We come to this weekend to mourn. And then we celebrate. But celebrating seems difficult, if not impossible, when Brussels is in mourning. Ankara has suffered a similar fate. Yemen is in flames, while the long, desperate strangulation of Syria and Iraq continues. How can we celebrate in the midst of this darkness? Many thousands of Christians around the world approach this weekend living in fear, simply because of their faith. How can they rejoice in such circumstances? It's not just the big geopolitical stuff of course. There are things closer to home to worry about, too. Do we rejoice when we think about our finances, our relationships, our health? We can rejoice because of the God who feels our pain, and more importantly, the God who did something about it. This is the God who came into the world as a baby. That world was in a mess. Roman occupation of the land of His forefathers meant misery. More than 2,000 years later, not much has changed. There is misery every time we turn on the news. But as Christians, we know that's not the full story. We can then anticipate the time when there will be no more misery and no more suffering. No more terror attacks and bombings, no more money worries, no more persecution of our brothers and sisters overseas. Resurrection means the victory of life over death, of hope over despair and of joy over misery. To get to Resurrection Sunday, though, we have to go through the suffering of Good Friday. So, while it might seem like this is the worst time to celebrate, actually this is the best time…This is a celebration which acknowledges the suffering in the world. It's a celebration which transforms suffering into joy. After all, resurrection is only possible after death. (http://www.christiantoday.com/article/in.a.world.with.so.much.tragedy.heres.why.we.should.celebrate.easter/82600.htm)
The promise of the resurrection is one of the most precious and glorious gifts God gives us in his Word. Psalm 30 is a song that celebrates the resurrection. Originally written, the superscription to the Psalm indicates that this is a psalm of David, The phrase “A Psalm of David” could mean that it was written by David, for David, about David, or even in the style of David. David was a prophet who spoke of Christ (cf. Acts 2:30, 31), and ultimately this psalm points forward to Jesus Christ, the Son of David. Reading Psalm 30 in light of Jesus’ resurrection helps explain the historical note in the inspired superscription, “A SONG AT THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE.” The temple wasn’t built in David’s lifetime. Solomon built it several years after David died. The historical outline of 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 provides a perfect framework into which we may place Psalm 30, describing the purchase, the erection of an altar, and the dedication by David of the threshing floor of Araunah. It seems likely that the dedication of this site, upon which later David’s son would build the glorious Solomonic Temple, is meant by the superscription of the psalm. (Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1018). Nashville: Thomas Nelson).
As a Christian it is hard to read this superscription without remembering that Jesus described his own body as the temple. Jesus said to the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). They thought he was talking about Herod’s temple, a huge, magnificent building. But John clarifies that Jesus “was speaking about the temple of his body” (John 2:21). So when we read Psalm 30 in the light of the New Testament, this song celebrates the dedication of Jesus’ own body on the cross. Jesus is the temple, the place where we meet God. When God the Father raised him from the dead, God the Son sang for joy.
Death was not the end for Jesus, and death is not the end for anyone who belongs to him. There is joy in the morning. The light of God’s presence welcomes us on the other side of the valley of the shadow of death. We have not been raised bodily with Christ yet, but by faith his joy is ours today. Our hearts can fly with the hope of the resurrection!
As David speaks for Christ in Psalm 30, he 1) Praises God for the resurrection (Psalm 30:1-5) and 2) Prays for the Resurrection (vv. 6–12).
1) Praise for the Resurrection (Psalm 30:1-5)
Psalm 30:1-5 1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. 2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. 3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give hanks to his holy name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (ESV)
The very first word of Psalm 30 is praise. David writes, “I will extol/exalt you” or “I will lift you up.” The verb ‘Extol/exalt’ in a setting like this has the meaning of praising (cf. Ps. 99:5) (Harman, A. (2011). Psalms: A Mentor Commentary (Vol. 1–2, pp. 261–262). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.)
This is interesting because God is already exalted. How could David lift God up when God is already lifted up? The answer, of course, is that he is lifting up—exalting—God in the eyes of everyone who reads this psalm. (cf. Ps 29:1) God is already strong and glorious. The point is that we need to recognize who he already is. When we read about the resurrection in Psalm 30, God should be exalted higher in our eyes.
• Even if you have been a Christian for many years, you should see the greatness and glory of God more clearly as you meditate again on the wonder of his power and grace that raised Jesus from the dead.
Theologically reflected in the life of Christ, in verse 1 Christ explains why he is praising God. He exalts God because God has exalted him. Here the words “drawn me up” describe drawing water from a well (cf. Exodus 2:16, 19). A person drops a bucket below the surface, then draws it up again into the light of day. In the same way God drew Christ up like a bucket from deep in a well. And in return Christ lifted up the Father with his praise.
Please turn to Ephesians 2 (p.976)
This is the pattern we follow too. Before faith in Christ, we were like a bucket in a well, caught in the dark depths of sin, powerless to lift ourselves, when God reached down and pulled us up. The Apostle Paul describes salvation this way:
Ephesians 2:4–9 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
• Drawing believers unto Himself, God lifted us up, made us dearly loved children, and seated us with Christ in Heaven. So we lift up the name of God because he has lifted us up above the stars. Now we praise him by faith, but someday we will see the full reality of what God has done (Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, n.d.), 1:44.).
