Worship in WORD
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the
temple. Of David.
30 I will exalt you, O Lord,
for you lifted me out of
the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 O Lord my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought me up from the
grave;b
you spared me from going down into the pit.
NIV
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A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of
the Temple.
30 1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me.
You refused to let my
enemies triumph over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you restored my
health.
3 You brought me up from
the grave,* O Lord.
You kept me from falling
into the pit of death.
New Living Translation ®, copyright ©
1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers. All rights reserved_
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A
Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.
30
I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my
foes to rejoice over me.
2
O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3
O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive,
that I should not go down to the pit.
KJV
|
Joy Comes with the Morning
A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the
temple.
30 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.
ESV
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I. Personal/Public Purpose
II. Personal Praise: vs. 1- 3
III. Public Exhortation: vs. 4 - 5
IV. Personal Plea: vs. 6 - 10
V. Personal/Public Praise: vs. 11 – 12
Just like the phrase “I will exalt You” is one word in
Hebrew, so also is the phrase “You have lifted me out [up].” The word “out” is
allowable, but I prefer the term “up,” as the KJV and ESV have. The ESV has
“drawn up,” which we will see is actually a very apt translation.
The Hebrew root word used here is a verb which has the underlying
meaning – to draw up as in drawing up water from a well. Returning to the Word
Study Dictionary of the OT, we find this definition:
1802. hl*D: d¹l¹h:I. A verb indicating to draw up, to lift up. It describes the act of drawing water from a well (Ex 2:16,19), of metaphorically drawing out a wise plan from a person's heart like deep water (Prov 20:5) or of the Lord's lifting up people beset by their enemies (Ps 30:1[:2 ]).(from The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament Copyright © 2003 by AMG Publishers. All rights reserved.)
Here David recounts a time he
felt like he had fallen into a deep well. He felt like his enemies were
gathering over the opening and gloating (“gloat” NIV) or rejoicing (“rejoice”
KJV, ESV). They were getting ready to party. One can imagine, like little kids,
they were holding hands and circling the well and singing
O David is in the well
O David is in the well
Hi ho the derry-o
Now let him go to hell!
However, their revelry was short-lived. Like water from a
well, the Lord drew David up and rescued him.
The picture changes in verse 2 as we learn that this “well”
experience referred to a time when David was anything but well! We find
that he was in a condition where he needed “healing.” So he cries out for help,
and the LORD responds with healing. Today with all the medical advances, we
might call upon a doctor before we cry out to the LORD. Yes, by all means, go
to the doctor when needed, but let us also go first to God and trust Him for
healing either by His hands or through the hands of the one He has raised up to
administer healing.
Spurgeon commenting on verse 2 has this to say:
We ought to praise the Lord more than we do for our recovery from sickness. Employ the physician if you will, but, when healing comes to you, magnify the Lord for it, and ascribe the glory of it to his holy name.(from Spurgeon's Expository Notes. Biblesoft Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Most commentaries I consulted say that David here is
referring to a physical ailment. However, a few take this passage less
literally.
Wiersbe likens it to “the distress within him that was like
a painful sickness.”
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament ©
2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)
The JFB commentary sees this verse as referring to that
which is recorded in 1 Chron. 21:14-27 and combines the figurative with the literal in their
interpretation.
Thou hast healed me - thou hast removed my spiritual malady (my pride, which brought on me chastisement), and the consequent plague which so reduced my people. Compare Ps 30:10-11; 1 Chron 21:14-27; Isa 1:5-6; 6:10; 2 Chron 36:16, margin.
(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997-2014 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Calvin sees this as a general reference to any kind of
deliverance:
As the Hebrew word apr, rapha, signifies to heal, interpreters have been led, from this consideration, to restrict it to sickness. But as it is certain, that it sometimes signifies to restore, or to set up again, and is moreover applied to an altar or a house when they are said to be repaired or rebuilt, it may properly enough mean here any deliverance. The life of man is in danger in many other ways than merely from disease; and we know that it is a form of speech which occurs everywhere in the Psalms, to say that David was restored to life whenever the Lord delivered him from any grievous and extreme danger.(from Calvin's Commentaries, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2005-2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
In verse three, the scene changes again (of course, all
three verses are rereferring to the same situation). Here we learn how dire
David’s predicament is. He was at the point of passing away. Again, the phrase
“You brought me up” is one word in Hebrew. This is either literal or
figurative, depending on whether you take the statement, “healed me,” to mean
an actual sickness or not. Here we see God reaching down and raising up David
as it were, from death.
