The daily morning sacrifice sees the Psalmist in the Temple. The word “direct,” or, better, prepare, is the same employed in Leviticus 1:8; Leviticus 1:12; Leviticus 6:12, of the priest laying out the wood for the sacrifice, or the parts of the offering itself, and suggest that the author may himself have been a priest. The word “offering” should be supplied, instead of “prayer.” Henry Vaughan’s fine hymn —
“When first thine eyes unveil, give thy soul leave
To do the like” —
was probably suggested by this verse.
Look up. — The Hebrew is from the root which forms “Mizpeh,” or “watch-tower.” The psalmist looks up for the answer to his prayer as the seer on his tower (Habakkuk 2:1) looked up for his inspiration. The usual attitude of prayer in the East was then, as now, either standing or prostrate, the hands lifted up or spread out (Exodus 9:33; Psalms 28:2; Psalms 134:2; Psalms 141:2). To raise the eyes was not so usual. Virgil, describing the capture of Cassandra by the Greeks, makes her look up, but only because her hands were bound.
“Ad coelum tendens ardentia lumina frustra,
Lumina — nam teneras arcebant vincula palmas.”