Sometimes people wonder if we will get tired of praising God in Heaven. After ten years, or ten thousand years, won’t it get old? We think this way because we don’t understand how amazing his grace is, how high he has lifted us when we did not deserve it. When believers are in Heaven and our eyes are finally cleared from the selfishness of sin, we will see how huge God’s grace is, and we will not want to stop praising him. We will want to lift him up forever because he lifted us up.
The psalmist’s then expresses his problem that had been a sickness which took him to death’s door; in that crisis, even friends became foes/enemies, for they assumed that the sickness was a divine judgment on the sick person (Craigie, P. C. (1998). Psalms 1–50 (Vol. 19, p. 253). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).
• The foes/enemies of Jesus assumed that He was cursed by God because of blasphemy. He was cursed by God, but was without sin. He took the curse that we deserve.
Verse 2 highlights the plague that came upon the people of Israel as a result of their king’s sin (2 Sam 24 or 1 Chron 21) brought both mental and physical suffering to the land. David’s healing was the removal of that plague (Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1018). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
• Sin is a plague that continues to ravage humanity. But those who are in Christ through faith are healed from the dominion of the plague of sin. It’s presence still exists in this lifetime, but its control is broken. God’s healing from physical sickness anticipates rescue from death (v. 3) and eternal salvation through the resurrection of Christ (John 5:24; 11:25) (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 973). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
Verse 3 go on to describe how God drew Christ up to Himself. Up to this point David could have been talking about being lifted from a sickbed or some other trouble. Now it becomes clear that he is talking about being raised from the dead. God answered his prayer with an ultimate healing, for Sheol is the place of the dead, the netherworld (Eugene H. Merrill, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 4:6.).
Christ was in Sheol, in the grave, when the Father brought him back from the dead. This sounds very similar to what David wrote in Psalm 16:10 about the resurrection of Christ: “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” We know from Acts 2:30, 31 that Psalm 16 is a prophecy about Christ. Since these psalms say much the same thing, it seems reasonable to interpret Psalm 30 as a prophecy of Christ’s resurrection too. The rest of verse 3 clarifies that David is talking about being raised from the dead. The word “pit” here is often used as a parallel to “Sheol,” the grave, and means much the same thing (Gerald Wilson, Psalms, The NIV Application Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 1:516n7.).
We know that David was talking about resurrection, because when he says: “you restored me to life”, the word “restored” is a word that describes raising someone from the dead. It is the same word used in 2 Kings 8:5 to describe how Elisha raised a boy back to life. In Psalm 30 Christ was not asking for God to save his life—it was too late for that. He was dead, and God had to restore his life, bring him back. He was standing in Sheol with other dead people, in line with those entering the pit, when God drew him out like a man draws a bucket of water from a well. God lifted Christ up, and Christ lifted the Father’s name in praise. (John Goldingay, Psalms, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2006), 1:427.)
As Christ sings his praise to God the Father, he invites us to join in and praise God ourselves. David expresses this in verse four. Every blessing flows to us because God is true to his holy name. God’s name represents himself or his character. God’s character is such that he is kindly disposed towards his people. From that kind disposition, he has promised to bless them. Having made these promises, God must carry them out because, in addition to being kind, he is holy. If God did not bless his people, he would violate his holiness. So every blessing God’s people receive is an occasion to praise God’s holy name (Ellsworth, R. (2006). Opening up Psalms (p. 94). Leominster: Day One Publications.).
Since God is holy, He is angry at rebellion against Him. Christ did endure God’s anger for a moment as he hung on the cross. Anger, as it is described here in verse 5, is the divine response to human sin; favor is the divine response to goodness, but also to repentance and contrition. The consequence of divine anger is death, for the sinner cannot live in God’s presence; the consequence of favor is life (Craigie, P. C. (1998). Psalms 1–50 (Vol. 19, p. 254). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
Christ carried our sins, and for a short time the Father turned his face away. He bore that moment of anger so that you and I would not have to endure the wrath of God ourselves. After Christ endured God’s anger for us, he experienced God’s favor again. Verse 5 literally says, “his favor is life.” The psalmist knows that the change did not result from his own efforts, because he was totally incapable of changing his lot (vv. 1–3). Rather, it is by the “favor” of the Lord that he was restored (VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 260). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
But the Father was pleased with Christ’s sacrifice for sins, and his favor meant life for Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection started with tears on Good Friday but ended with joy on Resurrection morning. It is the same for us if we are in Christ. There are tears when a believer dies, but there is joy in the morning! We need to look ahead and wait for that sunrise! Weeping is something to which we soon say ‘Goodbye’, like the lodger; but rejoicing in his favour lasts a lifetime (Lane, E. (2006). Psalms 1-89: the lord saves (p. 146). Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.).
