Psalm 30

Psalm 30 (KJV 1900)

A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.

1 I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up,

And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

3 O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave:

Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his,

And give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life:

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

6 And in my prosperity I said,

I shall never be moved.

7 Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong:

Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

8 I cried to thee, O Lord;

And unto the Lord I made supplication.

9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit?

Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me:

Lord, be thou my helper.

11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:

Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

David was sick. 1-3

Apparently his sickness had been pretty serious.

Or, at least, it seemed, to David (a man), like he was really sick.

He probably had the flu or something.

All his wives and concubines and servants are avoiding his room while cries out for a smoothie.

No I am sure he was sick.

He says that he felt as though he was in danger of being lowered into the pit/grave.

His soul was preparing for death.

Unfortunately, his sickness was used by David’s enemies as an occasion to attack him.

As he neared what seemed like an inevitable demise, David’s enemies rejoiced.

I’m sure David had enemies in the surrounding nations whose spies reported back of his weakness.

He must have also had enemies near to him that would have loved to see him die.

It’s a sad, but real scenario that other people will find joy in your misfortune.

David made his plea to God in this situation.

He didn’t argue his case to his enemies.

He didn’t try to gather a coalition of friends to back him up.

He went to God and cried out to Him for help.

David knew that God was the only one that could help his situation.

God answered David, He healed him from his disease and spared his life.

David commits to personally extol God.

This is an awesome testimony.

When you look at verse number one you see a battle for top billing.

The enemies of David were over him because of his sickness.

God lifted up David by healing him.

David uses his position of prominence to extol or lift up God to the pinnacle that He deserves.

Collective call to praise. 4-5

The psalm has started with a personal explanation of David’s praise.

We see his testimony.

David wants other believers to join him in praising God and lifting Him up.

He tells them to give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.

What do you think of when you think about the holiness of God?

Probably, most of us think about His sinlessness, his perfection.

David has a specific aspect of God’s holiness in mind, and he explains it for us.

His anger endureth for a moment.

In his favor is life.

Weeping may endure for a night.

Joy comes in the morning.

Each of these phrases speak to the temporary nature of pain and evil for the believer.

David knew that he was living under the effects of the curse.

He had tasted the evil that comes from not only living among fallen people, but also a fallen world.

David knew that the human experience living under the curse was not what God had wanted for us.

He knew that one day everything would be set right again.

That’s why David implores his audience to join him in praising the holiness of God.

Some had been touched by disease.

Some had been touched by death.

Some had been wronged by their fellow man.

Because of God’s holiness, they all had hope of one day enjoying the joy and life that God originally intended for all of us.

His anger is for a moment, weeping is only for a night.

David reflects on the past. 6-10

Trusting God’s holiness, was a hard lesson for David to learn.

In former days, David had felt invincible.

In his prosperity of materials, health, or maybe youth, David felt as though he would never be moved.

He even credited God with having made his life as strong and unmoveable as a mountain.

It’s easy for us to give praise to God when things are going well.

Then, we see that David is just as quick to credit God for the hard times of his life.

He says that God his His face from David.

This may have been a reference to the sickness from the start of the psalm.

It also could have been a lesson he learned long before.

We see a danger in these words that has rarely been accepted by American Christians.

When we equate health and wealth with the blessings of God, then the absence of these things must mean that God is displeased with us.

Though David may not have understood why these things were happening to him, he did not lose sight of where he should turn during these moments.

He cried to God.

He makes his request based on how the situation affects God.

Most people can’t get their eyes off of how their pain or loss affects them.

David consistently pleads with God based on how David’s situation affects God.

How can David extol or magnify the name of God among His creation if He is dead?

David pleads for mercy and help from the Lord.

God doesn’t “give in” to David because David makes a good case.

He also doesn’t respond to David because He needs David’s voice of testimony.

Verse 10 marks the end of a stanza.

There is a brief pause in the poem to illustrate a certain uncertainty as to whether or not God will answer David.

If not for the information we gained at the beginning we would really be left in suspense about God’s response.

But we do know what God’s answer is.

We see David’s excitement in verse 11 as he returns to the present.

Having experienced God’s working in his life, David expresses the difference that God has made.

God has transitioned David from mourning to dancing.

God has altered his attire sackcloth to gladness.

He did this all for a purpose.

God operated in David’s life so that David would praise God; not so that he would keep silent.

David knows this.

He has desired it.

He commits to use this situation to give thanks unto God forever.

God did what He did, not primarily for David’s own good, but for His own glory.

This is the motivation behind all of God’s activities, His glory.

David had to move throughout this psalm from a selfish perspective to a spiritual one.

He started in verse 1 praising God for saving him to prove his enemies wrong.

He ends by praising God for His everlasting holiness.

In this case, God’s holiness meant sparing David’s life.

In other cases that’s not what it means.

That’s where our application becomes apparent today.

Can we glorify God for His holiness regardless of whether or not we get our wish?

Is He as holy when He heals as when He doesn’t?

Can our lives glorify Him or bring praise to Him even if it is through our death?

Is He still good, and are His blessings still present even if we lose everything our American culture tells we are owed?

Can we find strength to deal with the here and now, knowing that the conditions of our present life are temporary.

God’s anger over sin is temporary.

The curse is not eternal.

The pain and injustice that causes us to weep in this life will be replaced by life, joy, dancing, and gladness.