I Will Give Thanks To You Forever

In addition to being composed with such beautiful lyric,

the Psalms have a fantastic way

of bringing comfort to our hearts.

They're prayerful in the way that they are written,

of course, as prayers that are intended to be set to music.

They help us to voice our prayers to the Lord.

Perhaps you have a habit of praying through the Psalms.

If you have never done that,

I would encourage you to do that.

Mark through, study through them.

Mark the ones that would be helpful

in different seasons of your life and come back to those

and allow God to teach you through his word

how to actually pray to him

and how to lift your voice in worship to him.

But the Psalms also have a way of unlocking doorways

into deeper understandings of Bible doctrine.

In fact, some would suggest that the Psalms

are really a concise commentary on the Bible as a whole.

That as you study through the Psalms,

you'll find all the necessary doctrines there

for us to understand, of course, in a veiled way,

but you'll see the doctrines that are there

to help teach us who God is.

They teach us about creation.

They teach us about our sin and our need for redemption.

They teach us about a savior.

They teach us that that savior is the Lord God.

And they teach us how to lament.

They teach us so many different things.

And it's no surprise to us then

that Jesus and the apostles quoted from them

so often in the New Testament.

In fact, as you study through the New Testament,

you'll find that the authors there

employ the Psalms often when preaching the gospel.

You just read it a moment ago

as we're going through Romans 15,

at least four different times in Romans 15,

maybe even more than that.

Romans 15, Paul quotes the Psalms

in order to encourage our hearts

about the goodness of God in the gospel,

that he has brought the Gentiles

and the Jews together in the gospel of Christ.

It wasn't to the gospel literature

that Paul appealed to in that moment.

Those weren't even written yet.

It was actually to the Psalms that he appealed to

in order to preach that gospel truth.

The other apostles did the same thing.

Jesus used them often.

You'll remember even as in reading

the narratives about his crucifixion,

in the words that Jesus cried out

from the cross itself,

he was quoting the Psalms.

Why?

So that we would connect the covenant promises of God

to his sacrifice and his atoning death

on the cross for our sins.

What was it that he used?

What was the Psalms that he used?

They're wonderfully doctrinal in that way.

But they're actually very helpfully practical as well.

They don't only teach us the truths of God,

they teach us how we're to respond

to the truths of God, don't they?

They instruct our praise.

Psalm 150, verse six,

let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, David says,

over and over and over.

We see it again in Psalm 30,

over and over.

That's what the Psalms are telling us to do.

Here's who God is.

Here's what he has done.

Now worship him, praise him,

lift your voice with singing,

lift your voice in the congregation of God's people

and sing his praise.

But they don't only teach us to praise.

They teach us to confess.

Psalm 51 comes to mind in particular, doesn't it?

After David's sin with Bathsheba,

God sends the prophet Nathan to call him out on his sin.

And he goes through that season of suffering

as a result of his sin.

And at the conclusion of that, looking back on it,

David writes Psalm 51 where he says,

have mercy on me, oh God.

According to your steadfast love,

according to your abundant mercy,

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.

Cleanse me from my sin.

They teach us to praise.

They also teach us to confess, confess.

There's no excuses given in those confessions.

The confession is, I'm a sinner.

I need your mercy.

The Psalms teach us that.

They teach us to lament.

That's something we don't often know how to do.

In fact, we're so opposed to grief.

We want to be shielded from death

in so many different ways now in our culture

that we have no idea how we're to respond to it

when we actually go through a season of grief.

But the Psalms teach us.

They teach us how.

Psalm 13.

The whole Psalm, really.

David cries out again.

How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God.

Lift up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.

Lest my enemy say I have prevailed over him.

Lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

That's an extreme lament.

And the Psalm in Psalm 13 never actually gives a solution to it.

It never gives a conclusion that anything had actually happened.

But in the midst of this lament,

the way David closes out his prayer is with praise.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love.

My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me.

And David pens that before the Lord had actually dealt bountifully with him

in that particular scenario.

They teach us to lament.

How to grieve.

Psalm 30 contains both doctrinal insight and this practical instruction.

And it's bookended by two resolute statements of praise.

Verse 1, David opens,

I will extol you, O Lord.

And then he closes on the other end of it in verse number 12.

I will give thanks to you, O my God.

Forever I will give thanks.

And so it follows then that the main intention here, this Psalm,

is to encourage us in a worshipful thanksgiving,

which makes it fitting for our study today.

