Psalm 30

Great, we're going to be in Psalm 30 tonight. So if you want to turn to Psalm 30, I'm going to read it for us and then I'm going to pray and hand over to Clifford who's going to preach for us from Psalm 30.

Let me read it for us. A Psalm, a song for the dedication of the temple of David. I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Lord, my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead. You spared me from going down to the pit.

Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people. Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime.

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

When I felt secure, I said, I shall never be shaken. Lord, when you favoured me, you made my royal mountain stand firm. But when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

To you, Lord, I called. To the Lord, I cried for mercy. What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me. Lord, be my help. You turned my wailing into dancing. You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.

Lord, my God, I will praise you forever. Let me pray as Clifford comes to speak.

Father, we do pray just with thankfulness for Clifford and even more for your word.

And we pray, please, that you would help Clifford now to speak clearly and faithfully.

Give us ears to hear what he has to say and you have to say through him. In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Good evening.

I suspect that if I had a choice, I would perhaps be in my shorts in my back garden looking at my tomatoes.

In the sovereignty of God, however, I'm here to share God's word with you. Let's pray together.

Amen.

Amen.

And so, Father, we feel hot and bothered.

And there's a sense in which we are not fully able to concentrate on your word.

But thank you that you are able to concentrate on us.

Meet with us as we meet around your word now.

And speak to us through your word.

Your written word that speaks about Jesus, the living word.

In his name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Sometimes it's difficult to try and convey to you what privileges I feel in just standing here preaching to you.

Having preached for 40, 45, 50 years in Scotland and in England.

And I felt that my ministry had come to an end until it was kicked into being again by Steve.

So thank you.

As we look at this psalm this evening, the psalm of praise and thanksgiving from the first standard to the last.

This praise is expressed six times in the psalm.

The psalm is remembering the psalm.

The psalm is remembering the greatness of God at a great event.

The psalm is remembering the psalm.

The psalm has an unusual title, dedication to the temple of David.

But some evangelicals, commentators believe that this psalm was written prophetically for the dedication of the temple which David prayed for, but for his son Solomon, who actually built it.

But in the context, it would seem to me that the psalm was actually written for the dedication of David's palace, not the temple.

Please note that there is nothing in the psalm which describes the palace in any way.

What is described is the greatness of God in his deliverance of David.

So in fact, the dedication of David's house, he wanted God to be praised, not himself.

He didn't want the architect to be praised or the builder, but he wanted God to get all the praise.

The background to the history of David's policies, its completion is found in the book of Samuel.

In 2 Samuel 5 and 11 to 12, it says this.

Now Haram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with the cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.

Then David knew, emphasis, that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and established his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

Now that's a very foundational and an important background or backdrop to the psalms that you need to have whole intention as we look at the psalm.

So David, at the dedication of his house, is quite clear that he was not asking anyone to focus on himself.

What perhaps could have been perceived as a monument to himself and his personal achievement,

when David could have show off and said, look at me, look at my strength, look at my ability, look at my wealth.

Look at my wealth.

Look at my kingdom and look at my kingdom and look at the palace that I was able to build because of my ability.

In influence, and to gather all the workers and materials from every part of the kingdom.

And so what might have been a monument to man's achievement, instead became an occasion for David to praise God.

So in this statement that we find in 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 11 to 12, David, in fact, knew three things that made the reign of David great.

2 Samuel 5 · chapter mention

The reference is 2 Samuel 5, 11 to 12.

So in this statement, David knew three things that made the reign of David great.

David knew, one, that the Lord had established him as the king over Israel in verse 12.

David knew, secondly, that the Lord had established his kingdom.

And thirdly, David knew that God had made him king and had made and exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people.

You see, David knew that God wanted to use him as a channel to bless his people.

And one of the joys of being here and seeing the changes and so on.

And of course, we're coming up to leadership and so on.

One of the things that we need to be aware of is we want people who are aware of their being called by God to be used,

not to promote themselves, but to bless the people, to serve the people.

