#710 Before Dawn

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.


4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.


6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.


8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “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?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”


11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! Psalm 30 ESV

This Psalm is referred to in some text as a dedication of the house of David and in others the temple. David did not build the temple, but it would be a mistake to make that a disqualifier in the heading. He was a man of war, and while God did not allow him to build the temple in his time, the kingdom did suffer much violence. No one enters the kingdom of God except by the sacrifice of God, the battle against sin and death that took place on the cross. This war, this sacrifice led to a time of peace, the time of the temple, and the chief end and purpose of man. David did not build but he gathered, hewn stones, wood, bronze, gold and silver. He had the plan for the temple, and so it is likely he would write a song for its dedication. He also found much reason to praise God for the building of his own house, it was the fulfilling mark of a promise to a shepherd boy from long ago. The road to king was not an easy ascension for David, it was marked rather by much turmoil and heartache. Whether the house or the temple, to David the praise belongs to God, for it was He Who established him.

Preparation of the temple

David's Palace

From among those who go down to the pit - David fittingly sees himself as numbered among the dead, as we are all once "dead in our trespasses and sins", but God has drawn him up. God has rescued him, has been his avenger, his healer and taken him from death unto life. "Extol" means to praise enthusiastically, and while the palace is a wonderful, material blessing to thank God for, even more so is  life itself, to be saved not only from death but in death and unto eternity. 

Joy comes with the morning - I remember wading through a creek one late afternoon, and I was desperately racing the sun, looking for one last chance at that telling flash of gold. I found no brown trout though and I do not recall if there was even a rainbow that evening, but the sun was dropping faster than I could work and all I could think was just one last cast. After several last casts I found myself completely in the dark. I have told this much of the story before, but I remember being relieved when I finally found camp, my clothes were wet so we dried them by the fire and I shivered, unable to sleep that night. I have been lost before as well, fallen asleep in the cold without the proper gear, and oh what joy it is to find the morning. When the sun makes itself known, you know that everything is going to get better, the path is easier to see and the air comes up a bit in temperature. David spent many a night on the run, hidden in caves, in fear of his life, yet looking at where he had been and what he had been through, he knew that God was able to see it to completion. When Jesus goes before earthly judges, unrighteous men, is sentence to death, yet He knows, He has been anointed, the night will be dark, the earth will shake, the pain of God's justice will hurt like a man may never explain, but Joh comes in the morning. 

You hid Your face - Holiness will always turn it's back to sin, and this is the time we should have sorrow, that we should want to be chastened, otherwise we would not be his. Having God's presence while suffering is better than His absence in comfort. So many think they are prepared because of a healthy bank account, good genetics, and influential friends, but it is the presence of the Lord, that is all that matters, and without His eternal presence we could not be called into being. 

Will the dust praise You - Everything will but it will not be the same as the praises of His children. David was made for this, and he will call the people to praise also. He sees this as the chief end, to praise God and wake up His people. He is going to tell of God's goodness, what He has brought him through, and how He has lifted him up. In the end it is not let's make a deal, but rather, "Oh Lord, be merciful to me."

I will give thanks - Why? For every dark circumstance, for my utter inability, for every dark and frozen night, You have still caused my sun to rise, You have been my reprise.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  Matthew 6: 9-13