But there's a secondary line of emphasis in the midst of this Psalm

that cautions us against arrogance,

reminds us of the necessity of confession when we fall into sin,

specifically the sin of prideful ingratitude.

So let's set the context here with the title and the superscription of the Psalm.

Look with me just before verse number 1.

A Psalm of David, a song at the dedication of the temple.

That's the contextual clue that we have.

And I believe that it's best to view these superscriptions in the Psalms

as inspired scripture.

Sure.

It's unfortunate that the way that some of our Bibles are printed

is perhaps, depending on what kind of Bible you have,

these superscriptions may be set to the side

or they may be diminished in their size or italicized or something like that.

I think that's actually unfortunate

because it leads us to think that the titles for these

are not a part of the inspired scripture.

And that since that's not a part of the entire inspired scripture,

there's no reason for us to give any attention to it.

But I don't think that that's true.

I actually think that these superscriptions are given to us

as contextual clues that are inspired by God.

But of course, not everyone agrees with that.

In fact, there's some dispute over this specific Psalm and its title.

You'll notice it says that it's a Psalm of David

and then immediately it follows it up and says that it was

for the dedication of the temple.

Some have argued that this must have been added at a later time in history

because David wasn't alive at the dedication of the temple.

But I don't think that there's a convincing reason

to assume that this isn't actually original to him.

And I think this will help us set the context here.

Spurgeon was persuaded that David wrote this particular Psalm

in reflection on his sin when he numbered the people.

Do you remember that?

Towards later on in David's life,

we often think of David's sin, we think about maybe multiple wives

or we especially will think about his sin with Bathsheba

and his murder of Uriah.

We don't always think about his sin of pride

in numbering the people though.

And it was one of the most destructive

as far as the consequences are concerned.

David had numbered the people against God's will.

He even had plenty of warnings not to do it.

His own right-hand man, Joab, is saying,

please don't do this.

But David, in his pride, wanted to number the people

and he moved forward with it.

And God judged him severely because of that.

In fact, 70,000 people lost their lives to a plague

as a result of the consequences that came along with that.

Well, Spurgeon was persuaded that when David wrote Psalm 30,

it was a reflection on that particular event in his life.

And I find that quite convincing actually

when you think through these 12 verses.

God had told David to purchase Ornan's threshing floor

at the end of that.

Remember, the angel of the Lord had stretched his sword out.

He was headed toward Jerusalem to continue this plague.

David was crying out for mercy.

And God said, there's a man named Ornan.

He's over here.

He's threshing wheat.

Go purchase his threshing floor.

David does that.

And then David says, the Lord stays his hand

and he removes the plague in that moment.

But then remember what David said.

He dedicated that specific location then

to then be the site of the temple that would come.

Not that was coming in his lifetime,

but that was coming after his lifetime.

So when David writes this Psalm and he adds this,

this is a Psalm for the dedication of the temple.

This is not because David was there.

It's because David was faithful

in thinking of God's fulfillment of his promise.

He knew God would be faithful.

He trusted God explicitly with the promise

that he had made to him

that would ultimately be fulfilled in Solomon.

So David not only expresses his personal praise here,

but he anticipates that all of God's people then,

all of Israel would remember God's mercy

in staying the plague

when they eventually come to the temple

to lift up their voices in dedication of that temple

to God's goodness and God's faithfulness.

That's why it's here.

It's within that context

that I think we need to understand this Psalm

and apply it to our own hearts today.

The main drive here is

that despite the many sorrows of our life,

specifically the sorrows that come

as a result of our own sin,

the chastening hand of the Lord,

that despite all of those things,

God is faithful.

He's faithful to hear us.

He's faithful to forgive us

and he's faithful to save us.

And what this reality does

is it produces in us praise and thanksgiving.

And so my goal this morning

in working through this is twofold.

First, I wanna encourage you

in the truth of God's faithfulness.

As we look at David's own testimony here,

I hope that you'll come from it

and encourage to recognize

that God is a faithful God.

He is true to his promises.

He will forgive

and he will bless.

And then I hope that

as we study through this,

it will give you perhaps some perspective

as you gather with family and friends

throughout this Thanksgiving holiday, okay?

So let's work through it together.

If you wanna keep notes along,

number one,

the first thing that I have here

is David's rescue.

David's rescue.

Look with me again at verses one through three.

David says,

I will extol you, O Lord,

for you have drawn me up

and have not let my foes rejoice over me.

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.

Right out of the gate here,

David burst into praise.

And he declares,

not only his praise in that moment,

he declares his intention to continue,

to continue in extolling the Lord.