And if I understand correctly, this psalm,

David is trying to make what I would call pertinent points that we need to hear,

we need to understand, and we need to embrace as a fellowship and as a leadership.

He says it was not for David's sake or his family that he was lifted up by God.

But for the sake of the benefit of God's people.

What a beautiful picture then, brothers and sisters, we have in 2 Samuel 5,

and verse 11 to 12, or if you say 1 to 11, what about?

About the establishment of David's house.

No wonder then that we begin to see the reflection in David's heart in Psalm 30, as he wrote Psalm,

I will exalt you, Lord, for you filled me, you lifted me out of the depths.

And this explains to us the core reason of David's praise to God.

My brothers and sisters, this evening, it will seem to me that David knew that his governance and status in Israel

was not himself or his kingship, but the hand and work of God.

You see, this does not mean that David passively did it all by himself.

But even in his action and use of abundance and of energy,

David was acutely aware that he was able to do all that he did because of God.

And it is that acute awareness that we have reflected in the Psalm of Praise.

Charles Spurgeon, in his commentary on the Psalm of David,

he's not my favorite commentator, but I'll quote him.

He writes,

Grace has lifted us up from the pit of hell, from the ditch of sin,

from the flow of despondent,

from the bed of sickness,

from the bondage of doubts and fears.

Have we no song to sing

a Psalm of Praise to our God?

If God, in other words, he's saying,

if God has done so much for us,

have we not something to praise God,

to give God thanks for, to exalt God for?

You see, David understood in the context of the Psalm

that God had lifted you up from the depths.

He had sung.

Deaths he had fallen,

and he sung, and he sang,

and he wrote the Psalm of Praise to God.

In 1b, David says,

You did not let my enemies gloat over me.

And when I had to laugh,

when I was looking at this,

I could imagine some of David's enemies

looking over the wall and mocking him.

And what David is saying here is,

God did not allow his enemies to look upon his misfortune

or downfall with smugness and harmful pleasure.

You know, sometimes you warn someone about something,

and when it eventually happened,

yeah, yeah, you know, that kind of mocking.

David is saying,

God did not allow his enemies to do that to him.

He speaks about healing here,

speaks about,

and reflects upon the value of God's help to David

at any time he had a need.

And what we're speaking about here is not,

may not have been physical healing,

but many of the commentators believe

that David is reflecting here

about the time in his experience

when God saved him from life-threatening illness.

So he thanked the Lord in a variety of ways

for God's dedication to his own place

and his own life and service.

And brothers and sisters,

it's not so much the building that David is worried about.

It's about the relationship that he had with this God

and the relationship was found

on the life that he lived with this God.

No wonder then further on in the psalm,

David would have us.

I waited patiently for the Lord.

He turned me and he heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the timey pit,

out of the mud and mire.

He set my feet on the rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth

and a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the Lord

and put their trust in him.

In Psalm 40, 1 and 3,

David is saying the same thing in a different way.

So if verse 1 and 3 is a remembrance

of the greatness of God,

at the dedication of David's house,

and a great event in David's life,

I would suggest to you then,

verse 4 and 5,

we see a dawning of a new day.

You see, in 4 and 5,

we clearly see that the psalm

is not only David's personal expression

of praise, worship, and thanksgiving,

but it was also used by the congregation

to worship.

And here David encouraged them

in the words,

sing praise to the Lord,

you as faithful people,

praise his holy name.

Mark, defy the Lord with all with me,

and let it exalt his name,

is the AV.

Personal praise and worship

to a God of the Bible,

what does not enrich you and me,

and bring praise to God,

becomes self-centered

and self-indulgent.

Perhaps can even lead us

to thinking that we notice God

better than anyone else.

And one commentator said,

it can lead us to pride.

Verse 5,

his anger lasts for a moment,

but his favor lasts for a lifetime.

Weeping may stay for the night,

but rejoicing tarries

or comes in the morning.

Each morning,

God's mercies are new to us,

as so is his faithfulness.

