Thank you for your worship. You can be seated. Thank you, Hector, for leading us in songs here this morning.
Hello, Grace! It's great to be back here. We were gone for a few weeks, and it was great to have a bit of a vacation. I welcome those who are watching online.
We spent our first week kind of making our headquarters at Marcy's, my wife's brother's place in Clarison. We did day trips to Lethbridge, Waterton, saw the Japanese gardens in Lethbridge, and the big train bridge in Lethbridge as well. We just experienced Waterton.
In the next week, part of my trip was to hit every town in Alberta. Now, I might be driving my wife crazy on that part of it, but we were able to see 25 towns in the first week. It was always interesting. Then we spent some time out in Saskatchewan with my mom and her family, and also with Marcy's parents and her family. That ended off last weekend when I was at a college reunion in Medicine Hat at Hillcrest Christian College for those who know of it.
I can't believe how long ago it was. I'm not going to say the number here, but there were a lot more gray-haired people there than I realized. A lot less hair on people, and for some, they didn't change at all, but for others, it was hard to recognize them. So, the life changes that we go through.
It was great to just be able to experience that holiday and to get away during that time.
I want to jump into our series here that we've been doing. In your bulletins, there's an outline you can follow along with. This morning, I want to talk about Thanksgiving. This is what Hector and some of the songs we've been leading towards—praising God, thanking God.
About a year and a half after our second daughter was born, my wife was in considerable pain, and I rushed her to emergency. While the nurses did some tests, we were shocked but also excited to find out that she was pregnant. But the news quickly turned to deep sadness when we were told that it was an ectopic pregnancy, and so the baby would not survive outside the embryo as it attached itself outside the fallopian tube.
Further, they said it would be unlikely that we would have any more children due to scarring in the fallopian tube. Our moment of joy was quickly crushed. We went from great joy to great sadness. That day, as we sat in shock, first of all, we didn't even realize she was pregnant, but also sadness because our dream to have three children seemed to be over.
Yet God answered our prayer and kept this dream alive. About two and a half years after this devastating news, we witnessed the birth of what we call our miracle child, our son Carter, our firstborn son. We never envisioned that we might be able to have kids again. So it was a day of joy, a day of excitement, a day of Thanksgiving—thanking God because God, in His faithfulness, overcame a hopeless situation and blessed us with a son.
Today, we have three adult children. You can probably think of times like that in your own life as well.
As I continue this series on our summer series of Psalms, Pastor Shane kicked it off here a few weeks ago, but I want to focus on the Thanksgiving Psalm. You see, like movies that feature various genres—comedy, western, sci-fi, and several others—so are the Psalms. They contain several different genres, and the two most prominent genres are praise and lament. But there are also several others, such as the Thanksgiving Psalm.
The Thanksgiving Psalm is like the praise psalm that Shane would have spoken on. In Thanksgiving, it evokes feelings of gratitude toward God for answered prayer. Some examples in this genre are Psalm 18, 30, 34, and 56.
As we move into the Thanksgiving Psalm here this morning, think of your own life. What prayers has God answered in your life over the years that you have lived? What needs of yours have been met? How have your troubles been overcome? Maybe how has God healed your hurts? Where has God richly blessed you?
There will be times in your life when you see God's hand move in significant ways, and you will well up with Thanksgiving for what He has done. King David experienced many moments like this, and he formed these responses into prayers of gratitude.
The Thanksgiving Psalm often stems from the cry of lament. You go through something deep in life, something that maybe has shocked you, something that has hurt you. But the Thanksgiving Psalm often stems from these moments as the psalmist is renewed with gratitude that God has heard his prayer.
In Psalm 30, which we're going to look at this morning, that Hector also had read, David shows how to move from the emotions of lament to the emotions of Thanksgiving. It's an individual prayer of David as he gives thanks to God for deliverance, likely over some sickness and suffering that he had encountered. The psalm may be in response to one of David's laments, such as Psalm 5, 6, or maybe chapter 13.
As we look at this psalm, we want to see how David structured his Thanksgiving toward God. So let us pray as we look into the psalm here this morning.
