I conducted a funeral recently for a CrossPoint family I have known for many, many years. The children requested I use Psalm 30 in the funeral message, since they felt like portions of the psalm epitomized their mother’s life and faith.
Some of you will recognize that Psalm 30 from our Bible reading plan last Tuesday. And that is how one of the family members found the psalm, while reading through our plan. It is inspiring to watch how the Lord uses His word in such a providential manner.
Psalm 30 has a special place in my heart. Perhaps in the days to come I can write about how it ministered to me several years ago. Before I do that, however, I want to communicate what I learned from studying the psalm once again. The more I studied it the more I realized it contained a funeral message that will preach.
Psalm 30 was written by King David.
The psalm opens and closes on a note of thanksgiving:
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me (1).
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! (12)
The emphasis of the psalm is on praise to the Lord for rescuing David from dangerous and difficult situations that included sickness (2), being near death (3, 9), God’s anger (5), weeping (5, 11) and emotional turmoil (7).
We discover three movements in this Psalm of David. As we examine these movements we learn more about what the Lord has done for us as His children.
The first movement is from DEATH TO LIFE.
1 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.
David had many foes, and they would have been glad to see him die, but the Lord saved David’s life and silenced his enemies. David was in the depths of despair because of his enemies, and the Lord had to lift him up.
The “Sheol” in verse 3 refers to is the realm of the departed spirits. The New Testament Greek equivalent is hades. But instead of allowing David to go down, God lifted him out and brought him up. God moved David from death to life.
And isn’t that what the Lord does for those who repent of their sin and place their faith in Jesus Christ? Doesn’t the Lord move us from DEATH TO LIFE when we believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as our Lord and Savior?
Without Jesus we are destined to die in our sins and live eternally separated from Him. Every human being is born inherently evil, and we are all indebted to God for our sin. It is an indebtedness none of us could ever repay, no matter how good we may think we live.
Yet God did for us what we could not do for ourselves; He sent His Son to die in our place in order to pay the debt for our sins. As a result, when we repent of our sin and place our faith in Jesus, our debt is paid in full not by us but by Jesus Christ in the perfect life he lived and the substitutionary death he died.
The second movement is from TEARS TO JOY.
Next, David records,
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.
Psalm 30:4-7
Note the last line in verse 5: weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
David knew what it meant to weep. He knew what it meant to mourn. He grieved when he realized he lost fellowship with the Lord by committing adultery with Bathsheba. The pain was deepened when he had Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, murdered on the battlefield. And then, he knew the deep heartache of loss with the death of his child who was conceived in that sinful relationship. Yet the Lord in His graciousness, as He did so in so many other circumstances, turned David’s weeping into joy.
Isn’t that a great way to describe what we receive in Jesus Christ? As followers of Christ our weeping may remain for the night but our joy comes in the morning.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ brought a new dawning, a new morning, a new day for all who trust in Him. Yes, weeping may be a guest in our life from time to time, but the joy of the Lord is a permanent resident in the life of a believer.
The third movement is MOURNING INTO DANCING.
David concludes,
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 30:8-12
Seven times in the psalm David wrote “You have” (vv. 1-3, 7, 11). David said this to provide testimony to the strong and gracious hand of the Lord working on his behalf. Even God’s chastening of David was an expression of His love (Heb 12:1-11). Once David knew he was forgiven and accepted, he moved from the funeral to the feast. He took off the sackcloth of sadness and put on the garments of gladness.
David was singing to the Lord from the depths of his being. He realized that he would be singing praises to God forever (v. 12), so he wanted to start getting ready now! Every difficult experience of life — and David had many of them — is an opportunity to have a “pity party” or attend a rehearsal for singing in the choirs of heaven! We have a lifetime of grace (v. 5) to prepare us for an eternity of glory.
Make note of the three movements from Psalm 30:
- From death to life
- From tears to joy
- From mourning to dancing
Only God in His grace can do that!
POWERFUL!!!