In Psalms 46 and verse 5,

David asserts,

God is in the midst of her.

He shall not be moved.

God shall help her

at the break of dawn.

In Psalms 59 and verse 16,

David writes,

I will sing of your power.

Yes, I will sing aloud

of your mercy in the morning,

for you have been my defense

and refuge

in the day of trouble.

Of course,

a verse that we know very well,

Jeremiah says in Lamentation,

though the Lord's mercies

or through the Lord's mercies

we are not consumed

because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning.

Great is thy faithfulness.

Just by way of aside,

someone,

a complete stranger to me,

reflected yesterday

and commented on the singing

at the wedding.

And they felt

that there was something

different about it.

God's compassion,

God's faithfulness.

God was here with us yesterday

as we celebrate.

You see,

the realize of God's mercy

and compassion

and faithfulness

generated hope

in David's soul,

turning his faith arm,

his contemplation of trouble

into a confession

of faith.

Because the Lord loves us,

he chastened us,

but he does not consume us.

But his chastening

is only temporal.

His discipline

is but

he does not destroy us.

He disciplines us,

but he does not

destroy us.

Which would lead us

to despair.

But the word of the Bible

does not lead us

to despair.

He is to compassionate

for that.

He wants us

to recognize.

You see,

his unbelief

causes us to look

to a God

through the lens

of circumstances.

And this creates

feeling

of a sense

of hopelessness,

does it not?

But faith

enables us

to look

at our circumstances

through the reality

of God's promises.

And this gives us hope.

when we look

at our reality

of our circumstances

through God's lens,

we see things

through different eyes.

We see them

through the eyes

of faith.

And this is what

the psalmist

is talking about.

This kind of hope

that the psalmist

is speaking about

is the resurrection

of our Lord

brought at the dawning

of the new day

for all who trust

in him.

So weeping

comes every often

as an unwelcome guest.

But God's

gracious favor

is with us

and is for us

for a lifetime

and into eternity.

The grace

that God

extends to you

today

is not only

until you die.

Psalmist

said,

even though

I walk

through the valley

of the shadow

of death,

I will fear

no evil.

Why?

For thou art

with me

in life

and in death.

And he brings comfort.

And that's

to encourage us

even on a warm

sticky day.

That's to

encourage us.

My brothers and sisters,

I believe that

this is what Paul

is referring to

when he wrote

to the church

at Corinth

in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

and verse 16

and 18.

Therefore,

we do not

lose heart

though outwardly

we are wasting

away,

yet inwardly

we are being

renewed day by day

for light

and momentary

troubles

are achieving

for us

an eternal glory

that far awaits

them all.

And so what

do we do?

He says,

we fix our eyes

on Jesus.

Brothers and sisters,

I tell you,

we can't afford

to lose sight

of him

even

in tragedy.

The 29th of December

last day,

I had the shock

of my life

when I had

a telephone call

to tell me

that my nephew

died

in an accident.

He died instantly.

The other guy

was thrown

through the windscreen.

And that very

moment,

I said to my wife,

let's pray

to God.

And I know

how you feel.

You've got my

sympathy.

Paul said,

we don't lose

heart.

we keep

our eyes fixed.

And Jesus,

the one who

is the author,

and finisher

of our faith.

So we don't

look at what

is seen,

but we look

at what is unseen.

Because what we

see is temporary,

transient.

But what we

see,

is eternal

in Christ.

Is that not

this what

Jesus explained

to his disciples

in John chapter

John 16:20

16,

verse 20 and

22,

most surely

I tell you,

you will weep

and mourn

while the world

rejoices.

You will grieve,

but your grief

will turn

to God.

My brothers and

sisters,

I have never

given birth.

I am privileged

to be in a

family of 15,

10 boys

and five girls.

But I know a

little about

childbirth,

because I know

my grandma used

to come in the

evening,

and in the

morning we'll

hear,

yeah,

yeah,

that means the

child was born.

