Joy in the Morning

Psalm 30 ESV

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple. I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Introduction

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.

We continue in our study of the Psalms with Psalm 30. The inscription tells us that it was written for the “dedication of the Temple.” There are two different camps of understanding on this. First, while David never saw the Temple— it would be built by his son, Solomon, nonetheless he wrote this psalm long before the Temple was built and dedicated. He did this in faith in the Word of God. A totally fine understanding of this inscription. The second camp of understanding is that David here was not referring to the Temple in Jerusalem, but to what takes place in 2 Samuel 6 where David moves the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem— long before the Temple is built. This would also make sense. The Hebrew here literally means “house, sanctuary” in general and not “the” Temple in specific. Regardless, this was written in respect for the Ark of the Covenant— which also wound up in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. If the second camp is the correct version, certainly this sanctuary was a type of the temple, which was a type of Christ. Both explanations are plausible, and both have good evidence backing up their suppositions.

When churches are built they are first dedicated and consecrated unto the Lord before they are used in the worship of God. In our church, there was a dedication on Sunday, July 10, 1966. Alfred Hofler was the pastor at that time. He had been assigned by the Atlantic District to start a Lutheran Congregation in the area of Center Moriches. He arrived in the Fall of 1961 and began canvassing the area. The first service took place on January 7, 1962 at the Women’s Club on Lake Avenue next to the Center Moriches Methodist Church. The Church was officially recognized as a Congregation in the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod at the congregation’s Charter service on Epiphany, 1963. On March 10, 1963, Pastor Hofler and some of the Church leadership purchased the property, funded by members and the Atlantic District, and construction on the new chapel began. The chapel is the building we are in now and was intended to be the temporary worship space until the new church would be built which was to be on top of the hill that is behind our parking lot. Of course, that never materialized. We got close a few years ago.

The new Church was dedicated on July 10, 1966. This building was officially consecrated as the Lord’s House and at that point all worship took place. The Sunday School began the following Fall. And we have not missed a service since the time that our church opened. Even with the COVID situation all services went on as normal with the exception that they were streamed on the internet due to the restrictions on gatherings. Praise God we are back. In His House. Where God’s people are commanded to be each Lord’s Day. But even more so, where God’s people say with the Psalmist “I was glad when they said to me let us go up to the House of the Lord.”

I will Extol You O Lord

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Timothy Saleska, in his commentary on the Psalms quotes Wendell Berry from his book, Life is a Miracle. In this quote he captures something very important about Psalm 30:

I his book Life is a Miracle Wendell Berry arguges that there is a certain kind of knowledge that is unexplainable. He gives several examples of cries “out of the depths” of people’s despair to illustrate his point that it would be impossible for the speaker to explain them. (For instance)

Job says: “I know that my redeemer lieth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though… worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”

This statement rests upon no evidence, no proof. It is not in any respectable sense a theory. Job calls it knowledge: He “knows” that what he says is true. A great many people who have read these verses have agreed; they too have know that this is so.

Psalm 30 is one of those unexplainable utterances that God’s people know is true.

As we have seen, once again we are reminded that David had many foes. But in this Psalm David exclaims the Lord’s deliverance from foes who rejoice over David’s harm and destruction.

How did this happen? Not with the might of David’s armies, but by David crying out to the Lord. David cried and the Lord answered! “You have healed me.” He didn’t heal himself. His victory was not his, but it belonged to the Lord. And the Lord shares this victory with you and me.

We live in scary times. And we do have foes. There is a lot of hatred toward the Christian Church today even in America. They are cries that Churches be closed. Other cries that tax exemption status be removed. A naval officer was court martialed recently for attending Church— the government has banned all military from attending worship services. The destruction of statues has now turned our way. There is a call to burn down all churches. Lord, have mercy. We don’t fight with arms but with weapons of the Spirit. We pray that the Lord would shield both the faith, and those places set apart to be used exclusively for His worship. And, as we heard last week, this is all driven by Satan, our most formidable foe. Satan begone in Jesus’ Holy Name.

We cry out to the Lord to deliver us in our personal lives— whatever our lot. And just like David, we can declare “You have healed me.” Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you. And, as Luther reminds us in “A Mighty Fortress”- “take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won, the Kingdom ours remaineth.”

God has delivered us from sin, death and the power of the devil You cannot be touched.

Sing Praises to the Lord

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Such wonderful knowledge moves us to worship the Lord. So sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to his Holy name.

There is that great spiritual, “How can I keep from singing.” My life flows on in endless song among earth’s lamentation, I hear the clear, though far off hymn that hails a new creation. No storm can cloud my inmost calm while to that rock I’m clinging, since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

His anger is there. God hates sin. God hates death. And God hates disobedience to His clear Word. When people sin, God allows His wrath to be seen. Sin brings death. Which means it also brings with it all of the seeds of death: Storm, pestilence, war, hatred, willful disobedience to God’s laws and the laws of nature. Do these things and the Lord will expose them and destroy them and those who do them. Corona Virus? What do you expect from God for a country that celebrates the killing of babies— millions upon millions of them since Roe v. Wade. I believe we as a Country and as a World are reaping what we have sown. No surprises here.

But this anger lasts only for a short time. His favor lasts for a lifetime. And not just this life.

God spilled out His complete and total anger at us on His Son. In that moment we were saved. Our sin, destroyed. Death, trampled down underfoot.

Weeping may tarry for the night but Joy comes in the morning.

There are some great Biblical examples of this. When Israel fled Egypt they were pursued by Pharaoh and his hosts. The night before Israel’s deliverance was probably the longest night of their lives. They were terrified. There was no human strength that they could muster to fight off Pharaoh and his chariots. Weeping remained for a night. But joy came in the morning as they crossed the Red Sea and Pharaoh and all of his hosts were drowned.

What are your nights? From whence comes your weeping, beloved? Are you led to despair? Do your tears and fears drown your pillow? Do they keep you awake? Do they paralyze you? The weeping is real. But joy comes in the morning. Jesus loves you. Jesus will protect you. Jesus has saved you. Jesus has called you His own. Joy comes in the morning.

It was dark as night on that day when Jesus was crucified for you. All that could be heard was thunder and weeping. All seemed lost. But three days later, Joy came in the morning! For you. Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

I shall never be moved

As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”

With God on your side, with His favor, we stand firm against the enemy. David asks this rhetorical question- will the dust praise you if I die? And since I cannot escape death, I cry out with David, “O Lord be my helper!”

You turned my wailing into dancing!

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

David recognizes that his salvation is totally the Lord’s salvation. When we “know” this like Job knew that he would rise, our mourning becomes dancing. For even in our worst moments, joy comes in the morning. So we declare with David,

O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”