Father, today we come before You. Each one of us has gone through different situations in our lives. Some have been horrific, some have been terrible, Lord, but You've stayed with us. You have kept with us, and we want to come to Your presence this morning with Thanksgiving on our hearts, Lord, to thank You for what You have done, to thank You that You are still with us.
As we look at Psalm 30, may You give us new insights into our lives—things that we can do to draw deeper into this relationship with You. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
In verses one to three, we see that David starts out with exalting or worshiping or thanking God for answered prayer. He says, "I will exalt You, O Lord, for You lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to You for help, and You healed me. O Lord, You brought me up from the grave; You spared me from going down into the pit."
There are a lot of things to be thankful for when you look back on your life. Keeping maybe a prayer or a Thanksgiving journal is one way to remember the specific requests that you have made to God and how God has answered these requests, sometimes in miraculous ways.
Last year, my wife Marcy and I were not able to spend much vacation time together because of our work schedules. It was really a piecemeal vacation time spent together—a few days here, maybe a week—but really it was piecemeal, and I found it was not very restful.
So this year, I decided back in April to book off a block of time this July, hoping for greater rest. I prayed and hoped that my wife would be able to make it for at least one week, but I didn't hold out much hope because the summer is her busy time in her workplace.
In answer to prayer, just two days before I was about to go on my vacation, my wife got laid off. Now, hooray! I'm not sure if that's a good prayer, but at that time, my wife was looking forward to a break, and I was very thankful because she was able to join me.
She works in the film industry, and the writers and the actors have been on strike, so she has a lot of time off right now. It was good because we were able to spend time together that we were not able to do much of last year.
I must have come off this vacation so relaxed that by the end of it, on the very last day, I bought a Cavapoo puppy for my wife. I don't know if I lost some of my better judgment because I was hoping we wouldn't have a dog at least for a few more years, but this is our dog, Milo. We bought her near Milo's Alberta, one of the small towns I had to go through.
When we look at this psalm, David rejoices in God's answers to his prayers. It seems that David had experienced a terrible sickness that brought him to the edge of death. But in this near-death experience, he witnesses God's faithfulness, His deliverance, and healing power.
His enemies that gloated over his demise were dumbstruck by his miraculous recovery. David exalts and worships God. He was filled with gratitude because, first of all, his enemies were silenced in their gloating. Secondly, God heard his prayers, and he was healed. Thirdly, he was kept from death, going down into the pit, which is a Hebrew term for Sheol, a term for the grave or the realm of the dead.
David was in a near-death experience. I don't know if any of you have had a near-death experience in your life. I know some of you have, and it's a scary place to be. David was at that point—what was coming next?
What were his emotions? What were your emotions if you have gone through a near-death experience? What were your emotions when you fully came out of it, recovered, and were no longer in danger of death? You might go from panic and deep distress to overwhelming joy and thankfulness. This is what happened with David. God delivered him. God rescued him. God will rescue you as well.
David made it through the low points in his life because he trusted God and had a personal relationship with Him. You look at verse two, and in verse two, David writes, "O Lord my God, I called to You for help, and You healed me."
Without a personal relationship with God, you will not feel secure in this life. Although low points will hit your life, you will make your way through with the help of God. As David wrote in Psalm 37:23-24, "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him. Though we may stumble—and we all will stumble—He will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand."
Some of the questions we ask ourselves: How close are you to God? How many prayers of yours are being answered? Sometimes we like to blame God for unanswered prayer, but the fault is not on His end but on our end. We want the benefits of God without wanting a relationship with God.
Delight in God—that's the first step. Delight in God, put your trust in Him. David rejoiced in answered prayer because he stuck with God even in the low times. He did not give up on God. He made it through; he kept that relationship vibrant and alive.
We see that in verses four and five, where David begins to praise God for His character. He says, "Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may remain for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."
Although we think of the Psalms in the context of worship, most derive their source from prayers of individuals to God. Many Psalms were written from the context of a specific situation and then were later transposed for use in public worship in Israel.
Psalm 30 may have begun as a personal prayer of David—one of thanks that was based on his experience. From his experience with God, David wanted others to join in to exalt God, to thank God, to sing praises to the Lord, and to praise His holy name.
