Luke 12:19 - And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”
Daniel 4:30 - The king reflected and said, “Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Daniel 4:33 - Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 - Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
Hebrews 12:5-11 - …and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
James 5:14-15 - Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
2 Samuel 24:14 - Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
3 ways God offers to exchange His joy for your mourning
I. God Can Exchange His Joy for the Sorrow of Physical Suffering and Uncertainty – (vv. 1-3)
Psalm 30:6 - Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.”
A. Because God is able and willing to lift us up – (vv. 1a, 3)
Psalm 30:1 - I will extoll you, O LORD, for You have lifted me up…
Psalm 30:3 - O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.
“The Psalmist’s praise was reasonable. He had a reason to give for the praise that was in his heart. He had been drawn up like a prisoner from a dungeon, like Joseph out of the pit, and therefore he loved his deliverer. Grace has uplifted us from the pit of hell, from the ditch of sin, from the Slough of Despond, from the bed of sickness, from the bondage of doubts and fears: have we no song to offer for all this? How high has our Lord lifted us? Lifted us up into the children’s place, to be adopted into the family; lifted us up into union with Christ, ‘to sit together with him in heavenly places.’ Lift high the name of our God, for he has lifted us above the stars.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 1, pp. 42-43)
B. Because it is better to be in God’s hands, than your enemy’s
2 Samuel 24:14 - Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
Psalm 30:1b - …and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
Psalm 119:71 - It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
C. Because God often heals those who cry out to him – (v. 2)
Psalm 30:2 - O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
II. God Can Exchange His Joy for the Sorrows of Temporary Discipline – (v.4-5)
A. This is a reason for praise and thanksgiving – v. 4
Psalm 30:4 - Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name.
“Thanksgiving psalms are closely related to Psalms of lament, since thanksgiving psalms are usually expressions of praise for God having heard a lament.” (James Montgomery Boice, Psalms Vol. 1, p. 261)
B. God’s fatherly anger is temporary compared to his eternal favor – v. 5a
Psalm 30:5 - For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime…
Luke 1:28 - And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
Luke 1:29 - But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
Luke 1:30 - The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.”
Luke 1:46-47 - And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
C. If necessary, weep over your sin temporarily, but rejoice in the forgiveness we can find in Him – v. 5b
Psalm 30:5 - …Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Matthew 5:3-4 - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
“When the Sun of Righteousness comes, we wipe our eyes, and joy chases out intruding sorrow. Who would not be joyful that knows Jesus? The first beams of the morning bring us comfort when Jesus is the day-dawn, and all believers know it to be so. Mourning only lasts till morning; when the night is gone the gloom shall vanish. This is adduced as a reason for saintly singing, and forcible reason it is; short nights and merry days call for the psaltery and the harp.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 1, p.45)
Proverbs 28:13 - He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
Ephesians 4:31-32 - Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
III. God Can Exchange Joy for the Sorrows of Self-Sufficiency – (vv. 6-12)
A. Beware of materialism – v. 6
Psalm 30:6 - Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.”
Luke 12:15 - Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
Proverbs 30:8-9 - …Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.
B. Recommit yourself to repenting of personal sin when necessary – vv. 7-10
Psalm 30:8 - To You, O Lord, I called, and to the Lord I made supplication…
Psalm 30:10 - Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper.
C. Embrace the grand exchange that comes from recommitting yourself to dependence on Him – vv. 11-12
1. A new dance
Psalm 30:11a - You have turned for me my mourning into dancing…
2. A new outfit
Psalm 30:11b - You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness…
Galatians 3:27 - For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
John 15:11 - These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
3. A new song
Psalm 30:12a - That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
Psalm 40:1-3 - I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.
