“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever” (Psalm 30:11-12).
In the title of Psalm 30, it is mentioned that this was a psalm which was sung at the dedication of the house of David. The Scriptures mention following the building of David’s house, David “knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, for his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of His people Israel” (1 Chronicles 14:2). Psalm 30 is then a psalm in which David expresses his praise for God’s blessings as he reflects on the manifold ways in which God has enriched his life.
As he begins this psalm David say, “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let me foes rejoice over me” (Psalm 30:1). David understood that the high position he now held as king of Israel was not because of his own doing. It was all because of God’s blessing upon him. God had lifted him up and delivered him from his enemies (Psalm 30:1). God had also lifted him up and delivered David from his own sins for which God had been angry at David: “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
David then mentions an event that happened in his life which brought him trouble: “Now in my prosperity I said, ‘I shall never be moved.’ Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled” (Psalm 30:6-7). We are not told if David made the statement, “I shall never be moved” out of pride or out of confidence and trust in God. What we do know is whether to chasten David or to test David, God hid his face from David. Being unable to detect God’s presence even for a moment in his life troubled David so greatly he immediately sought God: “I cried out to You, O Lord; and to the Lord I made supplication: ‘What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!’" (Psalm 30:8-10).
As the opening verses above indicate, the Lord did restore His presence in David’s life following this event. As He did so, David says, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing”. David could take off the garments of mourning he had been wearing (i.e. sackcloth) and be clothed with gladness. He could not keep silent as he would glorify God by singing praises (Psalm 30:11-12).
In reading these verses I wonder, “Do I pursue God’s presence as earnestly as did David?” When God presence was hid from David, but for a moment it greatly troubled David. Sometimes when we sin, like Adam and Eve, we try to hide from God’s presence which only brings more trouble into our lives as we are weighed down by the guilt and burden of sin (Genesis 3:6-8). Today, I will not try to flee from God’s presence if I fall into sin. I will repent of my sin and strive to return to God’s presence. If trials come upon me this day, I will not assume God has forgotten about me or is hiding from me, I will pursue Him through prayer and study of His Word until I feel confident He is with me. Today, I want God to turn my mourning into dancing!
“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:1-3).