Beyond the Bitter to the Better
Psalms 30:1-5
30:1 A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
We all think that we would like to be David when we read the first four verses. David says these things:
• You've lifted me up.
• You've healed me.
• You've kept me alive.
• He then encourages us to Sing unto the Lord.
But consider this:
• If you've been lifted up, you had to be down.
• If you've been healed, you had to be sick.
• To give praise to be kept alive, your life must have been in danger.
• And THEN he says, you can sing unto the Lord.
He kind of sums up this section in verse 5.
Psalms 30:5
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
To get to the joy, you've got to go through the weeping.
To get to the morning, you got to go through the night.
The mistake that many of us have made is to assume that weeping has come to stay, and joy is forever gone, but the Bible tells us just the opposite.
The first thing I notice about these scriptures is that it lets us know that there will be bitter times.
• The question is not are you going to have trouble, but how are you going to respond to it?
How did David respond? Look at verse 1. I WILL EXTOL THEE.
Look at how God described the making of the two cherubims on the mercy seat of God.
Exodus 25:18
18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Those were physical representations of Spiritual beings, but he wanted to make sure that we understand that they were BEATEN into the PROPER SHAPE.
1 Peter 1:3-8
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
• But all of that comes while you are in "heaviness through manifold temptations."
1 Thessalonians 5:15-18
15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
16 Rejoice evermore.
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Job 1:21
21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
God is not nearly so worried about the circumstance of our life as He is concerned with how we respond to them. Our proper response is ALWAYS worship.
• Where are those that say, "His presence is more important than my problem."
• When a problem comes into your life, there are two things going on.
Job 2:9-10
9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
1. The devil tries to get us to look at our flesh and give up.
2. God tries to get us to look at Him and praise up.
Remember, I am here
1. By God's appointment
2. In His keeping
3. Under His training
4. For His time
And my response is going to be worship.
Job 13:15
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