Illustration: General Wellington commanded the victorious forces at the great battle of Waterloo that effectively ended the Napoleonic Wars. The story has been told that when the battle was over, Wellington sent the great news of his victory to England. A series of stations, one within sight of the next, had been established to send code messages between England and the continent. The message to be sent was “Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.” Meanwhile a fog set in and interrupted the message sending. As a result, people only saw news of “Wellington defeated—” Later, the fog cleared and the full message continued, which was quite different from the outcome that the people originally thought had happened! The same is true today. When many look at what happened on Good Friday, the death of Christ, they see only “defeat.” Yet, at the Resurrection, God’s message was completed. The resurrection spelled “victory.” Joy comes in the Morning. (#1136 in Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 304). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
2) Prayer for the Resurrection (Psalm 30:6-12)
Psalm 30:6-12 6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” 7 By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. 8 To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: 9 “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? 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! (ESV)
As David continues to speak for Christ, he tells the story of the resurrection again, this time focusing on his personal experience, especially his prayer from the grave. Verses 6–12 move from a crisis to a cry to a celebration.
As he praises God a second time, in Verse 6 David, preceding Christ describes the crisis. There had been a reason for God’s anger—David’s false sense of security, possibly because of his census of the army. God has frequently warned us not to trust in our earthly prosperity but in him (e.g. Jer. 22:21). We should avoid letting prosperity breed carelessness, just as we should not let adversity breed carefulness, in the sense of anxiety. For David this lesson was learned very painfully, for dismayed is a word containing the idea of terror. David faced the gaping black hole of death for himself, plus the prospect of an evil regime taking over his people. God did not let it happen and David learned never to say I shall never be moved/shaken (Lane, E. (2006). Psalms 1-89: the lord saves (p. 146). Scotland: Christian Focus Publications.).
• The Disciples overconfidence led to their sinful abandonment of Christ. Christ prayed for strength to the Father knowing the trial of the cross before Him. He felt secure in God’s ongoing strength and support.
For His reliance on the Father, God made him, as verse 7 notes, like a strong mountain. Mountains, as opposed to the sea, are a symbol of stability and often represent security in the protection of God (Ps. 46:2) (Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version).
• This is, of course, especially true of Jesus who is the source of security for He enabled it and His power sustains it.
Verse 7 also foreshadows that terrible moment on the cross when the Father hid his face. Jesus cried out in the words of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” As a real human being, this was the great crisis of Jesus’ life. This crisis led to Jesus’ cry: in verse 8“To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy”. The Hebrew word for mercy here means grace or favor (Goldingay, Psalms, 430, 431; Terrence Fretheim, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997), 2:203.).
Verses 9-10 are fascinating because they give us a window into the mind of Christ as he reasoned with the Father in prayer. The word “pit” can be translated “corruption.” This is how the same word is translated in Psalm 16:10, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” With this in mind, in essence Christ asks in verse 9, “What will you gain from my blood if I go down to decay?” What would the Father gain if Jesus died a violent death and turned to dust in the grave? There would have been no gain in Jesus’ death without his resurrection. If Christ had stayed in the grave, the cross would have been a loss. Without the resurrection, Jesus could not have been our Savior. Without the resurrection, we would still be in our sin. Without the resurrection, Christ would not have triumphed over Satan and crushed the serpent’s head. Without the resurrection, the Father would not have displayed his glory and wisdom to powers of the universe. Without the resurrection, He would have betrayed his Son in his hour of need. Without the resurrection, He would not have saved a people for his name’s sake. Without the resurrection, the cross would have been a loss.
This psalm is full of contrasts, but verses 11 and 12 are the greatest reversals of all. God did raise Jesus! And so, speaking for Christ, David proclaims the celebration. God turned Jesus’ “mourning into dancing” (v. 11). God turned a funeral into a wedding. He turned Good Friday into Resurrection morning. David now describes the change through clothing. The Sackcloth is rough, scratchy burlap. People wore sackcloth as a sign of grief and mourning. God himself loosed/removed Jesus’ sackcloth in this great reversal! When God loosed Christ’s sackcloth and clothed him with gladness, it was like a parent undressing a child and putting on new clothes. The Father took off Christ’s mourning and clothed him with joy! (Goldingay, Psalms, 431.)
Please turn to Romans 6 (p.942)
This joy is for you if you belong to Christ. You have already been raised with Christ to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). You have new joy, new hope, new life because you are joined with Christ in His resurrection. And one day your body will rise with him. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).
As Paul described it in Romans 6:
Romans 6:1-11 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
• Everyone comes into this world (v.6) under the dominion of sin. We want to sin, live for sin. Christ came into the world to break sin’s dominion. As v. 10 states, Jesus died because he took sin upon himself, but his resurrection demonstrates that he has defeated both sin and death (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2167). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
Christ died and rose again. Because he lives, those who put their faith in Him, shall truly live now and forevermore.
(Format note: Outline & some base commentary from Johnston, J. A. (2015). Preaching the Word: The Psalms: Rejoice, the Lord Is King—Psalms 1 to 41. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (Vol. 1, pp. 308–315). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.)