Some of your Bibles may have different titles at the front of the psalm. In this psalm, we find the title "A Psalm, a Song for the Dedication of the Temple of David."
We see in this title that it was a psalm that started off as a personal prayer but was to be used in public worship of God. These titles that you find in the chapter headings in the Psalms were later editions by the scribes to give an explanation or to explain the purpose of each psalm.
In this psalm, the title of the dedication of the temple indicates that it was later added in because the temple had not yet been built in David's time. When we look at this psalm, it is likely it had begun to be used in the time when the Jews returned from exile in Babylon, and the second temple was built and dedicated in 515 BC.
It became a psalm not just for David but for all of us to thank God, especially for the Israelite people who had come out of deep captivity in Babylon. As they renewed their worship at the dedication of the temple, this psalm was recited.
Later, according to the Talmud, the Jews recited Psalm 30 during the Festival of Hanukkah. As David had experienced God's mercy in sickness, so did the Jews experience God's mercy in suffering. God had brought them out of it; it was only momentary; it didn't last forever.
David focuses on who God is. His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime. This contrasts several ideas: anger and favor, a moment and a lifetime, weeping and rejoicing, night and morning. Sometimes life is like that with God. We go through contrasts in life. Not everything is going to be on the high; not everything is going to be on the low.
Life is like that with God, and you will at times experience His anger, His judgment, or maybe things that you are doing that are outside His scope that He wants for your life. But you will also experience His favor, His compassion, His mercy. You will have times of weeping, but you will also have times of rejoicing. You might be in your night of sorrow, but the day, the morning of joy is coming.
Looking back in your life or even right now, what aspects of God's character have been impressed upon you? Look over your answers to prayer. Did God answer it, even if it took a long time? Well, praise God for His faithfulness; He was still there with you. Did God give you a second chance in your life? Well, praise God for His mercy. Did God bring retribution to your abusers and accusers? Well, praise God for His justice.
David praises God for who He is. In the third section of this psalm, we find that he reflects on past emotions in verses 6 to 10, which Hector had read here as well.
"When I felt secure, I said, 'I will never be shaken.' O Lord, when You favored me, You made my mountain stand firm. But when You hid Your face, I was dismayed. To You, O Lord, I called; to the Lord, I cried for mercy. What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help."
Many of the Psalms are filled with the emotions of David, and they stir our hearts when we think of similar situations. The Psalms appeal to the whole person; they demand a total response. The Psalms inform our intellect, they arouse our emotions, they direct our wills, and they stimulate our imaginations.
In the Psalms, there is nothing held back from God. David prayed as it was; we are to pray as it is. Whatever is happening in your life, nothing is held back from God. In the Psalms, we get a glimpse of how to be totally honest with God.
John Calvin, one of the reformers, wrote, "There is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror, or rather the Holy Spirit has here drawn to life all the griefs, sorrows, fears, doubts, hopes, cares, perplexities—in short, all the distracting emotions with which the minds of men are wont to be agitated."
There was a time when David felt secure, and nothing could be shaken. He was favored by God; the mountain of his faith stood firm. But as I said before, life sets in, and David entered a time when God felt distant. Maybe you have felt times like that, where God just feels distant. Maybe you're going through a time like that: "God, where are You? Why have You hidden Your face from me?"
David began to feel God was distant; his faith began to waver, and he was dismayed. His world came crashing down. In this Psalm of Thanksgiving, David reflects on his past emotions of grief. He went from a high to a low, and the only one who could bring him back was the merciful God of Israel.
He reflects on his spirit, a spiral toward death, and how he cried out desperately for God for help. He appeals to God based on worship. There is no gain in David's death. "Why destroy me, God, in the dust of death? I could not praise You in the grave; I could not proclaim Your faithfulness. Why, God, put me in the grave? I will no longer be able to praise You."
Like David, there will come situations that will test your faith and draw out the emotions of your heart. In a hymn called "After All," written by N.B. Vandal, it arises out of a tragic personal experience. The hymn writer, N.B. Vandal, a singer and well-known gospel evangelist, was rushed to the hospital to discover that his son Paul had been struck by a car and was critically injured. The doctor held out very little hope for recovery.
