Exalt

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to Psalm 30. If you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word, as we read this uplifting psalm.

Psalm 30 NIV

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. 1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. 3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. 4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. 6 When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” 7 Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. 8 To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 9 “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.” 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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David has written another song. Another psalm. According to the title, David wrote this Psalm for the dedication of the temple. It’s right there in the heading: for the dedication of the temple/house.

David must have been looking forward to this moment, anticipating the temple being built and dedicated because David died before that moment.

He was a planner, perhaps. Or, it’s possible that this was written for the dedication of David’s personal residence (the palace).

Or, long after David had passed, this psalm was used for the dedication of the “second” temple, and someone put the heading in then.

We’re not sure about the “when” but the “why” is clear. This is a psalm of praise, a psalm of thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is my favorite. I love the holiday; it’s the best there is if you ask me. I love the action of thanksgiving, too. To be thankful is among the best qualities there is.

Just ask yourself: would I rather invite over for dinner a thankful person or a nit-picky person? Would I rather surround myself with thankful folk or with people who gripe about every little thing?

I can’t imagine anyone who would opt for time with the nit-picky, thankless person, unless you just love people who gripe and complain all the time (I have met a few of those over the years…)

Sadly, even where the LORD is concerned, there are people who are slow to thank Him. Thankfulness takes a back seat to entitlement (Why should I be thankful? I deserve it). Or worse, thankfulness isn’t even a consideration.

It drives me absolutely nuts when someone does something for another person and there’s no “thank you” given.

During my Covid quarantine, I watched several shows and I listened for the words “thank you.” I didn’t hear those words spoken more than a handful of times across hours and hours of television.

When a boss asked his secretary for something, no “thank you” was given. When a husband did something for his wife, no “thank you” was uttered. When kids were served dinner, not one “thank you” was spoken.

Thanklessness is among the most heinous traits I see. This is especially true where the LORD is concerned.

The Psalms often serve as a correction for us, for those of us who tend toward thanklessness.

David might be writing this particular psalm—Psalm 30—well in advance of something taking place. He’s anticipating thanking the LORD for something that hasn’t yet happened.

I like to think that maybe David wrote this psalm of thanksgiving before he needed to be thankful for the particular occasion, knowing that thanksgiving is what we owe to the LORD.

The theme of the whole psalm is one of personal thanksgiving for God’s repeated care and deliverance over the course of a life.

Our lives and David’s life are different in any number of ways, and yet, we can liken our own experiences to his.

Over the course of our lives, God has cared for us.

Over the course of our lives, God has delivered us.

Over the course of our lives, God has been merciful to us.

Over the course of our lives, God has helped us.

Over the course of our lives, God has taken our sorrow and turned it to joy; He’s transformed our mourning into dancing.

Because the LORD has done all of this for us, for our brothers and sisters, for David and for the assembly of Israel, ours is to exalt Him.

Psalm 30:1 NIV

1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Exalt means “to praise, to glorify, to honor.” This is just what David sees fit to do.

I will exalt you, LORD...

Why?

The answer to this question is found in verses 1-3 specifically. I will exalt you, LORD, for (or because): you lifted me out of the depths.

Lifted me is the word for pulling up a bucket from a well. That well was as deep as death, and it seems the threat to David’s life had come from sickness.

The LORD lifted David from the depths. The LORD pulled David up from the bottom of the well, as it were.

Why exalt the LORD? Because He has lifted David from the pit. Because when David called to Him for help, the LORD helped him and healed him.

If David had succumbed to sickness, his enemies would have rejoiced; they would have been thrilled. The LORD prevented that and restored David to health.

I tend to think the healing is literal here, but it could be metaphorical—a spiritual healing.

The point is, the LORD restores and preserves. It’s the LORD who brought David up and who keeps David, spares David from going down to the pit.

The LORD has kept David alive, and David recognizes this—what most people leave unspoken or unrealized.

