Psalm 30

“I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:1-5 (NKJV)

While I was living in Chicago back in the early 2000s, there was a Romanian bass player named Dan on my worship team. One day, I asked Dan how he came to live in the United States. He told me that he, along with his father and uncle, fled the Communists by floating on an inner tube across the Danube River. He also described how hard it was to worship in a Communist state, where the police would often burst into a home Bible study, physically beat the leader, and drag him to jail. Dan said they prayed for years that the Lord would let them escape Romania, and he added that he would never forget God’s graciousness to his family, where they had a home in Chicago in which they could study the Bible without fear.

King David was a fugitive most of his early adult life. The song he wrote upon completing the construction of his house meant more to David than a simple tribute to architecture and property value. It was the fulfillment of all he had prayed for during those run-for-your-life years, sleeping in caves and on the desert ground. David even compared his house in Jerusalem with having been resurrected from the grave, “You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.”  

We, too, can often feel there is no end to our personal suffering. In desperation, we offer prayers, pleading for deliverance. We hope the Lord hears, cares about our plight, and has the power and character to deliver His children today.  David’s song of praise should encourage us to see how the Lord can deliver us from the greatest depths imaginable and that He still turns mourning into dancing!

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” Psalm 30:11-12 (NKJV)

But what of those who do not hope in the Lord?  What of those who choose to rebel and refuse to trust Him?  Where is their comfort when the dance party ends?

“The joy of our heart has ceased; our dance has turned into mourning.” Lamentations 5:15 (NKJV)

The good news is that there is nobody beyond rescue who is so bad that they cannot have the grace of Messiah Jesus if they will simply turn from their sin and commit to following Him.  (Ezekiel 18:23; John 6:36-37; Matthew 11:28-30, John 3:16)