Psalm 30 (2nd)

When I felt secure, I said, I will never be shaken. O Lord, when You favored me, You
made my mountain stand firm; but when You hid Your face, I was dismayed. To You, O
Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: What gain is there in my destruction, in my
going down in to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
(6-9)
David remembers a past pitfall when God gave him success, he would fall into selfdeceit
Though God made his mountain stand firm, David tended to attribute this security to
his own strength, but now he acknowledges that his success came only from Gods hand
It was out of mercy that God disciplined David to shake him from the illusion of selfreliance, and so David was dismayed and said to God, You hid Your face
Victory, fame, wealth and power have an intoxicating effect on people, and both David
and his son Solomon fell into sin and self-deception as they forgot their dependence upon
God
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding; in all your
ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight (Solomon, Proverbs 3:56)
In asking God for mercy, David reasons with Him by asking what possible gain
could come from his destruction and death this is by no means a doctrinal statement,
but Davids transparent plea to God for mercy
But we have a perspective from this side of the cross it was through the death of Jesus
and His resurrection that He conquered sin and death (I Cor 15:54-57, Colossians 2:1415)
As believers in Christ, we know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His
sufferings (Phil 2:10), for we have experienced forgiveness through His death (Rom
3:25, Col 1:14, Eph 1:7) and continually experience God overcoming evil with good in
daily life
And we know death is a conquered enemy Where, O death is your victory? Where, O
death is your sting? (I Cor 15:55); it has no power to separate us from God (Romans
8:38)
Paul acknowledged that the end of his earthly life would be a transition from living with
Christ on earth to living with Christ in glory, yet knew that he had work to do in this life:
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain . . . I desire to depart and to be with Christ,
which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain (Philippians 1:2123)
Based on the principle of the cross and the resurrection, we know that both our life and
our death can bring praise and honor to God, and can proclaim His faithfulness
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help. You turned my wailing into
dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to
You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever. (10-12)
Gods deliverance from affliction, bondage, and sorrow is a consistent theme in the bible

o Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5)
o You have turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed
me with joy (Psalm 30:11)
o To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, and giving them the oil of
gladness instead of mourning (Isaiah 61:3)
o For I will turn their mourning into joy (Jeremiah 31:13)
o You will grieve, but your grief will be turned to joy (John 16:20)