The Reading
NLT Psalm 30:1 A psalm of David, sung at the dedication of the Temple. I will praise you, LORD, for you have rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. 2 O LORD my God, I cried out to you for help, and you restored my health. 3 You brought me up from the grave, O LORD. You kept me from falling into the pit of death. 4 Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. 5 His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning. 6 When I was prosperous I said, "Nothing can stop me now!" 7 Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered. 8 I cried out to you, O LORD. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, 9 "What will you gain if I die, if I sink down into the grave? Can my dust praise you from the grave? Can it tell the world of your faithfulness? 10 Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me. Help me, O LORD." 11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, 12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!
In this psalm we find a simple pattern. The psalmist is in trouble, he prayed about it, and got a dramatic answer from God that saved him from his trouble, and now he is dedicated to praise and worship of God. This type of psalm can be found in several psalms such as 18, 34,,40,50,66,116, and 130. This psalm is very personal. It apparently is a psalm of David that was sung after his death at the dedication of the Temple under Solomon.
We find here a parallel structure that is the characteristic of Hebrew poetry. This type of poetic structure is called chiasm. Chiasm is a literary structure used in the Torah, the Bible, as well as in other works. Concepts or ideas are placed in a special symmetric order or pattern to emphasize them.
Vs. 1. I will praise you, LORD, for you have rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me
Vs. 11 & 12 11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, 12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!
This psalm is one of thanksgiving and praise. The reason for that there was a time of loss and mourning only which God amazingly turned into a time of blessing and joy. It would be what we would feel if suddenly we found the stock market at 40,000 and our income doubled. It would be as if the war in Iraq was over and all terrorists had laid down their weapons. Or perhaps if every person in our family that was sick was suddenly made physically whole and also all our lost relatives trusted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. We would have reason to be thankful. We all have enemies. Either people or events can be opposed to our plans, hopes, and dreams. Imagine how you would feel if all your “enemies” were defeated and you had total victory over everything that was not as you desired in your life. Would that give you joy?
We see the parallel structure also work out as we compare vs. 2 with vs. 10.
. 2 O LORD my God, I cried out to you for help, and you restored my health.
10 Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me. Help me, O LORD."
Here we find the simple, direct, and passionate prayer that brought about this great deliverance. It was a “cry for help”. The Hebrew suggests it was loud “shout” to the heavens for help. There was no incantation or magic here. This prayer was simply a desperate man of faith in desperate need.
The comparison of thought continues in verses 3 &9
. 3 You brought me up from the grave, O LORD. You kept me from falling into the pit of death8 4 Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name.
8 I cried out to you, O LORD. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,, 9 "What will you gain if I die, if I sink down into the grave? Can my dust praise you from the grave? Can it tell the world of your faithfulness?
The Old Testament people of God had less revelation about the after life than we have in the New Testament. The term “grave” here is SHEOL in which it appears that the person who died was in a shadowy existence in the inner parts of the earth. It appears the psalmist may have feared that he was lost and would be cut of from God forever. In SHEOL the psalmist would be cut off from God and unable to praise God for his faithfulness. What profit did God gain from having the psalmist die in sin and defeat? Compare this with Psalm 23 in which an afterlife of great joy is envisioned.
Here the psalmist is recalling his prayer for deliverance and how it came about. It reflects the fear of being lost and the joy of being saved.
The structured comparison of thought continues in verses 5 and 7.
5 His anger lasts for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may go on all night, but joy comes with the morning
7 Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered
These verses point out how fragile we are. Today we have the favor of God in what we do. We become proud and look at our success as coming from our own hands. God who gave us success can remove it in a moment. Our lives can be shattered because we stand by grace alone. Yet, when we humble ourselves in prayer the LORD is able to bring back our joy as quickly as it was taken away.
In the movie “God of War” which portrays the beginning of the civil war they have Stone Wall Jackson who had been victorious and unstoppable be humbled at the death of a little girl with whom he had made friends. Despite the best efforts of his personal surgeons the young girl died. As he reflects on her death he says “Everything is so fragile”. This is the insight that the psalmist is sharing as well.
The focal point and center of this psalm is verse 6.
6. When I was prosperous I said, "Nothing can stop me now!"
Here was the fault of the psalmist. The LORD’s favor had made him wildly successful. He seemed to be an unstoppable force. In the midst of his success he lost his daily humble dependence on the LORD and felt that he had things under control. The LORD resists the proud and helps the humble. We are all fragile, only dust, and need the breathe of God upon us to give us life and fruitfulness. Without the LORD we can do nothing.
What do we do when we cry out to the LORD in our defeat and desperation and the LORD does not deliver us or our loved ones from destruction and defeat? Can we trust the LORD in the dark of defeat, disease, and death? Can we wait for the victory of eternity to give us joy? This is yet another dimension of faith that has to be faced.
Christological - NLT Romans 5:6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
Moral - Never take success as something you are “due” or have “earned” it is by grace alone. It was given by grace and will only be maintained by grace. Run from pride and turn to the LORD in humble and needy faith.
Eternal - The promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ has allowed us who believe to never have to fear being cut off from God in SHEOL. Praise be the LORD.
Prayer - LORD HELP!
Contemplation - I resist the proud; but give grace to the humble.
Action: Pray for help and pray to be humble. Look inward to see if you have pride.
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