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Psalm 30: I will praise you for ever


This post was published on Thursday 23 August 2012.

David wrote Psalm 30 for the dedication of the Temple, praising God for helping and healing him when David called for help. He calls on the people to praise God, for his anger is only temporary.

v6-7 are so true - I won’t summarise them you’ll have to look them up.

And then David starts reasoning with God - look, he says, what’s the point in letting me die? Why silence me? After all, what good is dust, it can’t praise you or proclaim your faithfulness, so you might as well show mercy, lift me up, and save me.

And then the pattern of Jesus emerges, one of the passages when Jesus teaches how the Scriptures say the Messiah must suffer and die:

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you for ever.

Psalm 30.11-12 (NIV)

That transformation of sadness to joy, of darkness to light – that is the pattern of Jesus’ life, the pattern of the way in which God interacts with the world.  No magic wand, but transformation through pain to deep and (ever)lasting joy.  And that pattern is something to be thankful for, which is why David will not stop praising God and shouting about it!

A heart of thankfulness and praise is the best defence against complacency, taking things for granted, restlessness and not being content. Because God always turns our wailing into dancing, he always removes the sackcloth and clothes his children with joy - though not always as quickly as we want (and sometimes that transformation only comes at the end - but it does and always comes to the faithful).

It’s not a twee point (pull your socks up stuff), it’s the key point, it’s what we should always be thankful for - either that God has turned us around, or we trust that he will. That’s one of the key things behind Paul saying he has learned to be content in all circumstances, I believe.

Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.

Psalm 30.4 (NIV)