Episode Transcript
Psalm 30 (NIV)
1 I will exalt you, Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.
4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
6 When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 Lord, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.
8 To you, Lord, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
9 “What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
Lord, be my help.”
11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
CONSIDER THIS
This is a psalm of David expressing thanksgiving for God’s deliverance: “I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths” (v. 1). He praises the Lord because his prayers have been heard, and he has been healed. The surprise of the psalm comes in verse 3 when David says, “O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.” David was speaking metaphorically since, in his many battles, he must have had several close encounters with death but had not yet descended into the grave.
However, the deeper voice of the psalm is that of Christ himself. He cried to God for rescue, and God heard him and brought him up from the grave! This is the great message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which this psalm prefigures. The women were weeping on Friday and yet found the joy of resurrection on Easter—a joy that had never been felt before. As the psalm declares, “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (v. 5).
One of the defining identity markers for Christians is that we are resurrection people. This means that we understand that God always has the last word. Whatever difficulty you may be facing, we know that, in Christ, he has “turned [your] wailing into dancing; [he has] removed [your] sackcloth and clothed [you] with joy” (v. 11). Even during Lent the church refused to fast on Sunday because Sunday is the day of resurrection. (For our non-liturgical readers, Lent is the forty days before Easter, not counting Sundays.) Even in our darkest hours, we are still the people of the risen Lord. No circumstance in your life can change the great fact that the tomb is empty and Jesus Christ is alive. His victory is now ours, so we can give him “thanks forever” (v. 12).
For the Awakening,
Timothy and Julie Tennent
THE HYMN
Sing Psalm 30 with the Seedbed Psalter today. We suggest the tune FOREST GREEN ("I Sing the Mighty Power of God"). You can hear the tune played online by Julie Tennent here. If you listen to the podcast audio version, we will sing the psalm in this same tune. For your convenience, the words from the Psalter are printed below.
1 I will exalt You, Lord, my God, for You have lifted me
out of the depths and did not let my foes gloat over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and healing came;
3 You brought me up from grave and pit, and spared me from great shame.
4 Sing to the Lord, you saints of His, and praise His holy Name;
5 His anger lasts a moment, but His favor will remain.
For weeping may remain all night, and heavy sorrow borne;
But with the dawn returns the light; rejoicing comes with morn.
6 When I felt safe, I boldly said, “I’ll never shaken be!”
7 O Lord, You made my hill stand firm, when You showed grace to me.
But when You hid Your face from me, I surely was dismayed.
8 To You I called, Lord – to the Lord my cry for mercy made:
9 “What gain is there if I’m destroyed and go down to the pit?
Will dust praise You? Will faithfulness of God be told by it?
10 Hear me, O Lord, and be my help! Be merciful to me!
O Lord my God, I cry to You—my helper please now be!”
11 You turned my mourning into dance; my feet with dance employed.
My sackcloth You removed and then You clothed me with great joy,
12 That my heart may sing praise to You, and never silent be.
O Lord my God, I’ll give You thanks and praise eternally!
