PSALMS 31
We will begin this lesson by giving the 30th Psalm in metre. The
reason we are quoting this in metre is to show how easily it could be
sung.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 30
verse 1 "Lord I will praise thy name, For thou hast set me free;
Nor suffered foes to claim A triumph over me. O Lord, my
God, to thee I cried, And thou hast health and strength
supplied."
verse 2 "Thou hast my soul restored, When I was near the grave; And
from the pit, O Lord, Alive thou didst me save. O ye His
saints, sing to the Lord, With thanks His holiness record."
verse 3 "His anger soon is past, Life in His favor lies; Weeping a
night may last, At morn shall joy arise: In my prosperity
secure, I said, my peace shall still endure."
verse 4 "Jehovah, by thy grace My mountain standeth strong; Thy hast
withdrawn thy face, And troubles round me throng. To thee, O
Lord, I raise my cries; To God my supplications rise."
verse 5 "What shall my blood avail, when to the grave I go? Shall
dust thy praise tell? Thy truth to others show? Hear me, O
Lord, and mercy send, My God, to me thy help extend."
verse 6 "My mourning now is past, And songs my lips employ; My
sackcloth from me cast, And I am girt with joy. So shall my
tongue through life adore, And praise my God for evermore."
Now, we will begin the verse by verse study of the 30th Psalm.
Psalms 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."
The word extol, in the verse above, means raise or exalt. We see,
then, that David is lifting up the Lord in praise. We know that David,
like us, made mistakes and was punished for those mistakes. The
wonderful thing, in this, is that God has forgiven David and lifted
him up from his pit of despair. The greatest rejoicing is when we
were guilty of sin and are now forgiven. When David numbered the
people without God's permission, God punished David severely. The
people looking on thought that the blessings of God were off David.
The good news is, God forgave David, and now David's foes had nothing
to laugh about.
Psalms 30:2 "O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast
healed me."
In this case, the healing possibly was of a broken heart. We know
God had sent pestilence through the land, because of David's sin.
God lifted the pestilence, because of the prayers of David. I wonder
sometimes how God feels about all the numbering systems in our
society. Thank God, we are not a number with Him, He has a special
name for each of us who belong to Him. We must always pray about the
sins in our society. II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are
called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my
face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
Psalms 30:3 "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."
The one thing that David dreaded was dying before God forgave him
of the sin he had committed. It is a dreadful thing to die in sin. To
die in sin would mean that the person would wind up in hell. The pit
spoken of here is hell. David had been near death, because of his sin,
but God spared him. David is fully aware that God saved him. He
deserved death, but God saved him. This is the very condition of all
of us. We deserve to die for our sin, but Jesus became our substitute
on the cross that we might be saved. Just as in the verse above David
believed that God saved him, we must believe that Jesus saved us.
Psalms 30:4 "Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give
thanks at the remembrance of his holiness."
Notice, this verse lets us know that the statements David has
been making apply to us, as well. We have so much to praise God for.
It was not just the followers of God, then, who were saints of His,
but all believers, now, are saints of His. We are His, because He
bought us with His precious blood. We are cautioned to be holy, for He
is holy. We are not holy, but we must desire to be holy and work
toward that goal. We are, however, in right standing with God, for we
have taken on the righteousness of Christ.
Psalms 30:5 "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 me, one of the most beautiful acts of forgiveness that God
did, is when He forgave the children of Israel for making the golden
calf and worshipping it. Moses pleaded for the people, and God forgave
them. We see, here, that David pleaded with God, and God forgave him.
When we sin, we should follow this example and plead for forgiveness.
God is longsuffering. II Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-
ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance." When trials in this life come {and they do to all of us},
remember joy cometh in the morning. At the darkest point of night, the
dawn is beginning to come.
Psalms 30:6 " And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be
moved."
This problem of David's is the problem of the whole world. When
times are going good, we are not seeking the face of God. It is in our
time of sorrow that we cry out to God. Really, this is a vain
statement by David, but a statement that all too many of us make,
as well. When there is no temptation, we feel that we are sitting
pretty with God. Let temptation come, and we may fall like David did.
We grow very little on the mountain top. It is in the valley that we
grow.
Psalms 30:7 "LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to
stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, [and] I was troubled."
At least, David gives God the credit for his mountain standing
strong. When we get to feeling as if we have won and we are on the top
of our mountain, sometimes the mountain begins to shake, and we must
go back in to the valley to be taught a lesson. The worst feeling any
believer can experience is feeling that God has turned His face away
from him. We, too, are troubled when we feel that God has turned away.
