Today, Tuesday January 10
“But Joy Comes in the Morning”
Psalm 30:1-5
“I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Sing praise to the LORD, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”
Do you ever get discouraged with being discouraged? Well, that has been my experience over the many years with my own Christian life and spiritual journey. We say or do something and almost immediately, or at least later, we say, “That was so dumb, what in the world ever processed me to say or do that?” And we feel condemnation, and we are usually reminded by the Holy Spirit that it was the pride of our heart that was at the root of our words or deed.
It appears that Psalm 30 could have been the experience of David dealing with the same thing. In the first three verses, David experienced three problems: the sinking mire beneath him that would take him down to the pit, the enemies around him who wanted him to die, and the distress within him that was like a painful sickness. But when he cried out to the Lord, the Lord delivered him from all three!
Because of his pride and his disobedience, David was in the depths, and the Lord had to lift him up. (See Psalm 18:4-6; 69:1-2, 14-15; 71:20; 88:6; 130:1-3; Lam. 3:55; and Jonah 2:2.) The "grave" or the "pit" refers to sheol, the realm of the departed spirits. The Greek equivalent of this is hades. But instead of allowing David to go down, God lifted him out and brought him up. God had done this for David before (Psalm 18:16).
David's foes would have been glad to see him die (Psalms 13:4; 25:2; 41:11), but the Lord saved David's life and silenced their taunts. The "healing" mentioned in verse 2 may not have involved actual physical sickness, because the word is also used to describe not only forgiveness and spiritual restoration (Psalm 41:4; Isa. 6:10; 53:5; Hos. 6:1 and 7:1) but also deliverance from mental and emotional distress (Jer. 8:21-22; 14:19; Lam. 2:13). It was David's pride that had brought the plague to the land, and he felt the pain of this deeply, so much so that he thought his convicted conscience and broken heart would kill him. But God heard his pleas and brought him from death to life.
The Psalm is not only David's personal expression of praise and thanksgiving, but it was also used by the congregation in worship; and here David addressed them in verses 4-5. We read in Psalm 34:3, "Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together". Personal worship that doesn't enrich our corporate worship may become selfish and lead to more pride!
Notice the contrasts in verse 5 that are the motivation for David's praise. He goes from God's anger to God's favor; from chastening for only a moment to a lifetime of His grace (Isa. 54:7-8); and from a night of weeping to a morning of joy. For David, this was the dawning of a new day after a painful time of suffering in darkness. Jeremiah reminds us in Lamentations 3:22-23 that “God’s mercies are new every morning”. God's special help often arrives in the morning. Psalm 46:5 tell us: “God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.” It is usually darkest just before the dawn.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ brought the dawning of a new day for all who trust in Him (Matt. 28:1). Weeping comes as a guest, but God's gracious favor is with us for a lifetime. (See 2 Cor. 4.) As Jesus explained to His disciples, God doesn't replace sorrow with joy; He transforms sorrow into joy (John 16:20-22). The same baby that causes the mother pain also brings the mother joy.
Today, by God favor and with His help, let us step out of the darkness of our discouragement and distress into His glorious resurrection life and the victory that comes with it!
God bless!
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