Those who have received God's Mercy Should Give Him the Utmost Praise

And so the psalm starts with praise, and it ends with praise, but in the middle of the psalm, David not praising, but praying for the mercy of God because of an attitude of pride that had crept into his life.

And This is where we want to begin, we want to begin with verses 6-10, which describes where he was, because the praise that He gives in the rest if the psalm is only because of the mercy that God has shown him.

Psalm 30:6 ESV

As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”

As for me, he points to himself, he’s not looking at anyone else, or pointing his finger at them, it me, he says…as for me… I said in my prosperity… I shall never be moved.

Hear the arrogance in that. I said… in my prosperity, when he had blessing and abundance, when life was going good, when my kingdom was secure, and the enemy nations which had previously drawn me to my knees were no longer a threat, when I felt better than I had ever felt, before, when I thought there would never be another kingdom like my kingdom, when I was at the top of my game, when I was coasting along in life when I was feeling confident about myself, that’s when my life began to unravel and pride took hold of me.

There are three things we learn about pride from David’s confession.

1. Pride produces an inflated view of self… “I said in my prosperity…I shall never be moved”. Where’s the focus, its on himself. Reminds me of what Simon Peter on the night when Jesus was betrayed. Jesus told his disciples…

You will all fall away because of me this night… “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said, in fact you will deny be 3 X. I will never deny you…I will die with you. And we know how that turned out.

2. Pride produces a false sense of security.

I will never be moved, never be shaken. I’m a successful, I’m unstoppable, unbeatable, unmovable, nothing can stop me. My kingdom is secure.

In verse 7 he recognizes the pride and the arrogance that he had. He came to the realization that he is not the one who got him to where he was.

Psalm 30:7 (ESV)

By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong;

That’s not what he had been saying… his attitude before had been upon what he had done…there is a picture of a turtle sitting on the top of a fence post. And the caption under neath the picture says…if you see a turtle on a fence post, you know that it didn’t get their by itself.

And David is saying that… God you are the one who made me secure and unmovable but he didn’t come to that place easily.

3. Pride cuts us off from the favor of the Lord.

Psalm 30:7 ESV

By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.

God saw David’s heart, he saw his pride, he saw his arrogance and pushed against when he saw. He hid his face from David. God’s face is a sign of favor.

Numbers 6:22–26 ESV

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

This is a prayer of blessing… when the Lord’s face is shining upon you, you have his favor, you have his blessing, but when the Lord hides his face, as he did with David, he withholds his blessings, David says in verse 7, that the Lord hid his face form him; and when he did, he said I was dismayed.

He went from I shall not be moved…to I was dismayed. (OTHER TRANSLATION)

So here was David exalting himself in his pride, and what goes God do, he turns his gaze from David removes his blessing his from him and when he does, some hard come into his life.

And its very possible, that David might have in mind what happened the time when he took a census of his military, which he revealed his heart and his trusting in his military more than His God.

The story is recoded in both 2 Corinthians 21 and in 2 Samuel 24.

1 Chronicles 21:1 ESV

Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.

it says that Satan incited (moved) David to number Israel; but in 2 Samuel 24, it says that God incited David to number Israel. He used Satan to accomplish his purpose. God allowed Satan to tempt David to take a census of his military, because what it did was, it revealed David’s proud heart, it brought it to the surface.

1 Chronicles 21:7–8 ESV

But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel. And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

God sent the prophet Gad , I will give you three choices 1) Three years of famine; 2) three months of being defeated by enemy armies; 3) three days of a deadly plague brought on from the Angel of the Lord

1 Chronicles 21:13 ESV

Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

David put his entire hope in the mercy of God. Well according to I Chronicles 21:14, 70,000 men of Israel died in the plague because of David’s sin. Apparently the number could have been much higher than this, except for the fact that David And the angel was making its way to Jerusalem where David was, and when he saw the angel standing between heaven and earth and in his hand he had a drawn sword stretched out over Israel It says that David and the elders clothed in sackcloth fell upon their faces v 16.

1 Chronicles 21:17 ESV

And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father’s house. But do not let the plague be on your people.”

And with that David was instructed to offer a sacrifice to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he bought the land from him, built an altar to the Lord, offered up a sacrifice for his sin, and the angel of death but his sword back into its sheath. But the story doesn’t end there.

