Awake up, my tongue David here expresses, in poetical terms, the ardor with which his soul was inspired. He calls upon tongue, psaltery, and harp, to prepare for the celebration of the name of God. The word kvvd, cabod, which I have translated tongue, some have rendered glory; but although this is its more common signification, it bears the other in the sixteenth psalm, and in numerous places of Scripture. The context proves this to be its signification here, David intimating that he would celebrate the praises of God both with the voice and with instrumental music. He assigns the first place to the heart, the second to declaration with the mouth, the third to such accompaniments as stimulate to greater ardor in the service. It matters little whether we render the verb 'yrh, airah, I will be awaked, or transitively, I will awake myself by dawn of day. [1] But one who is really awaked to the exercise of praising God, we are here taught will be unremitting in every part of the duty.

Footnotes

1 - Hammond reads, "I will awaken the morning." Dr Geddes, Archbishop Secker, Street, and Fry, give a similar version. "The verb 'yrch," says Street, "is in the Hiphil conjugation; and therefore transitive; and the word hschr is the objective case after it." As to translating schr, early, Archbishop Secker says, "schr is not elsewhere used adverbially, nor, I believe, with an ellipsis of k;" and he observes, that "I will awaken the morning' is more grammatical and poetical." A similar thought frequently occurs in poetry. Thus Ovid says, "Non vigil ales ibi cristati cantibus oris evocat auroram." "The cock by crowing calls not up the morning there." And in Milton's Allegro we meet with the following couplet: -- "Oft listening how the hound and horn Cheerly rouse the slumbering morn."

Awake up, my glory - By the word "glory" here some understand the tongue; others understand the soul itself, as the glory of man. The "word" properly refers to that which is weighty, or important; then, anything valuable, splendid, magnificent. Here it seems to refer to all that David regarded as glorious and honorable in himself - his noblest powers of soul - all in him that "could" be employed in the praise of God. The occasion was one on which it was proper to call all his powers into exercise; all that was noble in him as a man. The words "awake up" are equivalent to "arouse;" a solemn appeal to put forth all the powers of the soul.
Awake, psaltery and harp - In regard to these instruments, see the notes at Isaiah 5:12. The instrument denoted by the word "psaltery" - נבל nebel - was a stringed instrument, usually with twelve strings, and played with the fingers. See the notes at Psalm 33:2. The "harp" or "lyre" - כנור kinnôr - was also a stringed instrument, usually consisting of ten strings. Josephus says that it was struck or played with a key. From 1-Samuel 16:23; 1-Samuel 18:10; 1-Samuel 19:9, it appears, however, that it was sometimes played with the fingers.
I myself will awake early - That is, I will awake early in the morning to praise God; I will arouse myself from slumber to do this; I will devote the first moments - the early morning - to his worship. These words do not imply that this was an evening psalm, and that he would awake on the morrow - the next day - to praise God; but they refer to what he intended should be his general habit - that he would devote the early morning (arousing himself for that purpose) to the praise of God. No time in the day is more appropriate for worship than the early morning; no object is more worthy to rouse us from our slumbers than a desire to praise God; in no way can the day be more appropriately begun than by prayer and praise; and nothing will conduce more to keep up the flame of piety - the life of religion in the soul - than the habit of devoting the early morning to the worship of God; to prayer; to meditation; to praise.

Awake up, my glory - Instead of כבודי kebodi, "my glory," one MS., and the Syriac, have כנורי kinnori, "my harp." Dr. Kennicott reads כבורי kebori, which he supposes to be some instrument of music; and adds that the instrument used in church-music by the Ethiopians is now called כבר kaber. I think the Syriac likely to be the true reading: "Awake up, my harp; awake, psaltery and harp: I will awake early." Such repetitions are frequent in the Hebrew poets. If we read my glory, it may refer either to his tongue; or, which is more likely, to his skill in composition, and in playing on differentt instruments. The five last verses of this Psalm are nearly the same with the Psalm 108:1-5 of Psalm 108:1-13. The reason of this may be, the notes or memoranda from the psalmist's diary were probably, through mistake, twice copied. The insertion at the beginning of the 108th Psalm seems to bear no relation to the rest of that ode.
Rabbi Solomon Jarchi tells us that David had a harp at his bed's head, which played of itself when the north wind blew on it; and then David arose to give praise to God. This account has been treated as a ridiculous fable by grave Christian writers. I would however hesitate, and ask one question: Does not the account itself point out an instrument then well known, similar to the comparatively lately discovered Aeolian harp? Was not this the instrument hung at David's bed's head, which, when the night breeze (which probably blew at a certain time) began to act upon the cords, sent forth those dulcet, those heavenly sounds, for which the Aeolian harp is remarkable? "Awake, my harp, at the due time: I will not wait for thee now, I have the strongest cause for gratitude; I will awake earlier than usual to sing the praises of my God."

Awake up, my glory,.... Meaning his soul, whom Jacob calls his honour, Genesis 49:6; it being the most honourable, glorious, and excellent part of man; is the breath of God, of his immediate production; is a spirit incorporeal and immortal; is possessed of glorious powers and faculties; had the image of God stamped upon it, which made man the glory of God, 1-Corinthians 11:7; and has the image of Christ on it in regenerated persons; and is that with which God and Christ are glorified; and is, upon all accounts, of great worth and value, even of more worth than the whole world: and this sometimes in the saints is as it were asleep, and needs awaking; not in a literal sense; for it is incapable of natural sleep, being incorporeal; but in a figurative and spiritual sense, as when grace is dormant, and not in exercise; when the soul is backward to and slothful in duty, unconcerned about divine things, and lukewarm and indifferent to them; which is occasioned by prevailing corruptions and worldly cares; and sometimes it becomes dull, and heavy, and inactive, through an over pressure by sorrows and troubles, as the disciples of Christ were found sleeping for sorrow, Luke 22:45; which seems to have been the case of the psalmist here; he had been in great distress, his soul was bowed down, Psalm 57:6; he had hung his harp upon the willow, and could not sing one of the Lord's songs in the place and circumstances be was in; but now he calls upon his soul, and arouses all the powers and faculties of it, and stirs up himself to the work of praise, just as Deborah did, Judges 5:12; some by his glory understand his tongue, as in Psalm 16:9 compared with Acts 2:26; and so may design vocal singing here, as instrumental music in the next clause:
awake, psaltery and harp; which, by a prosopopoeia, are represented as persons; as if they were animate, sensible, and living: these had been laid aside for some time as useless; but now the psalmist determines to take them up and employ them in the service of praising God: these are fitly put together, because psalms were sung to harps; and so with the Greeks a psalm is said to be properly the sound of the harp (s);
I myself will awake early; in the morning, when salvation and joy come; and so soon cause his voice to be heard, as in prayer, so in praise; or "I will awaken the morning": so Jarchi; be up before the sun rises, the morning appears, or day dawns: this is taking the wings of the morning, and even preventing that. The Targum is,
"I will awake to the morning prayer.''
(s) Scholia in Aristoph. Aves, p. 551.

Hence--he addresses his glory, or tongue (Psalm 16:9; Psalm 30:12), and his psaltery, or lute, and harp.
I myself . . . early--literally, "I will awaken dawn," poetically expressing his zeal and diligence.

My glory - My tongue, the instrument of singing. Awake - I will employ all the powers of my soul and body.