David and Paul would have been good friends, I think. Paul would write, centuries later:

Acts 17:28 (NIV)

28 ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’

This is David’s testimony here. Shouldn’t it be ours?

You may not have any amazing story about the LORD sparing your life (though some of you do) or a time when the LORD kept you breathing (though some of you do), but we who are here this morning, drawing breath, worshipping the LORD, owe all of this to the LORD.

This is why David exalts the LORD. This is the reason for his praise. So he sings: I will exalt you, LORD...

Who?

This is a personal commitment from David, but he also urges others to join him in the exaltation of the LORD.

Psalm 30:4 “Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.”

Who is to exalt the LORD? Well, we are. Those who, along with David, had placed their faith in the LORD. The faithful, the saints, the people belonging to the LORD.

The psalmist actually refers to the LORD’s people as “those He loves.” Hasid, he calls them, referring to those who are the objects of the LORD’s hesed, His unfailing, covenant love.

These people—the hasid—are those loved by the LORD and those who love Him back.

Those the LORD loves are here invited to praise His holy name.

David states his intention to exalt/praise the LORD for all the LORD has done for him. And now he turns his fellow worshippers, gives them a nudge with his elbow, and encourages them to join him in singing praise and giving thanks.

One of the best parts of CIY is when everyone is gathered together for worship. At our particular week of CIY, there were over 800 high school students and probably 200 adult sponsors and staff. There were moments where I chose not to sing, simply to listen to the combined voices of those the LORD loves praising Him, exalting in Him.

Psalm 30:4 “Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.”

Now, no one who believes in the LORD, no one who has walked with Him for any length of time will tell you that this life is all joy and nothing else.

There is weeping in the lives of the faithful. Sometimes this is the product of our own sinfulness; our misdeeds incur the anger of God. Sometimes weeping is simply from suffering that comes from living in a fallen world.

There is weeping in the lives of the faithful, but it always comes to an end. God’s anger, His chastening and discipline are but for a moment; His favor is lifelong.

Dale Ralph Davis writes: “weeping may be an overnight guest, but morning brings and shout of joy.”

We, the LORD’s people, can/should exalt the LORD even through weeping and times of sorrow. Because we know that God can always turn a situation on its head.

What’s more, God works through our troubles in ways we can’t always understand, but in ways we must trust.

Weeping may tarry, but joy comes in the morning. Some troubles are long-lasting. Sometimes the LORD’s chastening goes on for months. But, all of our trials are ultimately temporary. And the tears that wet our pillow the night before are gone at daybreak.

The entire witness of the Bible makes clear our trouble is temporary: 2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

This is fodder for praise. We are to exalt the LORD for His lasting favor, that far outweighs any trouble we face in our short time on earth. David is calling the saints to exalt the LORD, to praise His holy name.

I will exalt you, LORD…Sing the praises of the LORD, you His faithful people...

When?

It’s a foolish boast that David makes. But he admits as much. He confesses his error in verse 6. Psalm 30:6 “When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”

David’s attitude is unfortunate here. The LORD looked on David with favor. The LORD provided for David. The LORD had given David this sense of security.

But it seems that David had taken this grace and corrupted it into a feeling of self-sufficiency. Instead of being confident in the LORD, David became cocky and self-assured.

At this, David records that the LORD hid His face from him. This is terrifying. “I was dismayed,” David admits.

Like the rest of us, David’s foolishness caused him to lose sight of the LORD. David started to think that he himself had made his bed; he was feeling pretty good about himself. And then he realized that, apart from the LORD, he had nothing.

So he calls out to the LORD. He keeps calling out, keeps crying out for mercy.

Psalm 30:8 NIV

8 To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:

David calls out to the covenant LORD (Yahweh); he cries out to his Master and Ruler (Adonai).

This is a confession of sorts. David admits that he had neglected to exalt the LORD. David had started to think, at some point in his life, that he was set.

David felt secure, he said. So the exaltation stopped.

