For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Psalm 30

1 I will exalt you, Lord,
    for you lifted me out of the depths
    and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,
    and you healed me.
3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
    you spared me from going down to the pit.

4 Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
    praise his holy name.
5 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.

6 When I felt secure, I said,
    ‘I shall never be shaken.’
7 Lord, when you favoured me,
    you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
    I was dismayed.

8 To you, Lord, I called;
    to the Lord I cried for mercy:
9 ‘What is gained if I am silenced,
    if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
    Lord, be my help.’

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise you for ever.

A. Find Out:

1. List the things the Lord had done for David. v.1-3
2. What does David maintain about God’s discipline? v.5
3. How had David been shaken? v.6,7
4. What had been the basis of his pleading? v.8-10
5. Then what had the Lord done? v.11
6. With what result? v.12

B. Think:

1. How had David experienced the negative side of knowing God?
2. How had he pleaded against this?
3. What had then happened?

C. Comment:

   This is a psalm of testimony. First David knew a time of the Lord’s anger, then he cried to the Lord and then the Lord blessed him. Let’s examine each of these.

   First, his experience of anger. David had felt a sense of self-centred security (v.6), and that is always godless. It is the temptation that comes to all of us when we are prospering, that we forget it is God who brings us the prosperity. So the Lord simply stood back (v.7) and suddenly David was alone, his enemies rose against him and he despaired of his life. It only takes the Lord to stand back and remove His protection for us to realise our weakness, foolishness and vulnerability!

   So then David cried out to the Lord; always the right response! He cries for mercy, not justice. He knows he doesn’t deserve anything more than he’s getting so he cries for mercy, that undeserved lifting of judgement. He has no other grounds on which to plead.

   As soon as he came back into a right relationship, the Lord moved and delivered David. Suddenly everything changed. Suddenly it is dancing and joy, a singing heart and thankfulness. How quickly we can change when the Lord moved away and then when the Lord returns His blessing. He shows how weak we really are.

D. Application:

1. We don’t deserve blessing but we can cry for it on the basis of mercy.
2. We are weak and the Lord is strong. Let’s maintain that perspective.