Yes, the old Rabbis of Israel taught their people that two of the precious Psalms in the Psalter (our Old Testament Book of Psalms) were particularly suitable for those times of day, dawn and dusk.
Recall Psalm 119:164 please … “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.” Apparently we need to do a whole lot more praising and praying and thanking and worshipping than we do! “Seven times a day!”
Well then, here is the morning Psalm, or the part of it that is especially pertinent to my thought in this little article.
Psalm 63 it is. The first verse immediately gets us started right … “O God, early will I seek Thee!”
Now the first 8 verses … “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.”
Great worship anytime, but obviously crafted for the early morning!
Now for the evening time … Psalm 141.
“LORD, I cry unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Notice please, “the evening sacrifice.”
This great Psalm/Prayer continues … “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.” Wise petitions, aspirations!
Part of what I am saying (although in reality any Psalm will work well) is that we need to talk to God, adore and worship and thank and praise Him … morning and evening!
In ancient Israel, at the command of Almighty God, both a morning and evening sacrifice were offered to the Lord on the altar at the Tabernacle (or Temple in later years).
That fact alone teaches us (even if indirectly) to spend time with God … early and late!
Wow, what a challenge!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
By the way, the dear Lord deserves our best in every area of life! Including that of our daily schedule.
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