But he quickly realized how desperately he needed the LORD Yahweh, the Lord Adonai.

There’s never a time to stop exalting the LORD, to stop singing His praise, because there’s never a time we don’t desperately need Him.

David’s words in verse 9 are a little odd:

Psalm 30:9 NIV

9 “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

Surprising words; not exactly what we’re used to hearing in prayer. But sometimes surprising is refreshing.

My favorite movie to watch with my friends during high school was the cinematic classic, Tommy Boy. We watched it a lot. Almost every weekend.

In one scene, the main characters sneak onto a flight dressed as flight attendants and are asked to give the pre-flight instructions.

Richard (David Spade) is speaking over the intercom and Tommy (Chris Farley) is giving the visuals.

Richard says, “Okay, uh, exits. There’s one back here. And there’s probably one over by the wing…usually. And what about seat belts? To fasten: take the little end and stick it in the big end. And, hey, know what? If you guys don’t know how to use a seat belt, just ring your call button and Tommy will come back there and hit you on the head with a tack hammer...”

That’s just a movie. Can you imagine actually hearing that on a flight? Well, something like that happened. This was a real-life announcement.

“Welcome to Kalula 271 to Port Elizabeth. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised.”

Can you imagine hearing that on a flight? That would have won my business for life. I’d never fly another airline.

As statement like that would certainly get your attention.

This is the way with David’s prayer in verse 9. Who prays like this?! It’s striking, isn’t it?

David is asking the LORD what advantage it could possibly be to the LORD if David dies. If David returns to dust, will that dust give God thanks? Can David’s corpse rehearse God’s faithfulness?

David's argument is that dead people don’t burst out singing, “He is exalted, the king is exalted on high!”

If I’m dead, I can’t sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow...”

Hearing this in verse 9 should make us think. The implication of this verse is that we exist to offer praise to God. The entire rationale for our existence is to exalt Him, to praise Him, to honor Him.

As long as we’re living, as long as the LORD gives us breath, each and every breath should be filled with praise. Ours is to exalt Him with every ounce of our being. It’s what we owe to Him.

So David pleads with the LORD for mercy and help, so that he might going on exalting His name. And then David returns to the theme he sang toward the beginning of the psalm:

Psalm 30:11 NIV

11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

Sounds a bit like verse 5: weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

The LORD is in the transformation business. God has flipped David’s sadness and grieving on their heads. He does this, time and again.

One day, He’ll do it for good. All grief will turn to joy. All that is sad will become glad. Wrong will be made right. Dead things will come to life.

And the reason the LORD turns wailing into dancing? Why does the LORD take our sorrow and turn it into joy? David says the LORD has done this for him so

Psalm 30:12 NIV

12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Read those words to yourself.

Stick yourself in this psalm. The LORD is doing all this so that your heart may sing His praises and not be silent. Non-stop praise. Exaltation that never ceases.

“LORD my God, I will praise you forever.”

This is the “when” of our exaltation. There’s a jubilant feeling to this praise—dancing is rather expressive, isn’t it? But there’s also some depth here, and some persistence

Forever. I will praise you forever.

This, maybe more than David could guess, is accurate.

Very little that we do here will continue into eternity. Even our relationships will change. We won’t be concerned about most of the temporary, earthly, finite things that occupy our minds and thoughts here. Our worries and our concerns will disappear in an instance.

But you know what will continue? Our praise and exaltation.

If the LORD were to return at the end of this service as we sing the doxology, we might not even miss a note. Our praise will just continue; we’ll just move to the next verse of the song.

The psalmist here leads us in exaltation. We are to sing praise to the One who does this for us, personally and communally, as individuals and as a congregation of the faithful.

Why? For all He has done and for all He is.

Who? All the LORD’s people, all those who belong to Him by faith in His Son, Jesus.

When? Now and forevermore.

I will exalt you, LORD...

Sing the praises of the LORD, you His faithful people...

LORD my God , I will praise you forever.