Mourning Into Dancing: Help to Overcome Our Overconfidence (Ps 30)

Read Psalm 30:

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

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. 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!

To the choirmaster.

Understand Psalm 30:

The title describes Psalm 30 as “A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.”[1] The temple represented God’s place of dwelling with his people, the fulfillment of his promise to David’s house (1 Chr 22:6-10; 2 Chr 6:16-17), and the symbol of his forgiveness of sin through sacrificial atonement. As prophesied, Jesus the Messiah would later replace the physical temple as the one in whom God dwelt (Zech 2:10; John 1:14; 2:19-22).

A. Our Resurrection from God’s Discipline (vv. 1-5)

David rejoices in the Lord for not letting his foes rejoice over him: “For you have drawn me up” from a well as deep as the grave (Ps 30:1). David celebrates how Yahweh had helped him when he cried out from the verge of death (vv. 2-3).[2] Therefore, David exhorts the gathered company of God’s people: “Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. 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” (vv. 4-5).

We too can sing as God’s beloved children (lit., hesed ones) whom he makes righteous by his discipline (Heb 12:5-11; 1 John 3:1-3). We give thanks that our Father is jealous for his holy name (Deut 4:24; 5:9; 6:15). Though he may chastise us for a moment, his favor will last for a lifetime. Though he may cause us sorrow when we sin, he promises morning joy (2 Cor 4:17; 7:9-11). Therefore, we lift up the Lord (Ps 30:1a) for lifting us from death (vv. 1b-3; see 27:5-6). Times of darkness may lead unwelcome sorrow to lodge for the night, but those tears must be on their way by dawn.

B. Our Reality of God’s Discipline (vv. 6-7)

David experienced the reality of God’s discipline because of overconfidence: “As for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved’” (Ps 30:6). As David grew strong, he began to boast in his false security and forgot his dependence on the Lord (15:5; 21:7; 55:22). He stopped acknowledging that both mountains and kings stand firm by the grace of God (30:7a). Yet not until the Lord withdrew his face did David grow terrified of his sin (v. 7b).[3] David’s need for God’s healing as he teetered over death indicates some form of physical ailment.[4]

We too, must “take heed” that we cannot stand without God’s help, lest pride causes us to fall (Prov 16:18; 1 Cor 10:12). In those times, our loving Father will draw us to himself by sending affliction on his children until we remember how much we need him (Ps 119:50, 67, 71, 75, 92, 107, 153).

C. Our Response to God’s Discipline (vv. 8-10)

David then recalls how he pleaded with the Lord for mercy (30:8, 10), for none but Yahweh could rescue him from Yahweh’s wrath. So, David reasons with the Lord, “I can’t praise you if I’m dead. I can’t glorify you from the grave” (see v. 9; 6:5; 88:11). He calls on God to hear him and to be his Helper (30:10).

David foreshadows the resurrection of One greater than himself. Picture these words on the lips of Jesus: “What profit is there in my death (lit., “my blood”), if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?” (v. 9). Jesus went to Sheol on our behalf and descended to the pit before his Father drew him out. Our Savior’s body was then resurrected from the dust, so that all the world might know God’s faithfulness. Thus, we are delivered from God’s wrath by the righteousness of Christ who was not simply rescued from the edge of death, but from the grave itself (Ps 16:10; Acts 2:31). “Without the resurrection, Jesus could not have been our Savior. Without the resurrection, we would still be in our sin. Without the resurrection, Christ would not have triumphed over Satan and crushed the serpent’s head. Without the resurrection, God would not have displayed his glory and wisdom to powers of the universe. Without the resurrection, God would have betrayed his Son in his hour of need. Without the resurrection, God would not have saved a people for his name’s sake. Without the resurrection, the cross would have been a loss.”[5] Without the resurrection, Christians would be “of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:19).

D. Our Rejoicing After God’s Discipline (vv. 11-12)

Finally, David rejoices in the removal of God’s discipline, for God has turned his mourning into dancing and his sackcloth of godly grief into the festive robes of celebration (Ps 30:11). According to David, God’s loving justice and gracious mercy both seek the same purpose: “that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (v. 12). One’s “glory” (kābôd) can depict a person’s soul as the essence of their being (see 7:5; 16:9; 57:8; 108:1). David has been rescued from the depths of his distress, so he now “psalms” the Lord from the depths of his soul (see 30:4a, 12a).

