Psalm 143:8 NKJV
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.
The Sound of Dawn
MY NOTES
“Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.” Psalm 143:8 (NKJV)
Have you ever noticed how a night of heavy anxiety makes you physically and spiritually deaf? When your mind is racing with worst-case scenarios, and the sheer volume of your responsibilities is screaming for attention, it drowns out everything else. God might be whispering words of peace, but the internal uproar of your spirit completely overwhelms those quiet, comforting intimations of His presence.
In Psalm 143:8, David models the ultimate morning routine for an anxious heart. He doesn’t wake up and immediately try to figure out how to outrun his enemies or fix his life. Instead, he presents his weary ears and blind spots to God, making two beautiful requests: he asks to hear, and he asks to know.
David cries out, “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning.”
The word David uses for lovingkindness is the rich Hebrew word hesed—God’s covenant-keeping, relentless, unfailing mercy. Charles Spurgeon called lovingkindness “the cream of kindness.” David knew he needed a fresh taste of this cream at the first dawning hour. When we experience a deep sense of divine love at the dawning hour, it acts as both light and dew to the soul. It signals the definitive end to a night of weeping and the bright beginning of a morning of joy.
But notice David doesn’t just say, “Speak Your lovingkindness to me.” He says, “Cause me to hear.” David is admitting, “Lord, my sorrow has made me deaf. The noise of my issues is too loud. Only You can tune my weary ears to hear the sweet sounds of Your love.”
When you anchor your waking thoughts in God’s hesed, it sets a baseline for your entire day. David’s plea is profoundly simple: “For in You do I trust.” This is a solid, unshakeable argument before the throne of grace. When we rely solely on God for our comfort and protection, refusing to look to earthly substitutes, He will not—and cannot—disappoint our faith.
Once our ears are tuned to His love, our eyes can be opened to His direction. David continues, “Cause me to know the way in which I should walk.”
When we are in a crisis, we are often completely in the dark about what move to make next. David faced this literally—he needed to know which physical path to take to escape King Saul’s bounty hunters. But he also needed to know it spiritually. Notice that David didn’t ask God for a map of the next five years. He didn’t ask for the most pleasant path or the easiest shortcut. He simply asked for the right path—the path of obedience, truth, and holiness for that specific day.
How do we receive that kind of guidance? David gives us the secret: “For I lift up my soul to You.”
When your heart is heavy, low, and buried in grief, it will not rise on its own. You have to intentionally pull it out of the mire. Faith is excellent at a deadlift! David chooses to take his depressed, anxious soul and lift it up like an empty vessel, holding it up to God to be molded, filled, and fashioned according to His divine will.
If you are standing at a crossroads today, feeling blinded by the dark and deafened by your worries, take David’s approach. Do not take a single step until you have lifted your soul to the Lord. Listen closely for the whisper of His lovingkindness at the break of day, and trust Him to illuminate the exact path He wants you to walk.
Prayer
Abba, before the noise of the world floods my ears, I come to You. I confess that the worries of my life have made me a little deaf lately. Please, cause me to hear Your lovingkindness right now. Let the reality of Your unfailing covenant love drown out my anxieties and steady my heart for the day ahead. I am putting all my trust in You, and You alone. I also confess that I don’t know what tomorrow holds, and I am unsure of the choices right in front of me. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk today. I need to know the right path for this hour. I lift my heavy soul up out of the dirt and place it into Your hands. Mold me, direct me, and lead me. I ask for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
- Filter the Morning Noise: Before you look at your phone, read your emails, or review your worries, ask God to cause you to hear His lovingkindness. Let His grace be the first filter for your day.
- The Right Path Over the Easy Path: A godly life doesn’t demand the path of least resistance. It seeks the path of strict obedience and trusts God with the terrain.
- The Soul Lift: When you feel spiritually deflated, you must actively “lift up your soul” by shifting your focus away from your circumstances and centering your mind entirely on the person of Jesus.
Cross-References (NKJV)
Psalm 31:19
“Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!”
Psalm 36:7
“How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.”
Psalm 86:4
“Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.”
Proverbs 3:5–6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
Things to Think About:
- The First Voice: What is usually the very first thing you listen to or think about in the morning (e.g., social media, news, your to-do list)? How can you practically rearrange your morning routine tomorrow to ensure that God’s lovingkindness is the first thing you “hear”?
- Identifying the Fork in the Road: What is a specific decision or situation in your life right now where you feel completely in the dark? Write down a prayer asking God not for the easiest escape, but for the right way to walk through it righteously.
