek thee, Psalm 63:1 (KJV)
B. In the morning we are fresh and living, and in the best frame. When our spirits are revived with the rest and sleep of the night, and we live a kind of new life; and the fatigues of the day before are forgotten; the God of Israel neither slumbers or sleeps, yet when he exerts himself more than ordinary on his people’s behalf, he is said to awake as one out of sleep, Psalm 78:65 (KJV) If ever we be good for any thing, it is in the morning, it is therefore become a Proverb, Aurora Musis Amica; [Lit., “Aurora [the goddess of the morning] is a friend of the Muses”; hence, “Morning is a friend to the Muses”; in other words, if morning is a time for creative inspiration (poetry), so also for spiritual exercises (devotions)] and if the morning be a friend to the muses, I am sure it is no less so to the graces. As he that is the first should have the first; so he that is the best should have the best; and then when we are fittest for business, we should apply ourselves to that which is the most needful business.
Worshipping God is work that requires the best powers of the soul, when they are at the best; and it well deserves them; how can they be better bestowed, or so as to turn to a better account? Let all that is within me bless his holy name, saith David, and all little enough. If there be any gift in us by which God may be honoured, the morning is the most proper time to stir it us, 2 Timothy 1:6 (KJV) when our spirits are refreshed, and have gained new vigour; then awake my Glory, awake psaltery and harp, for I myself will awake early, Psalm 57:8 (KJV) Then let us stir up ourselves to take hold on God.
C. In the morning we are most free from company and business, and ordinarily have the best opportunity for solitude and retirement; unless we be of those sluggards that lie in bed with yet a little sleep, a little slumber, till the work of their calling calls them up, with how long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? It is the wisdom of those that have much to do in the world, that have scarce a minute to themselves of all day, to take time in the morning before business crowds in upon them, for the business of their religion: that they may be entire for it, and therefore the more intent upon it.
As we are concerned to worship God, then when we are least burdened with deadness and dulness within, so also when we are least exposed to distraction and diversion from without; the apostle intimates how much it should be our care to attend upon the Lord without distraction, 1 Corinthians 7:35 (KJV) And therefore that one day in seven, (and it is the first day too, the morning of the week) which is appointed for holy work, is appointed to be a day of rest from other work. Abraham leaves all at the bottom of the hill, when he goes up into the mount to worship God. In the morning therefore let us converse with God, and apply ourselves to the concerns of the other life, before we are entangled in the affairs of this life. Our Lord Jesus has set us an example of this, who because his day was wholly filled up with public business for God and the souls of men, rose up in the morning a great while before day, and before company came in, and went out into a solitary place, and there prayed, Mark 1:35 (KJV)
D. In the morning we have received fresh mercies from God, which we are concerned to acknowledge with thankfulness to his praise. He is continually doing us good, and loading us with his benefits. Every day we have reason to bless him, for every day he is blessing us; in the morning particularly; and therefore as he is giving out to us the fruits of his favour, which are said to be new every morning, Lamentations 3:23 (KJV) because though the same that we had the morning before, they are still forfeited, and still needed, and upon that account may be called still new; so we should be still returning the expressions of our gratitude to him, and of other pious and devout affections, which like the fire on the altar, must be new every morning, Leviticus 6:12 (KJV)
Have we had a good night, and have we not an errand to the throne of grace to return thanks for it? How many mercies concurred to make it a good night! Distinguishing mercies granted to us, but denied to others; many have not where to lay their heads; our master himself had not; the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head; but we have houses to dwell in, quiet and peaceable habitations, perhaps stately ones: we have beds to lie in, warm and easy ones, perhaps beds of ivory, fine ones, such as they stretched themselves upon that were at ease in Zion; and are not put to wander in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth, as some of the best of God’s saints have been forced to do, of whom the world was not worthy. Many have beds to lie on, yet dare not, or cannot lie down in them, being kept up either by the sickness of their friends, or the fear of their enemies. But we have laid us down, and there has been none to make us afraid: no alarms of the sword, either of war or persecution. Many lay them down and cannot sleep, but are full of tossings to and fro until the dawning of the day, through pain of body, or anguish of mind. Wearisome nights are appointed to them, and their eyes are held waking: but we have laid us down and slept without any disturbance, and our sleep was sweet and refreshing, the pleasant parenthesis of our cares and toils; it is God that has given us sleep, has given it us as he gives it to his beloved. Many lay them down and sleep, and never rise again, they sleep the sleep of death, and their beds are their graves; but we have slept and waked again, have rested, and are refreshed; we shake ourselves, and it is with us as at other times; because the Lord hath sustained us; and if he had not upheld us, we had sunk with our own weight when we fell asleep, Psalm 3:5 (KJV)
Have we a pleasant morning? Is the light sweet to us, the light of the sun, the light of the eyes, do these rejoice the heart? And ought not we to own our obligations to him who opens our eyes, and opens the eye-lids of the morning upon us. Have we clothes to put on in the morning, garments that are warm upon us, Job 37:17 (KJV) Change of raiment, not for necessity only, but for ornament?
