A   HOME   BIBLE   STUDY  ~  PSALM 30

 A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.

● This is usually classified as an individual psalm of praise or thanksgiving for deliverance. 
● It was used at the rededication of the temple in 164 B.C. after Judas Maccabeus defeated Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who had profaned the temple... but was written by David long before that.

1 I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.
3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. 

● “exalt” =  means to raise or lift up...to praise 
● “lifted me” = means to draw up or lift up, and was used, among other things, for drawing water from a well 
● Here we have the psalmist responding to being lifted up from a bad situation by lifting up the Lord’s name in praise.
● As well, he rejoices in the fact that he did not have to suffer the humiliation of taunting and mockery from his enemies.
● “healed” = means to heal or to restore to health ... here it could mean a restoration to his proper place after the defeat of his enemies.
● “grave” = Sheol ... the place of the dead
● “pit” = a well or cistern ... here a parallel to “grave” in the first half of the verse
● Here the psalmist expresses thanks and praise that the LORD kept him alive so that he might not be abandoned to the pit––the place of death––the dreadful end.

● Can you think of specific examples in your life where you called out to the LORD...and He delivered you?
● How has God spared us from having to have a “dreadful end”?

4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

● “saints” = means kind, merciful, or pious...so here those whose lives display their faith in the LORD and whose actions are shaped by the LORD’s laws... “holy ones”
● “holy” = means sacred––something consecrated for a Godly purpose
● “name” = means remember or remembrance, so this verse would be best translated, “his holy remembrance”––but most translations say “his holy name.” When people remember the things that God has done, they remember His name.
● “anger” = means nostril (like our idea of “flaring nostrils”) ... God’s righteous indignation at sin
● But the psalmist says that God’s anger is but for a moment...but His love and delight are forever.
● weeping or sorrow or fear might trouble us by night, but they evaporate with the rising of the sun
● God might permit us to suffer for a time, but will also bring us relief.

● How did you become one of God’s saints... His holy ones?
● How do you praise/remember God’s name in your day-to-day life?
● Is God’s anger justified? Why or why not?
● Is God’s favor justified? Why or why not?
● Over what things do you find yourself weeping? How can God work rejoicing in them?

6 When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken."
7 O LORD, when you favored me,  you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. 

● In the next several verses, we see the progression in the psalmist’s life ... when he was successful, when he faced adversity, his despair over his situation and his cries for mercy.
● “never be shaken” - things were good...really good and the psalmist thought it would never end.
● The psalmist is remembering a time of prosperity when he thought the good times would never end... totally unprepared for what was to come.
● The psalmist finds himself realizing that all his success and security was a gift from God.
● “hid your face” = means that God distanced himself from the psalmist.  God’s help was nowhere to be found.  The psalmist found himself standing alone.
● “dismayed” = means terrified...the kind of terror that we experience when the ground is suddenly cut out from beneath you.

● How do we often find ourselves living with a false sense of security?
● Who do we often credit for our success?
● Who do we often blame in our times of adversity?
● What security in your life can you give thanks to God for?
● Where did God ultimately hide His face so that you would not need to be “dismayed”?

8 To you, O LORD, I called; to the LORD I cried for mercy:
9 "What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help." 

● “mercy” = means to be gracious
● The psalmist is pleading with God to be gracious or to show him mercy––to lift him from the depths to which he has fallen and to restore him to the prosperous place that he once enjoyed.
● In desperation, the psalmist asks God what good could possibly come from his death. Can his decayed body (dust) give Him praise or declare the good things that God has done?
● The psalmist stops trying to persuade God that He has something to gain by helping the psalmist.  Instead, he throws himself on the mercy of the court.

● Have there been times when it seems that your prayers to God for deliverance have gone unanswered?
● What kind of bargains have you tried with God to get what you want?
● Does God need YOUR praise?
● Why, ultimately, must we recognize that God must deal with us purely and simply by his mercy?
● How does God show us His mercy?

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever. 

● Good news! God heard the psalmist and delivered him by the mercy for which he pleaded!
● “sackcloth” = a rough material made from the hair of goats or camels.  It is the kind of cloth that a person would use for heavy-duty sacks (hence its name) or tents, but its coarse texture is uncomfortable when worn against the skin, making it unsuitable for clothing. 
● People would wear it as a sign of grief or repentance.
● But those rough clothes have been replaced with festival garments for rejoicing!!
● In verse 9, the psalmist implied that if he were allowed to live he would praise God and declare His truth.  Now that Yahweh has saved him, the psalmist intends to sing God’s praises and thank Him––forever.

● What was a time when God did a major reversal in your life – turning your sorrow into joy?
● What kind of response did you have at your good fortune?
● How do you think the disciples would have viewed verse 11 on Easter Sunday?
● How do you find yourself being unable to be silent about God’s goodness to you?
● In what ways can we give thanks to God for all that He has done for us?

In this difficult and challenging time, it can seem that God has changed our privileged and stable lives into ones of pure chaos and uncertainty.  What will our response be? Can we claim that we are undeserving of any of the calamity in which we find ourselves? Can we demand God give us something better? Maybe we can try and bribe Him with our promises of faithfulness and service if He will deliver us. The only thing we can do is repent and cry out for His undeserved mercy.

Thankfully, God has already heard our pleas for mercy...and He has acted. In Jesus Christ, He has delivered us from the consequences of our sins and disobedience and He has taken our punishment upon Himself. In return, He dresses us in the blessings of forgiveness, life and salvation won by our Savior on the cross.  In Word and Sacrament, He freely gives us these gifts and promises us that nothing can ever separate us from His unending love.  May we always thank and praise, serve and obey Him for all He has done for us!

(Thanks to SermonWriter.com for help with the notes on these verses.)