- The Dead Lift: Write down what it means for you to practically “lift up your soul” to God when you are feeling low. What scriptures, songs, or prayers act as a “dead lift” to raise your eyes back up to the Lord?
Proverb for Today
In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. Proverbs 16:6 NKJV
Daily Scripture
Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth. Hosea 6:1-3 NKJV
Closing
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Grace be with you. Amen.
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Summary of Commentaries:
The commentaries below show us that when life gets loud and overwhelming, David does something we all need to do: he begs God to break through the noise. He feels spiritually deaf from his worries, so he asks God to wake him up with the sweet “music” of His unconditional love (hesed) first thing in the morning. David doesn’t just want comfort, though; he genuinely wants direction. He asks God to show him the right path to take, and he prepares his heart by intentionally lifting his heavy, sinking soul up to the Lord in complete trust.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust.” Lord, my sorrow makes me deaf,—cause me to hear: there is but one voice that can cheer me—cause me to hear thy lovingkindness; that music I would fain enjoy at once—cause me to hear it in the morning, at the first dawning hour. A sense of divine love is to the soul both dawn and dew; the end of the night of weeping, the beginning of the morning of joy. Only God can take away from our weary ears the din of our care, and charm them with the sweet notes of his love. Our plea with the Lord is our faith: if we are relying upon him, he cannot disappoint us: “in thee do I trust” is a sound and solid argument with God. He who made the ear will cause us to hear: he who is love itself will have the kindness to bring his lovingkindness before our minds.
“Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” The Great First Cause must cause us to hear and to know. Spiritual senses are dependent upon God, and heavenly knowledge comes from him alone. To know the way we ought to take is exceedingly needful, for how can we be exact in obedience to a law with which we are not acquainted? Or how can there be an ignorant holiness? If we know not the way, how shall we keep in it? If we know not wherein we should walk, how shall we be likely to follow the right path? The Psalmist lifts up his soul: faith is good at a dead lift: the soul that trusts will rise. We will not allow our hope to sink, but we will strive to get up and rise out of our daily griefs. This is wise. When David was in any difficulty, as to his way, he lifted his soul towards God himself, and then he knew that he could not go very far wrong. If the soul will not rise of itself, we must lift it, lift it up unto God. This is a good argument in prayer: surely the God to whom we endeavor to lift up our souls will condescend to show us what he would have us to do. Let us attend to David’s example, and when our heart is low, let us heartily endeavor to lift it up, not so much to comfort as to the Lord himself.
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Enduring Word
Cause me to hear: David needed to hear a good word from God, and asked that he would be caused to hear it. Perhaps David wondered if God was speaking and he somehow failed to hear, so he prayed, “Cause me to hear.” This is a good prayer for all to pray. (Guzik)
i. “He who made the ear will cause us to hear, he who is love itself will have the kindness to bring his lovingkindness before our minds.” (Spurgeon)
Your lovingkindness in the morning: David needed to hear something of God’s great mercy, His lovingkindness – His hesed. He needed to hear this early in the day, in the morning, so we would have assurance and know how to walk during the day. (Guzik)
i. Spurgeon on lovingkindness (hesed): “Lovingkindness is one of the sweetest words in our language. Kindness has much in it that is most precious, but lovingkindness is doubly dear; it is the cream of kindness.”
ii. “He is beginning to look ahead and seek direction. The phrase, in the morning, is already a token of this by its admission that the night is not endless.” (Kidner)
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk: David confessed that he didn’t know the way, and that he needed God to cause him to know the way. He didn’t only need the love of God – he also needed the guidance of God. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk is a wonderful prayer for all to pray. (Guzik)
For in You do I trust…for I lift up my soul to You: David appealed to God on the basis of his trust and surrender to God. It was as if David prayed, “LORD, I am genuinely depending on you. Please don’t let me down; speak to me and guide me.” (Guzik)
i. “If the soul will not rise of itself we must lift it, lift it up unto God.” (Spurgeon)
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Albert Barnes
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness – The voice of thy lovingkindness, or thy mercy and favor. Permit me to hear thee addressing me in the language of kindness, and with the assurances of mercy.
In the morning – Early; speedily; with the first rays of the morning. Let it be, as it were, the first thing in the day; the first thing that is done. The idea is not that he would wait for another day, but that he would interpose as the very first act – as when one enters on a day. See the notes at Psalms 46:5, where the margin is, when the morning appeareth; Hebrew, In the faces of the morning.