It ends with David, who had wanted to build a Temple house for the Lord, but wasn’t able to because he had been a man of war, he gave instruction that the Temple would be built upon the very spot where God had shown mercy to Him, in the staying of the angels hand.

So David was very much aware of his need for God’s mercy when he wrote Psalm 30. Not just because of the census that he had taken, David could be referring to any number of situations in his life, when he might have hit rock bottom, or when his focus might have been in the wrong place, or when some sickness had come into his life.

Whatever the circumstances might have been…. and any number of them might have flooded his mind… the important thing is, he realizes the condition of his heart and he cries out to God for mercy in his life.

Psalm 30:8–10 ESV

To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: “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? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!”

Now, David knows that God is just; and he knows that he is being disciplined by God. He knows the mercy of God, so he cries out don’t give me what I deserve be merciful towards me. Then he makes an interesting argument or case for God to be merciful towards him.

David is saying if you spare my life, if you let me live, if you show me mercy, I will praise you and give you glory for what you have done, I will tell of your faithfulness, which I will not be able to do if you take me. The dust cannot praise you, can it? But I will if you deliver me. I’ve received your message, you have shown me my pride, I have taken the pride that you deserve and I want to give it back to you.

Pause to ask, has God ever brought you to that place in life. Maybe you were living for yourself, trusting in your self, and God used someone or brought something in your life to help you see your heart wasn’t in the right place. And you’ve asked God to forgive you for that…and today you have a greater desire to praise him because of what he has done for you.

Lets go to the beginning of the psalm now… where David is praises God for delivering him and encourages others to praise God along with him.

Psalm 30:1 ESV

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.

The Hebrew word extol means to hold up or lift up high.

Lord I lift your name on high. Lord I love to sing your praises…that’s the idea here. David wants to life up the name of the Lord. And he gives the reason for wanting to do this… he says…for you have drawn me up, the words drawn up are used elsewhere in the bible of water in a bucket being drawn or lifted up from a well. David is saying you have lifted me up when I was down, and in a low place…. from the depths you have pulled me up…

Then he continues… and you have not let my foes rejoice over me.

And we know that he had many of them. He had them during the days he fled from Saul. He even had them in his own household and among his own sons.

Psalm 30:2 ESV

O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.

He says…O Lord my God, I cried to you for help and you have healed me.

He could be referring to a physical healing of some kind, but the word could also be used of being rescued from sudden danger, or a perilous situation.

I cried to you for help and you have healed me… verse 3

Psalm 30:3 ESV

O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Notice the number of different ways he describes God’s deliverance…he says you have drawn me up, you have healed me, you have restored me to life. He is saying, God you were the only one who could help me…he is saying I cried out to you God and you rescued me.

Personal ILLUS: God is the one who sent that truck when he did. And I praise Him for that.

That’s what the psalmist is telling us here.

Don’t praise Him alone. You can praise Him alone, but its better that others are praising him with you as well. So in verses 4 and 5

Psalm 30:4–5 ESV

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. 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.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, (godly ones) someone who has believed on Jesus and give thanks to his holy name. (at the remembrance of his holiness). When was the last time you thanked God for being holy.

Notice in verse 5

that 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.

Does God ever get angry? David is saying there was a time when God expressed his anger towards David, and disciplined me, but his favor, is for lifetime.

God’s anger is different from our anger…he is never irrational or impulsive, his anger is always purposeful and justified. His anger is never expressed in a wrong or sinful way. David is saying he felt God’s momentary anger, his displeasure in the discipline of him…and he could be thankful that he…because God disciplines those he loves. If God were to let us go on in sin without ever correcting us, that would not a good sign for us, because Hebrews chapter is very clear when it says that God disciplines his own. He will never allow us to continue in our sin, if we are one of His children.

So its possible that if we are going through a time of suffering, and it seems harder than it should be, it may not be because of our sin, but it could be, and we should ask God that he might show us our hearts and if he has hid his face to get our attention.

His anger is but for a moment, its temporary it doesn’t last forever…but his favor, his mercy and his compassion are for a lifetime…

Should point out that favor spoken of here is for those who are his, only those who are his will experience enteral joy and eternal favor from him.