Notice the future tense of the verb here,

the very first phrase,

I will extol you, O Lord.

Now, is David's intention

that he would write these things

and that there would be a future event

that he would actually come around

to actually doing it?

No, I don't think so.

I think amid his present state of worship,

he declares that there would be no end

to his praise.

Not only would he worship the Lord in that moment,

but he would exalt the Lord forever

and ever and ever.

And before he says anything else in this psalm,

the first thing he does is declare

his never-ending praise to God.

I will extol you, O Lord.

But what was the reason for this commitment to praise?

It was a response to God's faithfulness

in rescuing him from certain death.

If it's correct that this psalm refers to David's sin

of numbering the people,

then it's possible that the plague itself

had touched David.

And we don't know if that's the case for sure.

There were other times in the psalms

that we know David to have been sick,

even sick to the point of death.

But whatever the circumstances might have been,

God had graciously rescued David

from impending death,

in this case,

because of severe illness.

And three times here in these three verses,

he declares God's action in doing this.

Look out with me again.

Verse number one,

you have drawn me up.

Verse two,

you have healed me.

Verse three,

you have brought up my soul from death.

Three times he says,

I will praise you,

oh Lord,

because what you have done,

you have rescued me.

You have drawn me up.

You have healed me.

You have rescued me from death.

There's no question in David's mind here

who was responsible for this salvation.

He wasn't deluded into thinking

that it was in his own power or will,

nor was it in the wisdom of physicians.

Like a bucket drawn up from a deep well,

God had lifted David

from the darkness of death,

and this resulted in bursts of praise.

I will extol you, oh Lord.

Now some of you have experienced this before.

You've experienced what it's like to be

just a step from death

because of some type of physical illness.

And you know exactly how David feels in this moment.

You know what it's like to cry out to the Lord.

Save me, Lord.

You know exactly what it's like

to experience the comfort

and the peace of God working

a healing miracle in your life.

Some of you know exactly what that's like.

There's a specific application

to you here in this song.

But it's just not,

it's not written only to those

who have been rescued from physical illness.

It's a deeper spiritual application here,

isn't there?

Has not Jesus rescued all of us from death as well?

If you know him,

it's exactly death that he has rescued you from.

Spurgeon wrote this in relation to this psalm.

Grace has lifted us up from the pit of hell,

from the ditch of sin,

from the slough of despond,

from the bed of sickness,

from the bondage of doubts and fears.

Have we no song to offer for all this?

How high has our Lord lifted us?

Lifted us up into the children's place

to be adopted into the family.

Lifted us up into union with Christ

to sit together with him in heavenly places.

Lift high the name of our God, he writes,

for he has lifted us above the stars.

Is that not exactly what Christ has done for us

in the gospel?

Through his own sacrifice on the cross,

as a result of his grace through our faith,

has he not rescued us from death?

Has he not saved us from the pit of despair,

from the darkness of sin?

So lift high your name and praise to him.

That's why again and again and again,

Sunday by Sunday,

we continually come back to songs

that specifically reflect on the gospel truth

of what Christ has done.

That's why we learn a song like,

Oh, give thanks,

because we give thanks to the Father,

the Son, and the Spirit in that song.

Why?

Because what he has done for us

in rescuing us from death and hell.

But it's not just David and Spurgeon

who think this is the case.

Paul thought it was too.

Ephesians chapter two.

And you were dead.

You were dead, not dying.

You were dead in your trespasses and sins

in which you once walked.

Following the course of this world,

following the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that is now at work

and the sons of disobedience,

among whom we all once lived

in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,

and were by nature children of wrath

like the rest of mankind.

And then he writes,

But God, being rich in mercy,

because of his great love with which he loved us,

even when we were dead in our trespasses,

made us alive together with Christ.

By grace, you have been saved.

We can sing with David,

whether you've had a near-death experience

as a relation to an illness or disease or not.

It doesn't matter.

If you're a believer, you can sing with David.

I will extol you, O Lord,

for you have lifted me up.

You have healed me.

You have brought me up from death

because in Christ, that's exactly what he has done.

He has rescued you from eternal hell,

from the consequences of your sin.

So the beginning and the end of our Thanksgiving this week

should be in reflection

of how Christ has rescued us from death.

How?

Through his own death

and through his resurrection.

So as you gather at the table on Thursday,

sing this song with David.

I will extol you, O Lord,

for you have brought me up from death.

So we see David's rescue.

That's his personal praise.

