From Mourning to Dancing – Psalm 30

“A Psalm. A song at the dedication of the house of David.” Psalm 30:1

2 Samuel 5:4 says, “David was 30 years old when he became king, and he reigned 40 years.” 2 Samuel 5:5-12 tells us that after David conquered Jerusalem that he took up residence there. Then, he secured cedar wood and hewn stones and built a palace for himself. When his palace was finished, he wrote this song [Psalm] to be sung at its dedication. [1]

“I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” Psalm 30:1-3

David acknowledged that he would not be at this place in his life if it were not for the Lord.

During the first phase of David’s life, his brothers treated him with contempt. After that, his king and father-the-law falsely accused him of plotting to overthrow him and made every effort to kill him. Besides the in-house fighting, his nation had enemies that he felt obligated to conquer. So, he fought and by the grace of the Lord conquered the surrounding nations.

In 1 Samuel 22:1, David was living in a cave in Adullam. Caves were sometimes used as tombs. He said to the Lord, “You brought my soul up from the grave. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” The feeling of death closing in on him was real to David. With so many treating him as a criminal, where would his soul end up if he died? But he survived! The Lord had lifted him up. It was though he had been dead and the Lord resurrected him.

Previously, David lived in a cave, now, he had a palace.

The Lord healed David. He said to the Lord, “I cried out to You, and You healed me.” The Lord healed him mentally and emotionally from all the trauma of wars, bloodshed, betrayal and slander that he had experienced. In Exodus 15:26, the Lord said, “I am the Lord that heals you.” In Psalm 147:3, David wrote of the Lord, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” A life brought back from the brink of death ought to be spent in praising God. David gave God the glory for his victories.

“Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy Name. For His anger is but for a moment. His favor is for life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:4-5

David called upon his fellow saints to join with him in singing praise to the Lord. As they remembered the Name of the Lord, he wanted them to do so with thanksgiving. Though he had experienced a season of suffering, those days now seemed but a moment in light of the favor and joy that he now had in the Lord.

Praise God that His frowns toward us are brief. We deserved His frowns toward us to be everlasting. But our God is a loving Father. Psalm 103:10-13 says, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.”

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” At night, with the darkness all around us, we may be tempted to dwell on that which is overwhelming, but in the morning, as the light of day breaks into our room, there’s a sense of the grace of God. He put yesterday behind you and gave you a new day full of light. Ephesians 2:8 says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

In John 20:11-13, “Mary stood outside by the tomb of Jesus weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.’”

In John 20:14-17, Mary turned around and saw Jesus, but did not recognize Him at first. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She supposed Jesus to be the gardener until He said her name. Then, she turned toward Him and knew that it was Jesus. Jesus sent Mary to tell His disciples the good news of His Resurrection. The Lord turned Mary’s weeping into joy!

“Now in my prosperity I said, ‘I shall never be moved.’ Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong. You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O Lord. To the Lord I made supplication! What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me. Lord, be my helper!” Psalm 30:6-10

The downside of material prosperity is that it may give a person a false sense of security. Predators are always hunting for that independent-minded stray. The one who has let its guard down! The one who thinks, “Nothing bad will ever happen to me.” The one who thinks his prosperity is steadfast like a mountain.

When David felt secure because of the increase of his possessions, he was least safe. During every change of his condition, he needed to maintain faith in God alone for his own well-being. If God felt distant from him, that greatly troubled him.

When his mountain was shaken, he lifted up his eyes above the hills.

In James 5:13-16, the apostle asked, “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church. Let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

When God seemed to hide his face from David, David did not turn his face from God. David cried out the more vehemently. Like blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52, when people told Bartimaeus to hold his peace in the presence of Christ, he cried out all the more loudly. He knew that his only hope to see again was Jesus Messiah. Jesus stopped and healed him.

“What profit is there in my blood?” David reasoned with the Lord, asking, “Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?” There is none of that in the grave. The grave is a land of silence. [2]

David prayed for mercy and help. The writer of Hebrews 4:16, urged us to do the same. He wrote, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

God turned David’s mourning into dancing. As God promised in Isaiah 61:3, He gave to David “Beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing. You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” Psalm 30:11-12

Giving thanks to God forever is the inheritance we receive from Him for our simple act of trusting in Him. Yes, we experience trials and tribulations here on earth, but our light and momentary afflictions are working for us an eternal weight of glory. The Lord rewards each act of faith in Him. Praise the Lord!


[1] Matthew Henry's Commentary
[2] Ibid