Mourning Into Dancing
As has become tradition, we’re taking a bit of the Summer to teach in The Psalms. The Psalms are an expertly and intentionally crafted collection of poems, songs, and hymns written by God’s people to reflect on the Story of God. If you haven’t already, we highly suggest you take a moment to watch the video overview our friends at Bible Project did for Psalms — it’s AMAZING!
For Week 3, we jumped into Psalm 30 — a Psalm of Thanksgiving of David:
1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 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.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O LORD,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O LORD, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “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?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
O LORD, be my helper!”
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
The ESV Gospel Transformation Bible sums up Psalm 30 well: “Meditating on the future temple provokes David to recall its representation of God’s presence. Immanuel protects (v. 1), heals (v. 2), restores (v. 3), shows mercy to (vv. 8–10), and produces joy for (vv. 11–12) his people. David pompously forgot these blessings, so God withdrew the awareness of his presence (v. 6). From the Lord, such dismay is a gift, confronting us with our own insufficiency (v. 7). Ironically, the weaker we feel, the stronger the Lord can make us (2 Cor. 12:10), like a house built on a rock (Matt. 7:26), or like a mountain (Ps. 30:7). Grace of such quality does not come cheaply; one must plead for it like a dying man pleads for life.
But this is not just any dying man; he is God’s child, whose cry our Lord cannot ignore. In effect David says, “You’ll miss me when I’m gone” (vv. 8–10). His repentance is furious, and his praise vigorous. God responds, and turns “mourning” over spiritual death into “dancing” because of eternal life (vv. 5, 11, 12)—a kind of resurrection (v. 3)! What kind of God transforms such an impudent sinner? One whose glory it is to overwhelm judgment with steadfast love, which lasts for thousands of generations (v. 5; Ex. 34:6–7). God’s glory evoked from David’s “glory” (Ps. 30:12) an exuberant song.
But there was to come still a greater glory, “glory as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14). God raised Christ from the dead, triumphantly conquering death. When God hid his face from him, Jesus cried, “Why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). Heeding the Son’s cry, God saved him from the pit and brought up his soul from Sheol (Ps. 30:3). Those who are united with Christ share in the same victory (Col. 3:1).“
Give the sermon text a read and a listen as we close out the Book of Ruth and we hope to see you this week at a Family Meal and/or a DNA group to dive even deeper.