For in thee do I trust – I have no other confidence or ground of reliance; but I have confidence in thee.
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk … – The safe way; the way in which I may find safety. See the notes at Psalms 5:8.
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John Gill
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning,…. Not only externally in the ministry of the word; but internally by the Spirit, so as to feel and perceive, and have some sensible experience of it; which he desired he might have in the morning, early, speedily, by the next morning; it being now night perhaps when he was in this distress, and put up this prayer; see 2 Samuel 18:1; Jarchi interprets it, when the redemption arises or springs out; meaning the deliverance of the Jews from their present captivity: and so Kimchi, of the time of salvation; as a time of distress is called the evening;
for in thee do I trust: alone for salvation; being encouraged by his loving kindness, and the goodness of God being for such that trust in him, Psalm 36:7; the Targum is, “in thy Word do I hope;”
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; either literally, which way he should take to escape his enemies, and get out of danger; or the way and course of his life and conversation, according to the will of God; the way or truth, and path of faith; the way of righteousness and holiness, the way of God’s commandments and ordinances; which he desired to have a more distinct knowledge of, and grace to enable him to walk therein;
for I lift up my soul unto thee; “in prayer,” as the Targum adds, which this phrase is expressive of; and unless the heart is lifted up to God, and the affections of the soul, and the desires of it, are drawn out unto him, and grace is in exercise on him in prayer, the lifting up of the hands will be of no avail; see Psalm 25:1.
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Matthew Henry
He entreats God’s favor (v. 8): Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning. He cannot but think that God has a kindness for him, that he has some kind things to say to him, some good words and comfortable words; but the present hurry of his affairs, and tumult of his spirits, drowned those pleasing whispers; and therefore he begs, “Lord, do not only speak kindly to me, but cause me to hear it, to hear joy and gladness,” Ps. 51:8. God speaks to us by his word and by his providence, and in both we should desire and endeavor to hear his lovingkindness (Ps. 107:43), that we may set that always before us: “Cause me to hear it in the morning, every morning; let my waking thoughts be of God’s lovingkindness, that the sweet relish of that may abide upon my spirits all the day long.’ His plea is, “For in thee do I trust, and in thee only; I look not for comfort in any other.” God’s goodness is commonly wrought for those who trust in him (Ps. 31:8), who by faith draw it out.
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk. Sometimes those that are much in care to walk right are in doubt, and in the dark, which is the right way. Let them come boldly to the throne of grace, and beg of God, by his word, and Spirit, and providence, to show them the way, and prevent their missing it. A good man does not ask what is the way in which he must walk, or in which is the most pleasant walking, but what is the right way, the way in which he should walk. He pleads, “I lift up my soul unto thee, to be moulded and fashioned according to thy will.” He did not only importunately, but impartially, desire to know his duty; and those that do so shall be taught.
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Miscellaneous Comments
To hear thy lovingkindness in the morning makes my waking to be saluted, as it were, with music; makes my troubles seem as if they were but dreams; makes me find it true that though “weeping may endure for a night, yet joy cometh in the morning:” (Psa 30:5). It may well be said we hear this lovingkindness in the morning, seeing it makes it morning to us whensoever we hear it.
—Sir Richard Baker.
Here it is the voice of the lovingkindness of the Lord that David desires to hear. This voice is the music of heaven, the joyful sound of the gospel, and it makes a jubilee in the Christian’s heart. To him there is beauty, sweetness, fulness in the theme; it is his joy and rejoicing. This is the voice that speaks pardon. Pardon is through Jesus the medium of this kindness. Apart from this there is no hope of forgiveness. We plead this and realize pardon. “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions:” Psa 51:1. It is the Lord’s lovingkindness that pardons me. This voice speaks peace: “The Lord will speak peace unto his people.” Precious peace is the result of pardoning kindness. This voice also speaks joy. This is the alone and all-sufficient source of joy. It is sought elsewhere, but found only here. It sweetens every bitter, and makes sweeter every sweet. It is a balsam for every wound, a cordial for every fear. The present is but a taste, but a drop of the future fulness of joy. How sweetly refreshing is the joy of the Lord’s lovingkindness. This voice speaks hope. With the sweet music of this voice falling upon our ears, the night of hopelessness passes away, and the morning of expectation opens upon us. It assures us of supplies for our wants, of safety in danger, of endurance to the end, and of a glorious portion in eternity.
—W. Abbot, in “The Baptist Messenger,” 1870.
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