4. A new heart
Psalm 30:12b - O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
- one of the challenges that each one of us faces is that of self-sufficiency…of living in a time of relative prosperity and peace and concluding that we achieved such a condition by our own strength and wisdom and don’t need outside assistance from anything or anyone…
- you may remember the parable that Jesus told in Luke 12 about a wealthy man whose land was very productive…and so the man had a conversation with himself [which sometimes, btw, is the most dangerous person you can talk to], which included these words…
- Luke 12:19 - And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”
- in other words, what could possibly happen to ruin this “run of prosperity” I’m on…
- he found out, didn’t he?…when that night his soul was required of him…and none of what he had acquired would serve him well if he had not “been rich toward God”…in other words, cultivated a relationship with the Lord while the opportunity was there…
- Jesus referred to him as a foolish man…because he wasn’t nearly as self-sufficient as he thought…
- another example that comes to mind is King Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel… Daniel 4:30 - “The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’
- that conversation with oneself didn’t go very well either , did it?...because a few verses later we read… Daniel 4:33 - Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
- it’s amazing how quickly we can go from thinking we’re all that and a bag chips…to having hair like eagles’ feathers and nails like bird claws…sounds like some of us when we couldn’t get our hair cut during the pandemic, huh?)…
- this is why we are warned in Scripture -- Jeremiah 9:23–24 - Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
- so there’s no question that the possible sin of self-sufficiency is tempting for all of us…
- now, here’s the next question -- what is the most loving thing for our God to do when this happens?...how would you answer that?...is it to leave us in that condition, or to do something to jar us out of that condition?...what is our best spiritual interest?...
- we may not like the answer…but deep down we know the answer…
- so, when the Lord does something to jar us out of our complacency or self-sufficiency, what is that called?...Fatherly discipline...our salvation is not in question because that is secure in Christ…but do you believe in the existence and value of our loving heavenly Father disciplining His children?...
- both the writer of Proverbs and the writer of Hebrews say we should…alluding to Proverbs 3, the writer of Hebrews says -- Hebrews 12:5–11 - and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
- so, would we agree that if we are ever falling into the sin of complacency or self-sufficiency, one of the greatest proofs that we are God’s children would be if we received His discipline?…and if we respond properly, we could grow in both holiness, and then afterwards…the peaceful fruit of righteousness?…
- now let’s take it one step further…could that discipline ever involve our physical bodies?
- and we have to be very, very careful here…because remember the story of the man born blind in John 9…when the disciples callously asked – who sinned, this man or his parents that he would be in this condition…and Christ’s answer was…neither, because his condition – if responded to properly could bring glory to God…
- but on the other hand, we have a passage like James 5, which says when a person is ill… James 5:14–15 - Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
- so here’s where we are so far – it is possible, that God could use illness or physical disease as a means of jarring us out of self-sufficiency or any other number of ways we might be displeasing to God…
- in fact, it’s at least hypothetically possible that’s one of the ways God could use this pandemic in our country and around the world…would you agree with that, at least in theory?...
- here’s the next question – if and when that ever happens…for Christians, should we assume the discipline will be severe, and imbalanced, or is there another aspect of God’s character that always is more pronounced (dominant?) over time?...
- so even when we’re in the middle of a trial like COVID that places great uncertainly on our health, what does God offer?...answer – an exchange of His joy for our mourning…
- with that in mind, let me invite you to open your Bible to Psalm 30 this morning…
- this month we’re seeking to Celebrating God’s Gifts at Christmastime…
- and this year we’re encouraging our church family to consider the message of Christmas through the lens of the exchanges God is willing to make with us…like how, last week, we saw that God Takes Our Plans and Gives Us His Purpose…
- this morning we’re going to see another delightful exchange…where God Takes Our Grief and Gives Us His Joy
- before we read the Psalm, I think it will be helpful to give a bit of the background…Bible students believe that David is making reference to a poor choice he made right at the end of his life…where he numbered the people of Israel…you can read about that in both 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chron 21…
- that was step a king took to assess his military might…and in this case what David did and why he did it was sinful…and through a prophet, God came to him and gave him three choices…7 years of famine, 3 months fleeing from his enemies, or 3 days of pestilence…
- David’s response was… 2 Samuel 24:14 - Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
- so there was judgement on Israel because of David’s sin…but David prayed and the Lord stayed His hand of judgment at a threshing floor of a man named Arunah the Jebusite…and the prophet then told David to build an alter to the Lord there…and Arunah was willing to give David the land…but that’s when David famously insisted on paying, because he said – I will not make an offering to the Lord of that which cost me nothing…
- now, with that background in mind…please listen carefully to the worship song David wrote as a result of this experience…and listen carefully to see the beautiful exchange God made…
- read Psalm 30:1-12
- So we’re talking about how God Takes Our Grief and Gives Us His Joy…and with the time we have remaining, let’s think about 3 ways God offers to exchange His joy for your mourning.
