You Are Not the Only One

• 1 (A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David.) 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.

“Extol” is a word often used in the Old Testament for lifting a bucket up out of a well “(Cayce 2018, Psalm 30). David wrote about being in a position where he was on the brink of dying. Now He is praising God for hearing his prayers and healing him. See the following Psalms.

• Psalms 6:2 “Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.”
• Psalms 30:8-10 “I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper.

Have you felt as if you were hurting and broken within? You are not the only one! God has answers for your problems. Call out for help. There is no shame in asking for help!

Let Us Praise Him

• 4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
• 5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

David is telling all listeners to “Sing unto the LORD;” however, he is not just talking to himself. He is also talking to the saints throughout history “O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” Why is this important to us? We have blackness that surrounds us.

Some of us may feel that it is engulfing us. We may be afraid of what will happen when we turn the next corner of life. Just remember that there isn’t anything that we can do that is outside of God’s wheelhouse of forgiveness. Just look at what David wrote. ” 5 For his anger endureth but a moment; [Yes God will be angry with us, but we have someone who speaks to Him on our behalf.]

• Hebrews 7:25 “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them,” 
• Romans 8:34 “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” In both verses, the word ‘interceding’ or ‘intercession’ is used.
  

  Meaning of intercession Read what intercession means here.

Like a good, good Father we are “in his favour [for how long] is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=New8i_eX3x8

• 6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
• 7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
• 8 I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.
• 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth?

Redemptive abandonment

• 6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
• 7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

David speaks about his life before the event that turned his life upside down. He reflects on his security in his position and prosperity “And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.” As the King of Israel God blessed him beyond his wildest dreams. David knew what it felt like to have God’s favor on his life. “LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong:” Longman proposes that “The mountain was a symbol of grandeur, establishment and preeminence (159).

Have you experienced Gods favor in your life, your job, your business or your ministry?

• Have you felt that you were destined to remain in that position of favor?
• Like David did you think that you were unstoppable?
• An immovable mountain?
• A paragon of virtue who was in charge of all things and all persons? T
• hat you could deal with that as you felt best-because of your feelings of positional control?

How do I know that? “thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.” Human beings are prone to making mistakes, especially when they feel threatened. Positional control in isolation without Godly support is a lost cause!

David felt that. It led him to sin. He wandered too far away from the trunk of the tree in his relationship with God. He experienced the distance between himself and God. He declared “8 I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.” 

• 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

I know that you are thinking “seriously David?” But he was on his last human thought about what will happen to him. He was not disrespecting God by stating “Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?” As a human leader, we would be ticked odd. We would probably immediately demote David for being so presumptuous in thinking that nothing and no one would be left to praise God if he were to die. Today Christians cannot relate to this statement of David’s.

Just remember that they had no knowledge of what happened when a saint left this earth! Cayce proposes that David shows “A familiar argument for preservation of life (compare Psalms 6:5; 28:1; 88:10-12; 115:17; Isa 38:18-19).

For me, if I think that my presence somewhere is going to emotionally challenge a person, leader, or people, I will walk away. I do not attach myself to titles. I am a straight arrow. My level of expectation for myself and others is excellence, especially when it comes to serving the Lord.

I don’t make excuses for myself when I fail in an area. I will walk away before I will allow my illness, pain, the intensity of emotions, and anal retentiveness to cause someone harm. Especially if I am not the ultimate person in charge. David did not have that option He was the king!  So, he had to get brave and reach out to the only one who could help him! Yahweh!

Help Is On The Way: I hear You, David!

• 10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
• 11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

David cries out “10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.” What can we say here?

• Who speaks to us in the wee hours of the night when we cannot slee, and we have taken too much upon ourselves? God!
• Who is there when the light is growing dimmer, and there seems to be no way out? God!
• Who is there when darkness tries to envelop us, and wraps us in the bottomless pit of despair and depression? God! 

David says over and over again “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.” (Ps 46:1-3).

We must remind ourselves when that darkness comes that Galatians 2:20 “[We are] crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

The darkness will flee. Praise Him for all of the great things that He has done in our lives. This blimp on the road is not one that should stop us from serving and praising Him! Like David, we can categorically state “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.”

https://youtu.be/GlxHMB4JgLE

12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

References

Cayce, Ken. 2017. “Books of the Bible.”  http://www.bible-studys.org/About%20Me.html. Accessed August 29, 2018

Longman, Tremper, III. 2014. Psalms : An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. Accessed September 15, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.