Psalm 30
The God of Great Reversals
Have you been in a pit, metaphorically speaking? Maybe the emotional pit of depression or grief? Or a spiritual pit of despair or bitterness? Or even a physical pit of chronic pain or financial hardship?
Life is no respecter of persons, which means every person experiences times when the pit is deep, and the way out is unclear. The psalmists penned many psalms from deep in the belly of the pit when all the cards seemed to be stacked against them. And we need those psalms. They remind us that we are not alone in our suffering.
But this psalm is written from a different vantage point—one not of hoping for rescue but of looking back on rescue with great joy. And we need psalms like this one, too. They remind us that our circumstances do not have the final say in our lives because we serve the God of great reversals.
Verse 1
“I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.”
There is an interesting parallel here. Yahweh lifted David up, drawing him out of the grasp of his enemies and rescuing him from their evil plans. And because the Lord lifted David up, David is committed to lifting Yahweh up in praise and thanksgiving.
Verses 2-3
“O LORD, my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.”
David recalls how he turned to the Lord in his time of distress—crying out for help, rescue, deliverance, and strength. And God, in his faithfulness, responds to David’s cries, healing him and restoring his life.
There are a few verses in this Psalm I love because of their prose. But I love the significance of a particular word in this verse. The Hebrew word rapha, translated as “heal” in our English Bible, literally means to mend by stitching. David teaches us that God is Jehovah Rapha, our healer—the one who takes the fractured pieces of our lives, and with fine attention to the intricate details, and mends them together with great compassion and care.
Verses 4-5
“Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
David, addressing Israel, a nation familiar with the Lord’s discipline, emphasizes that while the Lord cannot overlook sin, his anger is momentary and will pass. But his favor—his delight, goodwill, and generosity toward them—will last for all time.
Similarly, their weeping, whether arising from harm done to them, the harm done by them, or the overall brokenness of the world, may persist through the night, lingering or taking up residence in their lives for a time, but joy will most assuredly come.
This reminds me of the early years of my sobriety. Whenever I was struggling with something particularly difficult, veterans in recovery would reassure me, saying, “This too shall pass. Don’t give up five minutes before the miracle happens.” These men and women had been sober long enough to experience that firsthand, and they held out that same hope to me. David’s message to Israel and all of God’s children assures us that our moments of weeping will pass, and when they do, we will know the fullness of joy.
In light of this glorious God, David calls the people to give thanks—literally to cast out or throw their gratitude to him with extended hands, incorporating their whole body in worship and thanksgiving for the God of reversals.
Verses 6-7
“As for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved.’ By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.”
David turns to reflect once again on his experience, this time with emphasis on his false sense of security and misplaced confidence. David, rather than exhibiting humility and confidence in the Lord, wrongly believed it was his prosperity that made him immovable. He forgot it was Yahweh who had established him. When Yahweh’s favor was upon him, he stood as strong as any mountain. But when the Lord hid his face (implying the Lord removed his favor from David as a form of discipline), his foundations crumbled.
God’s discipline awakened David to his pride and misplaced confidence, and in his distress, he turned to the Lord in confession and repentance.
Verses 8-10
“To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the LORD, I plead for mercy: ‘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? Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!’”
David cries out to the Lord—reasoning with and appealing to him for mercy. David’s plea is rooted in God’s praiseworthiness. He essentially argues that if God allows him to die, who will sing out of God’s faithfulness?
I’m reminded of Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees in Luke 19. As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people cried, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.” When the Pharisees urged Jesus to silence the crowd, Jesus says, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (v40).
David’s logic is flawed. Because even if he perishes, all creation—animate or inanimate—will declare the power and glory of God. Every breath that fills and exits our lungs praises him as the Creator. Every beat of our hearts praises him as our Sustainer. Every sunrise and sunset declares his power, majesty, and glory. Every star that flickers in the night sky, every grain of sand on every shore praises him. All of it praises Jesus as Lord and King. So even if we fail to praise him, whether we live or die, when all that remains of us is dust and ashes, the Lord will be praised!
And yet, even with David’s pride, misplaced confidence, and flawed appeal, God extends his favor to David.
Verses 11-12
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”
David’s language, once again, reflects God’s great reversals—a pattern that runs throughout this psalm. David was low, God lifted him up. David suffered, and God restored. David experienced God’s momentary discipline, God extended David everlasting joy. David mourned, and God turned his mourning to dancing. David was clothed in garments of grief (sackcloth), and God replaced them with garments of great gladness. And because of this, David will not be silent but will sing praise forever.
Though this psalm was written by a specific person at a specific time, facing a specific set of circumstances, the truths are timeless. No circumstance, sin, person, or pain gets the last word. We are called, loved, and kept by the God of reversals, the one who removes our garments of mourning and clothes us with exceeding gladness, who lifts us out of the pit and reestablishes us on solid ground, who heals and restores our broken bodies, situations, hearts, and minds. And, who, in Jesus, has begun the most profound reversal of all—the curse of sin and death. And he will one day replace our momentary groaning with the eternal joy of life with him in the new heavens and new earth.
That is the final and most definitive word from the God of great reversals.
Love you guys,
CC
If you’d like to engage Psalm 30 further, schedule some time to work through the following exercises.
Engage the Scriptures
What theme or themes stand out to you in this psalm?
Read back through the psalm and list out every reversal you see.
Explore Your Story
Where are you still waiting, praying, and longing for reversals? Name them and grieve them before the Lord.
Compare your list of the reversals in the psalm to that of your own life.
(For example, If you listed the reversal of mourning to gladness in the first question, name a time in your life when God took your grief and turned it into gladness.)
Encounter Jesus
How has the course of your life reversed as a result of Christ?
Take some time to write out your own psalm of praise.
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