Psalm 59: The Banner of the Morning

I was thinking about the Star Spangled Banner this morning, that famous first question: "Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light...?" Sun rising; first rays penetrating the gloom; searching eyes. At the end of the night, who rules?

David, the author of this song, had reached the limits of his strength, in the day. Now the night approached, when he was tired and weak:

They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city. They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied. - Psalm 59:14-15

He also looks ahead to find out whose banner will fly with the sun's rising.

O my Strength, I watch for you; - Psalm 59:9a

While he sleeps and when his strength fades, he must trust. No amount of diligence, self-control and preparation can provide the guarantee that he will see the dawn. He (and we) must trust another. Looking forward, he predicts the night will end.

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. - Psalm 59:16

There is an end to the night. The morning will dawn. God's banner will still fly. Consider your circumstances as the night, and trust God to take you through to the morning.

Francis Scott Key's famous song went on to become the national anthem of the United States. Most Americans know the first verse, but there are actually three more. Here is the fourth:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

We will sing in the morning. SDG.