A woman

giving birth to

a child has

pain before

time has come.

But when

her baby is

born,

she forgets

the anguish,

she forgets my

brothers and

sisters,

the pain,

because of her

joy.

That the child

is born into

the world,

and in the

child,

a hope

is realized.

And we

heard the

story about

the Lord

Jesus Christ,

unto a child

is born,

unto a son

is given,

and his name

shall be called

Wonderful,

Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting

Father,

Prince of

Peace,

and so on

and so on.

And that

child went

to a cross

and died

in your

place,

in my

place.

all the

sins.

We have to

be careful

here because

my pastor

told me I've

got 45

minutes and

I wouldn't

take 50.

So I have

to be careful.

So I have

to be careful.

And as

with the hope

that is found

in the child

with the

mother,

so it is

with you,

says Jesus.

Now it's

your time

of anguish,

of grief.

But I

see you

again and

you will

rejoice

and no

one

will take

away your

joy.

God's

anger

lasts only

for a

moment

for its

favor

towards us

last

lifetime.

In verse

6 and

10,

we have a

new day

and

although

weeping

therefore

may stay

for the

night,

but we

have rejoicing

that it's

coming in the

morning.

And then we

have

verse 6 to 10,

a new heart

from pride to

humility.

In verse 6,

David said,

when I felt

secure,

I said,

I shall not

be shaken,

moved.

And the

aviates said,

it's now in

my prosperity,

I said,

I shall never

be removed.

Prosperity here

means careless

ease,

living carefree

and self-assured

life because

things are going

well with you.

this is

frequently seen

in the life

of the

unconverted.

In Psalms

10,

6,

he says to

himself,

nothing will

ever shake

me and

he swears

that no

one will

ever do

me harm.

In Luke

12,

16,

21,

where Jesus

told his

disciples the

story of the

rich man who

yielded an

abundant

harvest.

And he

said to

himself,

this is what

I will do.

I will tear

down my

barns,

build buildings

and build

bigger ones

and there I

will store

my surplus

grain.

And I

will say

to myself,

you have

plenty of

grain laid

up for

many years.

Take

life easy.

Eat,

drink and

be merry.

But God

said to him,

you fool.

This very

night your

life will be

demanded from

you.

Then you

will get

what you

have prepared

for yourself.

this is how

it will be

whoever

saw up

things for

themselves,

but is

not rich

towards God.

But this

not only

applies to

the unconverted,

it's a

content

temptation

for

Christians

also.

When we

look at the

prosperity of

others,

we can

begin to

be jealous

and envious.

Psalm speaks

about it in

Psalm 73.

Here then

is a

clear warning

that we

ought to

be aware.

David

says,

surely God

is good

to Israel,

to those

who are

pure in

heart.

But as

for me,

David

said,

my feet

had almost

slipped.

I had

nearly

lost my

foothold.

He says,

for I

envied the

arrogant when

he saw

the prosperity

of the

wicked.

Verse 3,

they have

no struggles,

their bodies

are healthy

and strong.

Verse 40,

they go to

the gym

every day.

I see

them.

They are

free from

common human

burden.

They are

not plagued

by human

ills.

Therefore,

pride is

in their

necklace.

They

clothe

themselves

with

violence.

From

their

callous

hearts

comes

iniquity.

Their

evil

imaginations

have no

limit.

They

scoff

and speak

malice

with

arrogance.

They

threaten

oppression.

And he

goes on

and goes

on.

Verse

12,

we

conclude,

this is

what the

wicked are

like.

Always

free of

care,

they go

on assigning

wealth,

assimilating

wealth.

But the

subject of

prosperity is

never without

peril.

the

prosperity

with him

to

affect

David

in an

adverse

way.

In

Psalm

30,

he was

not

strong

enough to

stand

his

temptation.

Unless we

look down

on David,

I wonder

how many of us

are strong

enough to

stand this

temptation.

You see,

David had

become proud

and self-confident.

he said in

his heart,

when I

felt secure,

I said I

should never

be shaken,

not be

moved forever.