Secondly, we see David's invitation.

David's invitation.

Look at verse four.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

and give thanks to his holy name.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

and give thanks to his holy name.

So after declaring his personal praise,

David issued a call for all of us

to join him in this worship.

It's a reminder that there are both private

and public dimensions to our worship, isn't there?

It's not enough only to express praise

in the privacy of your prayer closet,

but we are to lift our voices together

in the congregation of the saints

as we joyfully exalt the goodness of God.

But notice here in this verse,

David specifies a particular attribute

for which he intends for us

to sing the praise of God.

We're accustomed to giving thanks to God

for his grace, for his love,

for his compassion, and we should.

David here tells us,

give thanks to the Lord for his holy name,

his holiness.

It's unique, isn't it?

Why such an emphasis on holiness?

I would suggest that it's because

all of the attributes of God

flow freely from his holiness.

He is high and holy above all of his creation.

We offer praise and thanks to him

because of that.

He's gracious because he's holy.

He's just because he's holy.

He's merciful because he's holy.

But John Phillips helps to narrow

our perspective of this in relation to this psalm.

He writes, it's God's holiness

that is the basis of all punishment.

For God is of purer eyes

than to behold iniquity.

But God's holiness is also the basis

of all pardon.

God does not say,

you're sorry you've sinned,

I'm sorry you've sinned,

so let's just forget the whole thing.

Such a policy, Phillips writes,

would erode the very foundations

of his throne.

But God had to find a righteous way

to pardon men.

The way of the cross.

Isn't that why we thank him for his holiness?

When we really begin to narrow it down?

It's because of God's holiness

that we are condemned to eternal hell.

It's also because of God's holiness

that his own son was worthy

to pay the price for our sin.

And it is out of that holiness

that then he provides the pardon.

He judges Christ,

the perfect,

the righteous one,

on behalf of sinners

in order that we might be made righteous

in Christ.

That's all the overflow of the holiness of God.

The perfection of God.

The righteousness of God.

And it's because of this holiness

that we give voice to our song.

But then look at verse five.

For his anger is but for a moment,

David continues,

and his favor is for a lifetime.

Then he restates that

in an illustrative way.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

So in the first three verses,

David grounds his personal praise

in God's salvation.

But he anchors his invitation

to the saints here

in a different perspective

of God's faithfulness.

Remember, to apply verse five correctly,

we have to recognize

that it was written specifically

to those who belong to God.

That is, in verse four,

O you his saints.

That's the application here.

The reason is

because the promise

for a temporary form of God's anger

is never given in the scriptures

for sinners.

It's not for those

who don't follow Christ.

There's nothing temporary

about God's anger

against unrepentant sinners.

What David has in mind here

is the reality of God's chastening

when believers sin.

It's interesting, isn't it?

In verse four, he says,

lift up your voices,

O you saints, saints,

for God's anger

is but for a moment.

Now, if he's dealing with saints,

why in the world

would he reference God's anger?

Because our place in God's family

as saints

does not preclude

our ability to commit sin.

And just because we belong to God

doesn't mean that he just

lets our sins slide.

There are consequences

to our sin.

God judges,

but he judges differently

those who belong to him

than those who do not.

This promise proclaims

that though it may be necessary

for us to endure God's correction

for a season,

that correction

is only for a moment.

We never actually lose

his favor.

That's encouraging.

This is a wonderful truth here.

Our place as saints

doesn't preclude our sin.

And though we often

sin against him,

his loving grace

is set on us

for all of eternity.

He will never abandon you.

That's what's amazing about this.

Why is he telling us

to sing of this?

Why is he telling us

to give thanks for God's anger?

Because God's anger

is for a moment,

but his favor

for those who belong to him

never ends.

It's forever

and ever.

He may take us

through a night of weeping,

but his promise

is that morning will come.

And with the morning

will be a renewed joy

in his salvation.

So as you gather

with your family

and friends this Thursday,

give thanks to God

for his eternal favor.

Don't despair.

Don't despair

if you're in the dark night

of his chastening.

Joy will come.

Morning will come

for all who will

with penitent hearts

rest in his loving care.

But there is a word

of warning here.

If God's anger

towards the sins

of his own people

is so severe

that it need be short,

how terrifying

must be

his eternal judgment

against those

who reject

his salvation.

So come to Jesus today.

Receive his eternal favor

today.

Because weeping

may last for a night,

but joy comes

in the morning.

His anger

is but for a moment.

You'll never lose

his favor.