I. God Can Exchange His Joy for the Sorrow of Physical Suffering and Uncertainty – (vv. 1-3)
- hopefully because we took the time to talk through the Psalm before we read it, the overall storyline makes sense…
- do you see the problem in verse 6?...
- Psalm 30:6 - Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.”
- when David said that in his heart, he was talking like the rich fool of Luke chapter 12…or like King Nebuchadnezzar of Danial 4…or the people boasting of their horses and chariots of Jeremiah 9…
- and here’s what’s important to see…whatever joy might seem to come from that kind of pride and self-sufficiency…it’s a cheap substitute for what God offers…because it is actually numbing us from what it’s really is like to experience true joy that comes from dependence on and trust in the Lord…
- so what did the Lord do in this case?...he allowed David and those he loved to experience physical calamity….but because he was willing to repent…he experienced this marvelous exchange and subsequently wrote a worship song about it…
- and it just may be that one of the values of COVID 19 for many of us is to help us purge those strands of self-sufficiency…would you agree with that?...
- and because of the birth of Christ – and his subsequent death, burial, and resurrection, this exchange is available to us as well…
- so, what are the reasons David gives us?...
A. Because God is able and willing to lift us up – (vv. 1a, 3)
- don’t you love how picturesque the Word of God is?...
- 1:1 – I will extoll you, O LORD, for You have lifted me up…
- 1:3 - O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.
- the phrase “lifted me up” is also used in the Bible to draw a bucket out of a well, or lift a person out of a pit…
- that’s what God stands ready to do to people like you and me…even if the physical calamity is the result of some sin on our behalf…God takes no delight in keeping us in that condition any longer than is absolutely necessary for our purging and repentance…
- if you have access to the great commentary on the Psalms by CH Spurgeon entitled Treasury of David …I would encourage you to read and meditate on what he wrote about Psalm 30…it is so rich…
- of this verse he said…The Psalmist’s praise was reasonable. He had a reason to give for the praise that was in his heart. He had been drawn up like a prisoner from a dungeon, like Joseph out of the pit, and therefore he loved his deliverer. Grace has uplifted us from the pit of hell, from the ditch of sin, from the Slough of Despond, from the bed of sickness, from the bondage of doubts and fears: have we no song to offer for all this? How high has our Lord lifted us? Lifted us up into the children’s place, to be adopted into the family; lifted us up into union with Christ, “to sit together with him in heavenly places.” Lift high the name of our God, for he has lifted us above the stars (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 1, pp. 42-43).
- David goes on to argue…
B. Because it is better to be in God’s hands, than your enemy’s
- remember when David was given a choice…he said…2 Samuel 24:14 - Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
- that’s his point in the second half of Psalm 30:1…
- 1:1b - and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
- I’m certainly not suggesting that God has allowed COVID into everyone’s lives for exactly the same reason…if the Lord can do anything, it’s multi-task…
- but I hope many of us would say – we can see ourselves in Psalm 30…to one degree or another we can behave very self-sufficiently…
- which is why we would also say with the Psalmist…
- Psalm 119:71 - It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
- and one of the reasons we can say that is because as followers of Christ – we know that not even God’s discipline can remove us from His loving hand…
- now, we don’t know what the Lord may have planned for every person who might hear this message today. But we do know this…
C. Because God often heals those who cry out to him – (v. 2)
- Psalm 30:2 - O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
- David knew that God could have taken his life because of the attitude he displayed in verse 6…
- but the Lord delights in forgiving his children…
- by the way…there is another example in the OT of a Psalm that is very similar to this one…this would probably be a good Bible trivia question…
- do you recall a king in the OT who experienced God coming to him and saying – set your house in order, because your life is coming to an end…
- and the king asked the Lord for 15 more years of life…and God granted the request?...who was that?...King Hezekiah…
- we read that story in Isaiah 38…and after the king’s request was granted…Hezekiah writes a worship song and you have to believe he had Psalm 30 in mind because there was great similarity…
- please keep that in mind because we’re going to come back around to that at the end of our time together this am, because regrettably, Hezekiah did not use those last 15 years very well…
- there’s probably a very important lesson for us there…
- when you consider this overall point – do you believe we have an opportunity to sing this same song?