In the

context of

David's confidence

as the king

of Israel

and the

leader of

his people,

no doubt

he was.

but you

see,

his heart

was lifted

up in

the wrong

way,

not to

God,

to himself.

And in

the spirit

of self-

glorification,

David commanded

the commander

Joab to

number the

people of

Israel,

as documented

in 2

Samuel 24.

And as a

result of

that action,

70,000

Israelis

died.

they

perished.

See,

David became

proud and

wanted to

magnify his

own achievement

rather than

glorifying God.

And Joab,

the commander

of the army,

advised the

king not to

take the

census.

And he was

dismissed.

And his

advice in

2 Samuel

24.

Verse 3,

when he

said to the

king,

now may

the Lord

your God

multiply the

troops a

hundred times

over.

May the

eyes of my

Lord the

king see

it.

But why

does my

Lord the

king desire

this thing?

Why?

What is

going on

in your

heart?

And David

took the

census of

the people

of God

without due

inquiry by

means of

the oracle

of God

according to

what God

had commanded

him to

do and

the people

of Israel.

And his

chronicle for

us in

God's

worth.

According

to

Exodus

30,

11,

16,

God

was

against

the

numbering

of

Israel.

God

was

not

against

the

numbering

of

Israel,

but there

was clear

conditions in

which sentences

had to be

taken.

I don't

want to

bore you

with the

details,

but it

was enough

for me

to tell

you,

each

person

over

twenty

must

pay

half

a

shekel

to

the

Lord

for

the

ransom

of

life.

The

rich and

the poor

pay the

same.

The money

received was

to be used

specifically for

the service of

the tenth of

meeting.

And being

used in this

way, it

becomes a

memorial for the

Israelite before

the Lord,

making a

tone for

their lives.

But it

would seem to

me that

David seemed

to forget

this command

of God

to Moses,

who told

them before

the hand,

that if the

multitude were

numbered,

they should

pay on

this money.

And by

its very

omission,

the price

of an

offering,

David invaded

the rights

of the

supreme king

of Israel.

set aside

the positive

command of

God.

And I

say to you,

my brothers and

sisters,

as I reflect on

that, and I'm

going to close

in a minute,

as I thought

about it, I

thought about

what is God's

will?

What is God's

purpose?

I don't know

if I've told

you, but I've

certainly told

Steve, we've

got two sons

daughters, and

both are

ministers.

And when

John, who

is eight

years older

than the

oldest one,

James, came

and approached

me and told

me he wanted

to go into

ministry, if

I'm to be

honest, my

knees buckled

because I

didn't want

him to follow

me.

My interest

is that he

was following

the Lord.

And after

questioning him

several times,

I said to

him, I

will pray

for him.

He's in

ministry today,

and he's

pursuing what

he believes,

God's will

is.

What compiled

the problem is

James was a

secondary school

maths teacher,

doing very

well, and

was due for

promotion after

five days.

And he came

and said

the same

thing to

me.

Well, no

wonder I've

lost all my

hair.

Didn't make

the problem

any easier.

And I

said to

him, I

don't leave

him's job

until he's

certain that

he's heard

not from

me, but

from God.

And James

currently is

working in

duty.

I link

the story

with this,

you see,

because it's

God's will

is important

above all

it's.

And I

know Nathan

is on the

road, not

to Damascus,

but to

follow the

Lord.

And I

say to you

with encouragement,

Nathan,

hear God's

voice.

Steve is

important, and

I'm less

important.

The God is

super important.

He is

voice.

I'm going to

close now

because I

feel Steve is

getting itchy.

So I'm

not, I'm

going to

finish now.

How do I

finish this

now and

have

credibility?

My

brothers and

sisters, as

we look at

this psalm,

there's so

much in

the psalm

that I

cannot do

justice.

So I

go to,

as I

finish now,

in verse

11 and

12.

I would

like to

draw your

attention to

something that

I think is

important as

we read

the psalms.

