1I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2O Lord my
God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
3O Lord,
You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me
alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4Sing praise to the Lord,
you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
5For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a
night,
But joy comes in the morning.
6Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be moved.”
7Lord, by Your favor
You have made my mountain stand strong;
You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
8I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9“What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
10Hear, O Lord, and have
mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”
11You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12To 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.
Preamble: David in realizing that the Lord has firmly established him as king over all of Israel now recites this psalm, which is a psalm loaded with truths about how God deals with us, His people.
Commentary
Vs. 1 “I will extol You, O Lord,
for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes
rejoice over me.”
In opening this psalm David begins with a resounding declaration of thanksgiving and joy in the Lord, for after years of being hounded and harassed, He has now lifted him up, He has raised him high above all of his adversaries, high above and safe from all who wanted and plotted to see his downfall are now forced to see his exaltation, and this by the hand of God! Therefore, instead of seeing their will being done, they are now forced to see and be subjugated to God’s Will being done, who by His Supreme and Sovereign hand has established His servant, David. Verse one then foretells the final victory of all of God’s people from all of His enemies that He will accomplish for us all in His perfect time and way!
Vs. 2 “O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.”
Now not only did the Lord God exalt David but He also healed him. Therefore, in crying out to the Lord David experienced not only deliverance, but also healing from the Lord, and in this there is first and foremost our own deliverance from sin and death, and thus the restoration of our souls.
Vs. 3 “O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I
should not go down to the pit.”
In declaring his own deliverance and restoration, by God's grace and mercy, David reveals a great truth about ours. For it is the Lord Jesus Christ who also brings our souls up from the grave figuratively; that is by His Holy Spirit, He restores us to life with God Himself. For the Lord Jesus Christ having suffered our sins punishment and by His own death on the Cross, He can now keep each and every one of us who believe in Him from eternal damnation, from going down to the pit, which is a designation for hell. Again, by His Resurrection life He now brings our souls up from the grave figuratively, that is by His Holy Spirit He brings our souls out of a state of spiritual deadness to being spiritually alive with Himself, so that he can keep us alive with Himself! And this is what the Gospel gives freely to everyone who believes in Him, remission of all of your sins and new and everlasting life with Himself (John 3:16).
And give thanks at the
remembrance of His holy name.”
Yes, let us all praise the Lord because of what He has done for us in forgiving us, and cleansing us, and bringing us to life, by His Holy Spirit, and thus making us God’s saints (i.e., God's people, 1 Peter 2:9). Therefore, let us always give thanks at the remembrance of His Holy Name, the Lord Jesus Christ’s Name, which is the Name above all Names, for He has accomplished salvation for us all who believe in Him. “For there is no other name under heaven given amongst men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Vs. 5 “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.”
How profound then is the love of God that does not abandon us, nor does He leave us unchastised. Instead, His anger is but for a moment; so that He might always do justly, and that we might always see our own need for Him. Therefore, His favor is for life, (for God doesn't afflict willingly, indeed He only does so to bring us out of our sins and transgressions and bring us back to Himself). Therefore, though weeping may endure for a night (a night season when we are seemingly without Him), nonetheless joy comes in the morning, (when we are restored to Him, and are now firmly established with Him). This verse then is one that every believer should carry close to their hearts.
Vs.
6-7
6Now in my
prosperity I said,
“I shall never be moved.”
7Lord, by Your favor
You have made my mountain stand strong;
You hid Your face, and I was
troubled.
David now recalls how he said while in his prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” Which is an easy place to see oneself in when all is going well and prospering. Indeed, David acknowledges it was the Lord Himself who by His favor made David\s mountain stand strong (which might be inferred as his person and or his reign). Nonetheless when the Lord hid His face from him, troubles soon came to him. And so, it is with any individual or nation.
Vs. 8-10 8I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9“What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
10Hear, O Lord,
and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”
Now when this occurred to him, David turned himself to the Lord, he vehemently cried out to him and made his supplications to Him. Therefore, he didn’t harden his heart against Him when troubles came to Him, just as they will surely come to us all who believes in Him. For nowhere in the Bible is anyone promised a life free from illness, or troubles, or misfortune, or mistreatment etc., even the blameless Job found that out. Now in making his supplications to the Lord, David’s appeal was simply how would his demise profit the Lord? For “Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth?” (vs. 9). David’s affliction then must have been pretty severe to pray such things, and yet it is the Lord alone whom he seeks, whom He trusts saying, “Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!” (Vs. 10) And so even though the Lord allowed this affliction, David did not seek anyone before he first sought Him. Something for us all to remember when our own afflictions arise, to seek the Lord first; especially when we are given that dreaded diagnose. Let us all then make our prayers and supplications to Him, for this will sustain you through the many dark days that may lie ahead of you (consider Isaiah 38:1-20).
Vs. 11-12 11You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12To 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.
From mourning to dancing such then is the sojourn of every believer (vs. 5). And so, David now rejoices that God Himself has taken away his sorrow, that He has removed his sackcloth of mourning and now clothed him with gladness (consider Rev. 7:17; 21:4). For God has no joy in our sorrow (only the world does) therefore when He heals and restores us it is so that we may sing His praises and not be silent. Looking back then we can now see how God always works all things together for our good, for us all who love Him, who are called by Him. Therefore, “O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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