And so we're encouraged

to gather with David

in that sense

and sing our praise

as his saints

to the Lord.

Then we see finally

David's experience.

David's experience.

Verses 6-12

are a personal illustration.

They are illustrating

the point that David

has just made

in verses 4-5.

That God's anger

toward his saints

is but for a moment,

but that his favor

is for a lifetime.

So his thankfulness

for God's continuing favor

was not based on theory,

but it was actually

based on his own experience

of receiving God's mercy

again and again and again.

Look at verse 6.

First thing we see

is his sin.

As for me,

David says,

this is himself

he's talking about.

I said in my prosperity,

I shall never be moved.

By your favor,

O Lord,

you have made

my mountain stand,

but you hid your face.

I was dismayed.

David recalls a time

when he became

self-assured

and conceited.

Instead of recognizing

God's gracious favor

in prospering him,

instead of offering

thanksgiving to God,

David actually became

guilty of a prideful

arrogance.

This only served

to produce more sin

in his life

so that what ended up

happening

was God removed

his hand of blessing.

again,

Spurgeon says,

no temptation

is so bad

as tranquility.

No temptation

is so bad

as tranquility.

We're guilty of this

from time to time,

aren't we?

We pray for God's help.

We pray for his prosperity.

He provides it.

And then we think

that we've done something

to achieve it.

David says,

there was a time

in my life

it was actually God,

he says,

in verse 7.

It was actually

by the favor of God

that my mountain

was made to stand strong.

But as for me,

I said in my prosperity,

I shall never be moved.

And then he found out

that God hid his face.

He became dismayed

because the hand

of God's blessing

was removed.

And so,

again,

it's easy to see

how this could

be connected

to David's sin

of numbering the people.

It was pride

that led David

to issue the census.

And the consequences

were severe.

The Lord hid his face,

removed his hand,

and afflicted the king.

And there's a warning

here for us

of the dangers

of ingratitude

and pride.

Don't take the weak

for granted.

Don't waste

your opportunity.

Why?

Because it will always

lead to prideful arrogance

and sinfulness.

So David sinned

and he lost

the blessing of God.

Secondly,

we see his confession.

So in his experience,

we see his sin

and we see his confession.

Look at verse 8.

To you,

O Lord,

I cry.

To the Lord,

I plead for mercy.

And here was his plea.

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.

Similar situation

to this

took place

with King Asa

in 2 Chronicles 16.

Asa was otherwise

a great king.

The scriptures say

that he did

what was right

just as his father

David had done,

King David

had done.

But in the midst

of his prosperity,

he got arrogant

and prideful.

He started to rule

in his own power.

He started to ignore

God's blessing.

He stopped seeking

God's blessing

and thought that it was

within his own power

to lead the kingdom.

So God judged him.

He became diseased

in his feet.

But this only hardened

Asa's heart further.

Instead of turning

to the Lord,

he actually continued

turning away

from the Lord.

2 Chronicles 16.

12.

In the 39th year

of his reign,

Asa was diseased

in his feet.

And in his disease,

he became severe.

Yet even in his disease,

he did not seek

the Lord,

but sought help

from physicians.

I don't think

the scriptures

intention there

is to say

that you shouldn't

find doctors

when you're sick.

the emphasis

is on the fact

that Asa had

hardened his heart

to the Lord

as a result

of this chastening

of God's hand.

So we see

in Asa's story

an example

of what not to do

when responding

to the consequences

of our sin.

But we have

in David's life

actually a model

for exactly

what we are

to do.

He's a model here

of godly repentance.

He didn't harden

his heart.

He cried to the Lord

for mercy.

His statements here

actually reflect

the fact that he

had learned the lesson

from the experience.

Should God choose

to restore his life,

David was committed

to the remainder

of his days

praising the Lord.

And then his humility

is seen at the end

of his confession,

isn't it?

He doesn't appeal

to his own righteousness.

He doesn't appeal

to all of the good things

that he had done

before this sin.

No, he cast himself

wholly on the mercy

of God.

Look at verse 10.

Hear, O Lord,

be merciful to me.

O Lord,

be my helper.

He didn't say,

God, remember

all of the times

that I was faithful.

Remember all the times

that I did all the good things.

Reward me now

for this.

Turn your eye away

from this sin

based on all the good things

I had done.

No, that's not

what David does.

He cries out to the Lord

and he says,

have mercy on me.

He cries out

the publican's prayer

that Jesus mentioned

in Luke's gospel

where he smote his breast

with his face

to the ground.

