Arise, cry out in the night
That is, O daughter of Zion, or congregation of Israel, as the
Targum; who are addressed and called upon by the prophet to arise
from their beds, and shake off their sleep, and sloth, and
stupidity, and cry to God in the night season; and be earnest and
importunate with him for help and assistance. Aben Ezra rightly
observes, that the word used signifies a lifting up of the voice
both in singing and in lamentation; here it is used in the latter
sense; and denotes great vehemency and earnestness in crying unto
God, arising from deep distress and sorrow, which prevents sleep:
in the beginning of the watches;
either at the first of them; so Broughton renders it, "at the
first watch"; which began at the time of going to bed: or at the
beginning of each of them; for with the ancient Jews there were
three of them; in later times four: or in the beginning of the
morning watch, as the Targum; very early in the morning, before
sun rising; as they are called upon to pray late at night, so
betimes in the mottling: pour out thine heart like water
before the face of the Lord;
use the utmost freedom with him; tell him, in the fullest manner,
thy whole case, fit thy complaints; unbosom thyself to him; keep
nothing from him; speak out freely all lily soul needs; do all
this publicly, and in the most affectionate way and manner, thy
soul melted in floods of tears, under a sense of sin, and
pressing evils for it. The Targum is,
``pour out as water the perverseness of thine heart, and return by repentance, and pray in the house of the congregation (or synagogue) before the face of the Lord:''lift up thine hands towards him;