Psalm 30 – Psalm of
Thanksgiving
As
we have moved through this series we have discovered that the Psalms speak,
give us a language of faith. They are the words of our conversation with God.
So much of scripture gives God's words to us, but the Psalms are our words, our
side of the conversation. Throughout the Psalms we find examples of all the
many things we might want say to God. The Psalms even give permission for doubt
and to question God, by giving us the very words that we so often find deep in
our hearts, when we are struggling with pain or sorrow. But they also give us
word for thanksgiving and praise.
This
morning we find the Psalmist speaking words of Thanksgiving; words of thanks
and praise to God on account of the wondrous ways God has moved in his life. He
recounts the ways in which God has been faithful in the past and calls for us
to join him as he gives God thanks and praise for what God has done in his
life, for how God has acted on his behalf to right life's wrongs, to heal what
was broken and bring restoration to what has been lost.
The
writer of this Psalm is on the other side of a personal tragedy. He has
suffered, has endured, has found himself in one of life's dark valleys, has
gone into a long dark tunnel and has come out the other side. Through the words
of this Psalm he recounts what happened and the faith journey he took as he
went through his struggle. This Psalm bears witness to the struggle, to the
hardships, and calls for us to join the Psalmist, as he gives God thanks and
praise for how God provided restoration and carried him through his this
difficult time.
The Psalmist says he was already in Sheol,
that he was restored from among those who had already gone down to the Pit. The Pit and Sheol are ancient metaphors to
talk about death. He feels that he was already in Sheol; he had already gone down into the Pit. He felt
like he was on the brink of death, but he was not overcome by death, his life
was restored. When the darkness was just about to close in; when he felt that
all was indeed lost, he found that it was not. It is because he came to the
point where all was lost, it is because he came to the point where he faced
death and then, he found God has rescued him. He speaks to us, shares his story
with us and calls for us to not only rejoice with him, but to give God praise
for once again proving to be faithful, even when he felt it was about to be
consumed by darkness.
The Psalmist felt abandoned by God. The Psalmist felt the God
had turned away from him, felt that his pain, his illness, the struggles he was
going through were because God was angry with him and was refusing to help him.
But the anger was temporary, the feelings of being lost from God, of God being
gone from him, were temporary, like the night. When the darkness has closed in all
around, when the moon is hidden and one is unable to see the stars, the night
seems to be unending, but it does
end. The darkness never lasts forever, the morning comes, and with it light and
with it joy. Although the struggles the Psalmist was going through seemed they
would go on forever, they did not. There is always an end to suffering, just as
there is always end to the night.
When we are struggling the Psalmist speaks for us what it feels
like to be in that place. We feel God is angry with us; we feel God has turned
away; we feel that we are on death's door. When our struggles seem to overwhelm,
when our pain is too great, when we feel that all might be lost, that we might
be swallowed up by the darkness that is in our lives, it good to hear the words
the Psalmist has to say here.
When we feel that there is no way out, that there is no end, the
Psalmist tells us that there is a way out, there is an end. Sorrow lasts only for the night, joy comes with the
morning. No matter how dark, no matter how cold, no matter how long or how
dangerous the night might be, the dawn always comes. There will be an end. ‘This’, whatever 'this' is cannot and will not go
on forever.
Then the Psalmist remembers a time when all was going well; a
time before his struggle; a time when all was right and good; a time when he
was prospering in life. And he recounts how easy his faith was then. In times
of prosperity, when things are going well, when life is going generally in the
way we would wish, it is easy to express our faith in God. It is easy to say,
“I will not be moved.” When life is as it should be faith is easy. When we have
enough food, when all our loved ones are safe; when there is enough money to
pay all the bills, when we and all those we love and care for are healthy, it
is easy to trust that God takes care of us. It is easy to trust God to provide,
when you are being provided for.
The Psalmist trusted God when all was well, he felt his faith
was unshakable, but when prosperity was not at hand, when all was not being
provided, when all was darkness and he felt he was on the brink of death, he
found trusting God to be a bit harder. His faith waivered, his trust in the
Lord faltered. When the world is dark, it is hard to believe in the light. When
life is a stormy sea, it hard to imagine that will be calm again. When you are
experiencing the deepest pain, it is hard to remember what it was like before
the pain, must less trust that the pain will subside.