- who knows what is going to happen with these vaccines and I am certainly not suggesting we should let our guard down for a second because of what is happening right now with the infection, and hospitalization, and death rates…
- but Christians should also be people of hope…and at least we’re not facing a situation where all the vaccine candidates miserably failed…
- what are we going to say if this year is better than the last one?...
- and is our response going to lead to greater dependence on the Lord, or less…
- the worst thing David could have done after this divine healing would have been to go back to even greater complacency and self-sufficiency…
- I hope all of us would say – I want to learn every lesson I possibly can from COVID-19 now because I really don’t want to have to take a refresher course…
II. God Can Exchange His Joy for the Sorrows of Temporary Discipline – (v.4- 5)
- David says – I can’t thank God enough for this exchange He has provided…so I am calling my brothers and sisters to join me…
A. This is a reason for praise and thanksgiving – v. 4
- Psalm 30:4 - Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, and give thanks to His holy name.
- if you’ve studied the Psalms before, you probably know that they fit into various classifications…or genres…
- this one is a thanksgiving Psalm…but as James Montgomery Boice pointed out, “Thanksgiving psalms are closely related to Psalms of lament, since thanksgiving psalms are usually expressions of praise for God having heard a lament” (James Montgomery Boice, Psalms Vol. 1, p. 261).
- and that’s where David finds himself…at the end of the process, thank the Lord…and please don’t miss the point
B. God’s fatherly anger is temporary compared to his eternal favor – v. 5a
- this is a great verse to memorize because it is filled with hope for people like you and me…
- Psalm 30:5 - For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime;
- isn’t that an incredible promise?...
- and that has Christmas mapped all over it, doesn’t it?...
- remember what the angel said to Mary -- Luke 1:28 - And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
- btw, was Mary’s response, you better believe I am worthy of the favor of God?...
- Luke 1:29 - But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
- to which the angel said…Luke 1:30 - The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
- friends…that’s the kind of God we serve…and even when we do have to receive discipline because of our sin…his righteous anger lasts how long?...for a moment…but his favor last how long?...for a lifetime…
- that assumes that you truly are a child of God….the only way God can relate to us in this day and age favorably is through the finished work of His Son…because our sin first has to be addressed through his shed blood…this is why Mary went on to say later in that same chapter…Luke 1:46–47 - And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
- [develop the gospel – it would be the height of self-sufficiency to believe you can be reconciled to a Holy God apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ – that would be a choice to stand with Nebuchadnezzar in Dan 4, and the Rich man in Luke 12, and those condemned in Jer 9, and with David in his unrepentant stats of Psalm 30:6…]
- so,
C. If necessary, weep over your sin temporarily, but rejoice in the forgiveness we can find in Him – v. 5b.
- Psalm 30:5 - …Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.
- in this case, this is talking about the weeping that comes from mourning over our sin…
- and to a degree, that’s a very important part of the repentance process…
- that’s why Jesus would later teach…Matthew 5:3–4 - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
- there’s no shortcut to the kind of exchange we’re talking about this morning…
- but the good news – because God is a forgiving God…we don’t have to mourn and wallow in our sin forever…
- David rejoiced in another Psalm because…Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
- I loved what Spurgeon said about that – When the Sun of Righteousness comes, we wipe our eyes, and joy chases out intruding sorrow. Who would not be joyful who knows Jesus? The first beams of the morning bring us comfort when Jesus is the day-dawn, and all believers know it to be so. Mourning only lasts till morning; when the night is gone the gloom will vanish. This is adduced as a reason for saintly singing, and forcible reason it is; short nights and merry days call for the psaltry and the harp” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Vol. 1, p.45).