He said,

have mercy on me,

a sinner, O God.

All of the elements

of true repentance

are here in these verses.

David recognized

and confessed his sin.

He showed the desire

for real and lasting change,

repentance,

turning away

from that sin

and he pleaded

for God's mercy.

And if you find yourself today

in the dark night

of God's anger,

the solution

is repentance

and confession.

The morning will come

and blessing will return

when you cry out to God

for his mercy.

Proverbs 28,

whoever conceals

his transgressions

will not prosper,

but he who confesses

and forsakes them

will obtain mercy.

So how can David say,

give thanks to the Lord

because his anger

is but for a moment

because in his own experience

he had sinned

against the Lord

and then he had confessed

his sin to the Lord

and that resulted thirdly

in his forgiveness,

his forgiveness.

Verse 11,

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.

This is how we know

David wasn't a Baptist

because he was so willing

to admit an eagerness

to dance before the Lord,

right?

His heart was full of joy.

He was glad.

Why?

He had received

the forgiveness

and mercy

that he had asked for.

Notice, however,

that it was God

who turned his mourning

into dancing.

Look again.

Verse 11,

you have turned for me

my mourning

into dancing.

You have loosed

my sackcloth

and clothed me

with gladness.

It was God

who removed his grief

and replaced it

with gladness of heart.

David didn't have

to convince himself

somehow.

He didn't have to look

deep within,

inside of him

and say,

I really hope

I'm just gonna,

I'm gonna be positive

and hope this forgiveness

into place.

No,

the Lord did this work in him.

He went to the Lord

in confession.

He cast himself holy

on the mercy of God.

And when we cast ourselves

holy on the mercy of God,

we don't have to convince

ourselves we're forgiven.

God is the one

that assures our hearts.

And God assured

the heart of King David

in this moment.

And by the way,

God delights himself

in showing mercy

and forgiving our sin.

He loves to do it.

When you confess,

he always forgives.

And the purpose

is that mercy,

in that mercy,

is that he might

loose our tongues

to sing his praise.

verse 12.

Why did God do this?

That my glory

may sing your praise

and not be silent.

He was so overwhelmed

by God's mercy

that he determined

to praise the Lord

with his whole being.

That's what he means

when he says,

my glory will sing.

He means everything

within me.

Not only am I gonna praise

your name from now on,

but I'm gonna do it

with my whole life,

with my whole heart,

with everything within me.

I will live my life

to praise the Lord.

Why?

Because of the great mercy

and forgiveness

that I have received

from him,

that he delights

in giving for all

who will come to him

and confess their sin.

Micah 7.

Who is a God like you,

pardoning iniquity

and passing over transgression?

He does not retain

his anger forever,

Micah wrote,

because he delights

in mercy.

And David experienced

the reality of that mercy.

And he responds by saying,

you, Lord,

have made my mourning a dance.

You have removed

the sackcloth and ashes

and replaced it

with gladness of heart.

Therefore,

I will with my whole life

offer my praise

and my thanks to you.

And then he concludes

in the same way

that he began.

with a resolve

to praise the Lord.

Look at the last phrase.

Oh, Lord, my God,

I will give thanks

to you forever.

I will give thanks

to you forever.

As he reflected

on the faithfulness of God,

he resolved to offer

this thanksgiving

and never stop.

Never stop.

It brings the right perspective

to what we are

setting aside

this holiday to do.

As we take time

off of work

and we go through

all the stresses

of cooking the meals

and gathering with people

that maybe don't even

really like that much

and you get together.

What's the purpose

of all of that?

What it's supposed

to be for

is that with David,

we would sing out,

because you're good,

because of your great mercy,

I will give thanks

to you forever.

You might be here

and you say,

it's really hard

to give thanks for me

at this point in my life.

Things just aren't that good.

Maybe you've got

a particular hardship

going on with your health

or maybe relationships

are eroding around you.

Maybe you're just cranky

for some reason right now.

Maybe it's with your job.

Maybe you're going through

some kind of life change

and it's just hard

for you to find reason

to actually truly be thankful.

What Psalm 30 does for us

is it turns our minds

or our attention

off of our circumstance

for a moment

and it just reminds us

of the faithfulness of God.

Weeping may last for a night.

Joy comes in the morning.

His anger is only for a moment.

You haven't lost his favor.

So come to him.

Cast yourself all over

again on his goodness

and his mercy

and his grace

because he delights

in forgiveness.

He wants to give it.

He wants to restore

your gladness of heart.