It is time to repent when this happens. We may not realize that we
have offended God, but that would be the only reason He would remove
His presence. I have said before that, I refuse to go to a church
where the presence of God is not evident. I go to church to fellowship
with the Lord, if He is not there, I can not fellowship with Him.
Psalms 30:8 "I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made
supplication."
The only place to go in time of trouble is to the Lord. David did
not go around whining to his friends, he went to the Lord. My help
cometh from the Lord. To cry to the Lord is much more than just a
little quicky prayer. This is a very serious seeking of the Lord.
Psalms 30:9 "What profit [is there] in my blood, when I go down
to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?"
David says here, If I die and go to hell, I can't praise you.
What will that profit? David knows that God loved him and made him
what he was. Even the name, David, means {beloved of God}. I believe,
in this, David is saying, Lord if you let me live, I will ever praise
your name. I will declare to all who you are and your truth. Have you
ever made such a deal with God? You know that you are alive and
breathing your next breath by His permission. Are you spreading the
wonderful truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Psalms 30:10 "Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou
my helper."
I have cried so many times, Lord help me, for I am weak. I really
think David has it in reverse. God is not our helper, we are His
helper. God is the Boss, we are His workers on this earth. The cry for
mercy from God is as old as man himself. Man cannot live a successful
life without God. When we allow Jesus to be Lord of our life, as well
as our Saviour, we do it His way, and it works. Lord Jesus, take up
your abode in me. Let the Holy Spirit be my teacher and my Guide. As I
live this life, let me no longer live for self, but Jesus, You live in
me and through me, and I cannot fail. Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Psalms 30:11 "Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:
thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;"
Just one touch of the Lord, and the mourning is gone. God turned
David's mourning into dancing. The power of God has come upon him with
such joy that it has overwhelmed David in the Spirit of God. The Jews
put on sackcloth when they were mourning and poured ashes over their
head. We see that David's earnest desire to reach the very throne room
of God, had caused him to even wear sackcloth. Notice, where the
overwhelming gladness came from. It was from God. In my opinion. it is
alright to dance in the Spirit AFTER THE POWER OF GOD COMES ON YOU,
not before. We should not plan to dance before the Lord.
This dance, spoken of here, is after God touched David.
Psalms 30:12 To the end that [my] glory may sing praise to thee,
and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for
ever.
So many of us forget to praise God for the things He has already
done for us. David promises God, in this verse that He will praise Him
forever. Possibly {my glory} means David's lips speaking praise that
comes from David's innermost being. Let us not forget to praise God in
song and in word from our innermost being for all He has done for us.
Questions 31
1. This Psalm of David or song was at the dedication of what?
2. What does extol in verse 1 mean?
3. What is the wonderful thing, in verse 1, since David had sinned?
4. When is the greatest time of rejoicing?
5. What was the sin David had committed?
6. The healing, David is speaking of in verse 2, is possibly of the
_______ ______.
7. Why had God lifted the pestilence through the land?
8. What do you think God thinks about all the numbering in our
society today?
9. With God we are not a number, He has given us a special ______.
10. Quote 2 Chronicles chapter 7 verse 14.
11. What was the one thing David really dreaded?
12. The pit, in verse 3, is what?
13. We deserve to die for the sin in our life, but Jesus became our
________.
14. What statement, in verse 4, leaves no doubt that this was not just
for David's time, but for ours, as well?
15. Why do we belong to Jesus if we are a Christian?
16. What put us in right standing with God?
17. What does the author believe is the most beautiful example of
God's forgiveness in the Bible?
18. Who petitioned God on their behalf?
19. Where do we find, in the Scriptures, that God is not willing that
any should perish?
20. What is the problem in verse 6 of the lesson, that is really the
problem of the whole world?
21. Where does the Christian grow with God the most?
22. What should we do, if we feel that God has turned away from us?
23. Why does the author refuse to go to a church where the presence of
the Lord is not evident?
24. Where is the only place to go in time of trouble?
25. What is David saying, really, in verse 9?
26. What does the name, David, mean?
27. Are you spreading the wonderful news of the gospel of Jesus
Christ everywhere you go?
28. Who is the Boss of the entire universe?
29. Man can not live a successful life without ___.
30. Quote Galations chapter 2 verse 20.
31. What had God turned David's mourning to?
32. When did the Jews put on sackcloth?
33. What does, my glory, in verse 12 possibly mean?
Home