- are these offered exchanges incredible?...momentary anger for lasting favor…
- weeping in the night, but promised joy in the morning?...
- now, part of the challenge is – men and women who want the joy but are unwilling to follow the process outlined in the passage…
- the only way to get to this kind of joy is through the route of genuine repentance…
- that’s why it’s so important for us to clearly and carefully present the complete gospel to those the Lord places around us [address the issue of not having Bethlehem in the LN this year, but how we intend to compensate for that]…
- that’s also why it’s important for us to take an honest look at whether this pandemic might have revealed a tendency to self-sufficiency in you or me…where the Lord purposely brought us to an end of ourselves to make a very important point…and if so, that should be acknowledged to Him…
- Proverbs 28:13 - He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
- there’s also a lesson here about the importance of us forgiving others the way God forgives us…
- remember – part of our role as followers of Christ is to glorify the Lord – to give others the right opinion of Him…
- this passage explains a key way that is possible…Ephesians 4:31–32 - Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
- if you have to show displeasure toward someone in your life because of their sin – after they repent…are you quick to forgive?...
- for some people, they keep bringing the offense up over and over and over….it’s the endless night of weeping and reminders of that person’s failures…and the morning light filled with the joy of forgiveness never comes…
- so David says…
III. God Can Exchange Joy for the Sorrows of Self-Sufficiency – (vv. 6-12)
A. Beware of materialism – v. 6
- Psalm 30:6 - Now as for me, I said in my prosperity, “I will never be moved.”
- please keep in mind, prosperity is not always a good thing…
- that’s why Jesus preceded the parable of the rich fool by saying….Luke 12:15 - Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
- the writer of Proverbs 30 affirmed - Proverbs 30:8–9 - …Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.
- the day you look at your material possessions and think – I have completely insulated myself from any possible problem…I’m a self-made man – that is a very dangerous day indeed…
- so David shows us how to…
B. Recommit yourself to repenting of personal sin when necessary – vv. 7-10
- Psalm 30:8 - To You, O Lord, I called, and to the Lord I made supplication:
- Psalm 30:10 - “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper.”
- how many times have you asked – when’s this pandemic going to be over?...
- what if God’s answer in your case or mine was – when you’ve learned all the lessons you needed to learn…or, when you’ve repented to the degree you should?...I’m offering you an exchange…a gift of joy that comes from finding your strength and sustenance in me and me alone…
- that’s the way the Psalm ends…
C. Embrace the grand exchange that comes from recommitting yourself to dependence on Him – vv. 11-12
1. A new dance
- Psalm 30:11a - You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
- [develop ways that comes out in counseling, where men and women are discouraged and depressed because they don’t see any way out of their circumstances…and then they choose repent and seek to be God’s kind of person regardless of what the others in their lives do…after a few weeks of that, you go to pick them up in the waiting room and they’re dancing…they’ve accepted God’s exchange]…
2. A new outfit
- we all like to buy something new to wear on Christmas Day, right?...
- Psalm 30:11b - You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
- isn’t that an incredible metaphor?...
- and it starts with being clothed with the righteousness of Christ…
- Galatians 3:27 - For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
- and how does that affect our joy?...John 15:11 - These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
3. A new song
- Psalm 30:12a - That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
- all morning, you may have had another song running through your heart and mind…Psalm 40:1–3 - I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.
4. A new heart
- Psalm 30:12b - O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
- a rejoicing heart is a thankful heart
- what if God does give us eventual relief from the pandemic?...does that guarantee that the next period of time in our lives will be lived well?
- [tell the story of the way Hezekiah used his last 15 years]…
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