Isaiah a prophet to Israel, brought messages from God to His people, that he might a relationship with them. He brought them through times of correction, rebuke and trial in other that we might bring His people back to him. In Isaiah 54, we see his favor and compassion towards them.

Isaiah 54:5–8 ESV

For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.

The point is, there may be times in your life when God’s face may seem hidden from us, and our response to that should be to seek him with our whole heart, but even in that, for those who are His, for us it means that we have a relationship with Him through a personal faith in Jesus, His compassion will never go away, it will never leave us, his favor is for a lifetime and we should be a people who praise him for that.

Notice the rest of verse 5

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

The picture is very vivid, the word that is used for tarry is a word that was used of someone who would stop at a house and lodge for the night…. Weeping may lodge with you for the night… he’s there in your house you can’t ignore that he is there… and he might stay for awhile…for a night season if you will, you might wishe would go, and that he is overdoing his stay… but know this, joy comes in the morning. Eventually the son will run, joy will come, weeping for a night, but joy comes with the morning.

One day there will be a sunrise. For some the long nights might continue until they see Jesus… who is far greater, far bright than our morning sun… …In revelation 22:16 he says I am the root and the descendant of David, the bring morning star…. It will be worth it all when see him…he will wipe every tear from our eyes, there will be no more sorrow, no more weeping, no more pain, but an eternity of joy that God will never end.

So if you are going through a night season, if weeping is your quest, take heart joy comes in the morning, cling to the hope that joy is coming… let me morning sun that rises in the morning, be a reminder to you that when Jesus comes or we go to be with Him that there will be no more nights, but everlasting Joy with him.

Whatever suffering, whatever the struggles, whatever the trials we may face… nothing can compare with the glory that is coming…

SLIDE: Romans 8:18

Romans 8:18 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

2 Corinthians 4:16–17 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

In the words of Psalm 30:5

Psalm 30:5 ESV

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.

The psalm closes out in verse 11-12

David says consider where I was and how the Lord delivered me…

SLIDE PSALM 30:11

Psalm 30:11 ESV

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

Sackcloth is 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. However, people in mourning would wear sackcloth as a sign of grief.

Psalm 30:12 ESV

that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

David had been in mourning … says v 11 God you have turned my mourning into dancing. Through tears or through shouts, you have replaced the gloom with gladness to wear, you have loose my sackcloth and have clothed me with gladness instead.

For a very important reason in verse 12… that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Earlier David has said, I cannot praise you on earth if I die, now he says in verse 12 that God had saved him that my glory, Psalm 16:9; 108:1): is a poetic expression which means with my entire being all that I am, I will praise you and not be silent. I will sing your praise and I give thanks to you forever.

Three Truths in Conclusion:

1. If we have received God’s mercy than we should be a person of praise.

If God has saved us, he as pulled us out of a horrible pit, do we see ourselves as someone who would could have died, without being saved and what that would have meant for us, eternal separation from God. And through no merit of our own, by calling out to him for mercy and by faith in what Jesus did for us upon the Cross, God rescued us from an eternal hell, do we realize what God has done for us…how wicked we were and how undesiring we were of his mercy…it was only when David recognized his pride that he cried out to God for mercy.

2. Because God is holy, he will not let sin go unchecked in our life.

He will do whatever He has to do, to bring us back to him. Don’t overlook what happened to David. He was proud and God had to humble him. And he wasn’t ashamed to tell the world after the fact. In fact he writes a psalm that was sung at the dedication of the temple, to say, I was in need of God’s mercy just like everyone else. Don’t fight against what God wants to do in your life. If you have some bitterness, some hard heartedness, acknowledge what is there…then ask God forhis mercy. David said I was proud, I was arrogant, I was rebellious, but I can to a place where I asked for God’s mercy, we should do the same… why…because our God is not only just…he is full of mercy and compassion.

3. We can all expect times of suffering in this life.

not always because of our sin, but it comes with living in a fallen world. But the suffering is temporary, won’t last forever. Joy comes in the morning. One day we will stand before Christ and will be to his glory and praise, even if God takes us through some nights of weeping now.

1 Peter 1:5–7 ESV

who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

If you haven’t trusted in Jesus, you have no future joy ahead ofyou, only for those who have put their faith in Christ, you need him to rescue you, he went to the cross to make it possible. I

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