All gave some. Some Gave All. Lest we forget.

Daily Devotional Tuesday 16th June 2020

by William Moody

Psalm 30

Joy Comes with the Morning

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

30:1   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.1
  Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name.2
  For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.3
  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,4
    if I go down to the pit?5
  Will the dust praise you?
    Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10   Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
    O LORD, be my helper!”
11   You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
12   that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Footnotes

[1] 30:3 Or to life, that I should not go down to the pit
[2] 30:4 Hebrew to the memorial of his holiness (see Exodus 3:15)
[3] 30:5 Or and in his favor is life
[4] 30:9 Hebrew in my blood
[5] 30:9 Or to corruption

(ESV)

This Psalm is entitled ‘a song at the dedication of the temple’. This is curious as David would not build the temple but rather his son Solomon. The answer to this dilemma could be that David was preparing it in advance. Another possibility could be that the title refers to the dedication of David’s house.

The Psalm has two sections of praise for God’s deliverance (v1-5 and v11-12) separated by a prayer of confession about a fall because of his pride (v6-10).

David in his praise speaks of the great depths of despair that he found himself in (v1-3). He had given up all hope but then God intervened to rescue me. David’s response is to encourage all of God’s people to rejoice in God’s goodness (v4-5). There is particular focus on how God turns weeping into joy (v5). This turning of weeping into joy is further focused on in the final section of praise (v11-12).

David in the other section (v6-10) speaks of how he was so proud to rely on himself (v6). David came to recognise that his only hope was in God (v7) and in God’s mercy (v8-10).

When we come to know God’s mercy, we should be a people filled with abundant praise. Is your heart filled with praise to God? To give continued fuel for our praise we need to focus regularly and deeply on God’s mercy. Are you aware that your only hope is not to be found in you but in God alone?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.