I want to

draw your

attention to

the fact that

seven times in

this psalm,

David reference

that it was

God who was

at work in

his life.

In verse

1, you

lifted me.

Verse 2, you

healed me.

Verse 3, you

brought me up

from the realm

of dead.

Verse 3b, you

spread me.

From going down

to the pit, you

spared me.

7a, you

favored me.

7b, you

made my

royal mountain

stand.

7c, you

hid your face.

in this

reference, and

I particularly

wanted to

reference him

this evening,

David was

bringing

witness to

the strong

and gracious

hands of

the Lord,

working in

his life

on his

behalf to

bring glory

to himself.

That is the

emphasis of

the psalm.

That is what

Tom is trying

to say, but

he's going to

say something

else.

Even God

chastening and

discipline was

an expression

of God's

love for

David.

And the

writer to

the Hebrews

reminds us

of this,

that in our

struggle against

sin, you

have not yet

resisted to

the point of

shedding of

blood, and

have yet

completely

forgotten his

word of

encouragement,

the emphasis

that addresses

you as a

father, addresses

his son.

The word of

encouragement

addresses you

and me, from

God as a

father to

sons and

daughters.

And he

went on to

say, my

son, do not

make light,

the Lord

discipline, and

do not lose

heart when he

rebukes you,

because the

Lord discipline

the one he

loves, and

he chastens

everyone he

accepts as

his son.

And so

please know

that David

knew he

was forgiven,

he was

moved from

the funeral

mode to

rejoice in

his forgiveness.

He removed

the sackcloth

and sadness

which made

him sad,

and everything

about him in

scripture in the

Old Testament,

we see a

dramatic change,

an alteration

of one life

was often

marked by a

change of

clothing in the

Old Testament.

and be

calm now.

We notice

in this

psalm of

twelve verses,

tanzas, or

trophies as

they call it,

you notice that

he mentioned

the Lord nine

times, and I

think that is

significant.

You notice he

speaks about

his Lord in

verse one,

Lord my God

in verse two,

Lord in verse

three, Lord in

verse four,

Lord in verse

seven,

Lord in

verse eight

twice, and

Lord in

verse ten, and

Lord my God

in verse

twelve.

Now close now,

Lord in

capital represents

Jehovah in

the Hebrew, as

I'm told, is

interpreted Yahweh,

the self-existent

one.

this is the

supreme name of

God, and I

am told that

the Jews

avoided pronouncing

out of respect

because of their

interpretation of

Leviticus chapter

Leviticus 14 · chapter mention

14 and verse

six, which

state that anyone

who uses the

name of the

Lord blasphemously

is to be put to

death.

Now then, it is

this understanding,

understanding, it

is this

understanding that

David is bringing

to the psalm, that

the psalm is about

the Lord.

It's about him and

him only.

This is not what

Paul is talking

about in

Philippians chapter

20.

Therefore God

exalted him to be

the highest place

and gave him a

name that is above

every name, that

of the name of

Jesus every knee

should bow, in

heaven and earth

and under the

earth, and every

tongue confess that

Jesus Christ is

Lord to the glory

of God the

Father.

Brothers and

sisters, as we

gather around the

table, this is

evening.

It is known in

scripture that the

names that we

describe very

aspects of God's

nature in the

Lord's Supper, but

supreme, it is

called Eucharist.

Many other

idioms that are

used, but the

Lord's Supper.

It is the Lord's

Supper.

He's the one that

Isaiah saw in

chapter 6.

Saw the Lord and

his train filled

the temple.

And you know the

rest of the

story.

He's the one

David wrote about

in the Psalms and

reference nine

times.

He's the one who

Mary Magdalene saw

and testified to

the disciples in

John chapter 20

John 20 · chapter mention

and verse 18.

She had seen

the Lord.

And he's the

one who invites

us to come to

his table this

evening and to

share the bread

and wine that

speaks about his

body and his

blood.

May the Lord

bless us.

Amen.

Thank you.