We have them from God, it is his wool and his flax, that is given to cover our nakedness, and the morning when we dress ourselves, is the proper time of returning him thanks for it; yet, I doubt we do it not so constantly as we do for our food when we sit down to our tables, though we have as much reason to do it. Are we in health and at ease? Have we been long so? We ought to be thankful for a constant series of mercies, as for particular instances of it, especially considering how many are sick and in pain, and how much we have deserved to be so.
Perhaps we have experienced some special mercy to ourselves or our families, in preservation from fire or thieves, from dangers we have been aware of, and many more unseen; weeping perhaps endured for a night, and joy came in the morning, and that calls aloud upon us to own the goodness of God. The destroying angel perhaps has been abroad, and the arrow that flies at midnight, and wasteth in darkness, has been shot in at others’ windows, but our houses have been passed over, thanks be to God for the blood of the covenant sprinkled upon our door posts; and for the ministration of the good angels about us, to which we owe it, that we have been preserved from the malice of the evil angels against us, those rulers of the darkness of this world, who perhaps creep forth like the beasts of prey, when he maketh darkness and it is dark. All the glory be to the God of the angels.
E. In the morning we have fresh matter ministered to us for adoration of the greatness and glory of God. We ought to take notice not only of the gifts of God’s bounty to us, which we have the comfort and benefit of, they are little narrow souls that confine their regards to them; but we ought to observe the more general instances of his wisdom and power in the kingdom of providence which redound to his honour, and the common good of the universe. The 19th psalm seems to have been a Morning Meditation, in which we are directed to observe how the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy-work; and to own not only the advantage we receive from their light and influence, but the honour they do to him who stretched out the heavens like a curtain, fixed their pillars, and established their ordinances, according to which, they continue to this day, for they are all his servants. Day by day utters this speech, and night unto night, sheweth this knowledge, even the eternal power and Godhead of the great Creator of the world, and its great ruler. The regular and constant succession and revolution of light and darkness, according to the original contract made between them, that they should reign alternately, may serve to confirm our faith, in that part of divine Revelation which gives us the history of the creation, and the promise of God to Noah and his sons, Genesis 8:22 (KJV) His covenant with the day and with the night, Jeremiah 33:20 (KJV)
Look up in the morning, and see how exactly the day-spring knows its place, knows its time, and keeps them, how the morning light takes hold of the ends of the earth, and of the air, which is turned to it as clay to the seal, instantly receiving the impressions of it, JOB 38:12, 13, 14. Job 38:12-14 (KJV) I was pleased with an expression of a worthy good minister I heard lately, in his thanksgivings to God for the mercies of the morning; How many thousand miles, (said he) has the sun travelled this last night to bring the light of the morning to us poor sinful wretches, that justly might have been buried in the darkness of the night. Look up and see the sun as a bridegroom richly dressed, and hugely pleased, coming out of his chamber, and rejoicing as a strong man to run a race; observe how bright his beams are, how sweet his smiles, how strong his influences: and if there be no speech or language where their voice is not heard, the voice of these natural immortal preachers, proclaiming the glory of God, it is pity there should be any speech or language where the voice of his worshippers should not be heard, echoing to the voice of those preachers, and ascribing glory to him who thus makes the morning and evening to rejoice: But whatever others do, let him hear our voice to this purpose in the morning, and in the morning let us direct our praise unto him.
Matthew Henry. Directions of Daily Communion with God.