Mr. Vandal recalled, "For one hour and 15 minutes, I held on in prayer while they cleaned and sewed up the wounds on his head and set the broken bones. Weirdly, I made my way back to my humble home. I tried to comfort my wife when in my own heart I had no assurance. I fell on my knees and tried to pray, saying only, 'O God.' Hardly had those words been uttered when God came. It seemed to me that Jesus knelt by my side, and I could feel His arms around me as He said, 'Never mind, my child. Your home will be visited with tribulation and sorrow, but in the afterwards to come, these things shall not be. Your home is in heaven where all tears shall be wiped away.'"
Brushing aside the tears, he says, "I made my way to the piano and wrote the song 'After All.'" His son did recover from the accident; he is still very nervous, and his eyesight is impaired, but he thanked God for His goodness in giving him back to them. God, in His wisdom, through heartache, gave a song that has since been a comfort to a vast number of people.
In his first verse, he says, "After the toil and heat of the day, after my troubles are passed, after the sorrows are taken away, I shall see Jesus at last."
As you thank God, remember or recall the emotions that you had in your prayers. What were the situations that you faced? How did these make you feel? Were you scared? Were you dismayed? Were you doubtful? Then recall how these emotions have changed because of God's answers.
Finally, in the last bit, David ends this psalm thanking God for spiritual renewal. In verses 11 and 12, he says, "You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever."
As David begins, so he ends: praise, Thanksgiving, worship to God. From the first words, "I will exalt You," to the last phrase, "I will give You thanks," the theme of gratitude is on the lips of David.
He realizes how his emotions have changed for the better. Wailing has turned into dancing and mourning into joy. Rather than being silenced in death, God has renewed the voice of praise in David's life. His heart explodes with gratitude for all that God has done, and he responds, "I will give You thanks forever."
I think that is to be the prayer, the song of our heart: "I will give You thanks forever." Insecurity can take you down a path you never wanted to go, but security—when you find your hope, your trust in God—brings confidence and restores faith.
David's prayers rested on the faithful and merciful nature of God. How has God renewed your faith? How has He brought back the song into your heart? How has He turned your weeping into dancing and your mourning into joy?
As I close here this morning, when life is tough and things are in turmoil, there is still so much to be thankful for. God has blessed each one of us in numerous ways. These Psalms of Thanksgiving are meant to stimulate your gratitude to God through prayer and praise.
As I end, I want you to paraphrase this psalm into a prayer. Maybe this is something you can do later today—go home and paraphrase Psalm 30 into something that you have gone through.
Here’s a paraphrase of Psalm 30:
"Lord, I am so thankful and exalt You because You have brought healing that I so desperately sought. You are real; Christianity is real. No one can gloat over my demise because You have healed me. You are to be praised because Your compassion always comes through. Your anger is only temporary. I realize that I was arrogant and needed a lesson to make me humble again. Not only did You heal me physically, but You healed me of taking things for granted—my health, my spouse, and children, my church.
When I got sick, I got scared and thought this was it. I still wanted to praise You; I was not ready for death. I had too much unfinished business. So I cried out for mercy from You to heal me. Lord, You are awesome because You heard my prayer. My take-it-or-leave-it attitude was turned into gratitude. My weeping turned into dancing, and my mourning into joy. I am so happy You healed me, and I will give You thanks forever."
Let me pray as our worship team comes forward.
Father, today we thank You for these Psalms of Thanksgiving, Lord—the emotions that David had gone through, from some of his highs into the lows, and then from the lows back into the highs. We thank You that we can reflect on these Psalms, Lord, that we can translate them into our own life situations.
Today, as we remember and reflect on past prayers that have been answered, we want to give You thanks because You are a God who is merciful. You are a God who gives us a second chance. You are a God who is faithful, that You are always with us, always walking with us to guide us and to carry us forward.
We thank You today. May our praises from our hearts be ever before You. Continue to fill us with good things. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Please stand for our closing song. "Lord, I go, I confess; without You, I fall apart. You're the one that guides my heart. Lord, I need You."
on Nov 05, 2023