Whether David was speaking literally or metaphorically
matters little in this case. The situation was real. What matters is that God
had come to his aid and had delivered him. David’s response to his enemies’
taunts was a song of praise directed to Yahweh-Mephalti = The LORD, my Deliverer (A name not
used here but in a similar context in Psalm 18:2).
O LORD,
I was in the depths of despair
You drew me out of there
My life was a living hell
You made me well
I had fallen into a pit
You pulled me up out of it
I will lift You up in praise
I, whose life You did raise
— Amen
May we follow David’s example in this. And like our Savior,
may we respond in this way:
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
1 Peter 2:23-25 NIV
Witness:
I am not facing
any earthly enemy in my life at the moment. No one is mocking me for my faith presently.
This may be an inditement on me, because it may indicate that my faith is
somewhat incognito at the moment or I’m not involved in any ministry in a way
that draws attention to my actions. However, the enemy of my soul has not let
up his attacks on my mind and heart. This is very evident in my prayers for
focus and faithfulness in my Christian disciplines. I practice the usual time-wasters,
such as reading my emails, Facebook page, and sometimes TV. There are also
unexpected distractions, such as when I am about to sit down to study and get a
call from my daughter that she has lost her keys.
That is where
another battlefront pursues as the enemy attacks me on the right flank with
unexpected distractions and from the left with anxiety over finances. He does
not have to work hard when it comes to wasting time on lesser things, but as
soon as I begin to focus on that which is truly important, bam something
unexpected happens like it did the other day with my daughter’s car key
incident. An incident that cost $189 to fix. I had to charge it because neither
of us had the money to pay for this at the moment. This, of course, caused me
stress because I have been trying for years to get out of debt. Debt that was
largely (though not totally) from unexpected occurrences like a stroke, cars
breaking down, and unemployment.
I have not been
the best money manager until recently. I have also struggled with making enough money to raise 6 kids. Needless to say, I have always been
anxious when it comes to finances. So when I took a large sum of money from my
401k to pay off my debt recently, I finally felt a sigh of relief, but that was
short-lived. Almost immediately, things began to happen, forcing me to take out
a $5000 loan and then a car loan for $8900. I was now almost back to where I
was before I paid off most of my debt, employing the withdrawal from my 401K.
I will say taking David Ramsey’s Financial Peace course has
helped some. However, with emergencies rising up left and right before I can
even get that $1000 emergency fund set aside makes it difficult not to worry
and fret over my finances. In all this, I will say that I have faithfully
tithed and contributed to ministries. Yet, I cannot give the testimony that I
often hear from those who get up in front of everyone and testify that when
they started tithing, their financial situation improved vastly as God blessed
them with abundance. No, I continue to struggle, and God revealed to me the
other day as I was praying that even if I won the Publishing Clearing House
Sweepstake, I would still worry over money. I would, of course, share with
others but would still be in fear that the bottom would drop out somehow and I’d
lose it all. I also would stress over how to spend it wisely for the Lord.
So I have some work to do in order for money not to be a
master over me, and also to put into practice the things I have even written
about before when it comes to not being anxious. I am a work in progress as we
all are, only I must not let this be an excuse when I worry or am distracted
from serving and praising and trusting God. Let God be my master and not money.
Amen!
Worship in Song: O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing as sung by
The David Crowder Band
Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise
The glories of my God and King
The triumphs of His grace
My gracious Master and my God
Assist me to proclaim
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name
So come on and sing out
Let our anthem grow loud
There is one great love
Jesus
Jesus, the name that charms our fears
That bids our sorrows cease
'Tis music in the sinner's ears
'Tis life and health and peace
He breaks the power of canceled sin
He sets the prisoners free
His blood can make the foulest clean
His blood availed for me
He speaks and listening to His voice
New life the dead receive
The mournful broken hearts rejoice
The humble poor believe
Glory to God and praise and love
Be ever, ever giv'n
By saints below and saints above
The church in earth and Heav'n
There are so few words
That never grow old
There are so few words
That never grow old
Jesus
Written by: CHARLES WESLEY, TERRY KIRKLAND
Lyrics © MUSIC SERVICES, INC.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Video: https://youtu.be/7w3DXMkyj7Q
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