Twice, he calls for us to “give thanks” (vv. 4b, 12b) as we remember and acknowledge God’s holy name (97:12; 102:12; 135:13; see Exod 3:14-15). As new covenant believers, we have already been raised with Christ to “walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:8). So, instead of divine anger which leads to death, we have received divine favor which leads to life (v. 23). Then, one day, we too, will be fully healed from all of life’s difficulties as the Lord transforms “our lowly body to become like his glorious body” (Phil 3:21). On that final day, he will turn our mourning into dancing and our sorrow into joy (John 16:20-22).

Apply Psalm 30:

Do you ever feel like your enemies are gloating over your distress? In what areas of your life do you need help, healing, and hope? Express your request in a prayer to God.
Compare the language of death (“Sheol,” “pit,” “weeping,” “death,” “mourning,” “sackcloth”) and resurrection (“drawn up,” “healed,” “brought up,” “restored to life,” “joy,” “dancing,” “gladness”). Why does the Lord establish such a stark contrast between the fate of the wicked and the righteous (Ps 1; Rom 6:23)?
Why is it so easy for us to grow self-confident in a false sense of security? How can we daily remind ourselves that God alone makes both mountains and kings stand firm?
How does your identity as a covenant child (a hesed one) help you better relate to your Father in heaven? How does it help you to frame his discipline as loving instead of vindictive (Heb 12:5-11)?
How does David’s faith in God’s resurrection power point forward to its fulfillment in Christ? What spiritual blessings do we have in Christ because our Father raised him from the dead?
Does your life testify to the manifold glory of God? How can you, like David, exhort fellow believers to give thanks to the Lord as well?

Counsel Psalm 30:

Some believers may find that their problems, which include physical illness, result from the Father’s loving discipline for their prideful self-sufficiency. As counselors, we can gently expose their false sense of security and overconfidence in human strength as we lead them to depend once more on God. Remembering his all-sufficient grace and everyday mercies will help turn mourning into dancing when the Lord removes his loving discipline.

Projects for Growth (Psalm 30)

Draw a picture of a deep pit into which you have fallen and label the muck of your circumstances at the bottom of the pit. Then, draw a bucket being let down on a rope and label the resources of hope which the Lord will use to pull you out.
Make a chart with two columns to the show the contrasts in Psalm 30. On the left, list all the consequences of “God’s Discipline.” Then, on the right, list all the blessings of “God’s Mercy.”
Memorize and meditate on Psalm 30:5. Note especially how the contrasts have been true in your personal experience.
In what areas of your life have you become overly self-confident? How does remembering and recounting the greatness of God’s holy name lead you to confession and humble dependence on him?
What hope did Jesus usher in through his resurrection from the grave? Which of those blessings do you already experience now and which of them encompass God’s lasting favor for eternity?
Listen to Tommy Walker, Mourning Into Dancing (2010). Then consider how you can exhort your fellow believers to “sing praises to the LORD, . . . and give thanks to his holy name” (v. 4).

Pray Psalm 30:

O Lord, I lift you high, for you have lifted me from the pit of my dismay (vv. 1, 3, 9).
You are my Helper, my Healer, and my everlasting Hope (vv. 2, 10).
I will praise you among the nations and call others to give thanks (vv. 4, 12).
Forgive me for my prideful self-sufficiency and permit me to stand with you (vv. 6-8).
O Lord, turn my sorrow into joy and my mourning into dancing (vv. 5, 11).

[1] David would not be present for the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 8:63; 2 Chr 7:5). So this might either be a song which David prepared for that future event (1 Chr 22) or a song to dedicate his own royal palace (lit., “house” [bayit] instead of “temple”). The term hanukkah had been used for the dedication of the altar (Num 7:10, 11, 84, 88; 2 Chr 7:9) and would later describe the rededication of the temple in the Maccabean era (165 B.C.; see John 10:22). The Old Testament also allows for wordplay between the “house of David” and the “house of God” (see 2 Sam 7).

[2] The word “restored” elsewhere describes an actual resurrection (2 Kgs 8:5), for Sheol was the place of the dead.

[3] God’s withdrawal from his people is often associated with his judgment for their sin (see Deut 31:17-18; 32:20; Job 13:24; 34:29; Pss 13:1; 27:9; 44:24; 69:17; 88:14; 102:2; 104:29; 143:7; Isa 50:6; 54:8; 57:17; Jer 33:5; Ezek 39:24, 29; Mic 3:4).

[4] Some relate this to the plague which God sent to punish David’s taking of the census because it combined prideful self-sufficiency, judgment through sickness, healing after repentance, the site of the future temple, and a dedication at the altar (2 Sam 24; 1 Chr 21). Yet this explanation is problematic since David himself was never struck with the plague.

[5] James A. Johnston, Rejoice, the Lord Is King (Psalms 1 to 41), Preaching the Word Series: Psalms, Volume 1 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 314.