When our faith falters, when we struggle to trust that God is
there for us, the Psalmist's words are here remind us, that we are not alone in
our struggle. The Psalmist's faith waivered, just as ours sometimes does. He
began to doubt that God was there, that God was listening to him. He wondered
if God had abandoned him.
The Psalmist tells us that even as his faith faltered, and his
his trust was troubled he still called out to the Lord. The Psalmist pleaded
with God. The Psalmist argued with God. The Psalmist spoke logically with God.
Who will praise God if he died? He can not speak of the wonders and the
goodness of God, if he has gone down to the Pit? The dust he will become cannot
give praise to God. Only he can speak of God's goodness, only he can tell of
God's greatness. Only, those who have known the hand of God in their lives; only
those who have been restored; who have tasted of the good fruit that is God's
work in their lives, can share of God's greatness. Only those who have known
God's presence in their life can speak of who God is and what God does. If God
spares the Psalmist's life, he can bear witness to God's greatness; he can give
God thanks and praise, but if he is not, there will be no praise; he will not
be able to speak of God's greatness. The dust cannot do this. Only a human who
has known the goodness, the greatness, the mercy, of God is able to do this.
God should rescue him, so that he can speak of how God has worked; of God’s
holy character; of God’s ability to bring salvation. God heard the Psalmist's
plea and responded. The dawn broke, the tunnel came to an end; healing and
restoration were found. God is good, God heard the cries of his heart and came
to the Psalmist's aid.
When we are struggling to see God's face, even when we feel God
has turned from us and we feel abandoned by the one who has promised to never
leave us or forsake, we can call out to God. Even when our faith falters, God
will hear; even when we are unsure of our trust in God, God will listen to our
pleas. Some may say that God, responding to our cry is a measure of our faith.
God hears, no matter how deep our faith, God responds even when our trust is
weak. No matter how thick the darkness, no matter how deep the pain, no matter
how far we feel from God, when we call out, God will hear us.
The Psalmist's cries were heard and God came and brought
restoration and healing. Even when his faith faltered, even when he felt there
would be no light, the dawn broke and the Lord God proved once again to be
faithful. God heard his impassioned cries and came to the Psalmist's aid. Therefore
the Psalmist will sing praises to God, and will give thanks to God for the
mighty things God has done in his life.
Psalms like this one give voice to our words of thanks and
praise that we lift up to God when God has rescued us from the darkness. They
are the words we have for God when God has worked miraculously in our lives. We
were in pain, we were sick, we were struggling psychically, emotionally,
mentally or spiritually and we feared that we might be lost. We thought that
this was the end, but then it was not. We saw the hand of God at work, the
darkness gave way to light, the storm let up, the seas parted and we found that
we came out on the other side. A little bruised, a little battered, a little
worse for wear, but we came out just the same. God proved God's goodness, God's
greatness, God's mercy and salvation, continues to be true. This is when we
bear witness to what God has done for us, this is when we join with the Psalmist
this morning and give God thanks and praise.
Psalms of thanksgiving are not only the words we give to God in
the dawn after a long night, but Psalms like this are also our words to
ourselves and to others that remind us, of God's goodness, and greatness while
still in the darkness, when are continuing to struggle; when we feel that death
is coming for us. Psalms of thanks giving are Psalms that give hope to us when
we are struggling. They are remind us to have compassion on those (and perhaps
even ourselves) who may be struggling, when we are not, and they remind us that
God is good. And they serve as models of how we give thanks and praise to God.
They tell us how God is at work; how God has worked in the past so we can be
assured that God will continue to work in the future and they are blue prints
of how to give thanks to God.
They are also blueprints of how to bear witness to what God has
done for us. They show us how to speak words of thanks and praise. When we give
thanksgiving it is easy to focus on ourselves, we can get the impression that
God has empowered us and we feel
that we have done something great (with the help of God). It is easy to fall
into the trap of giving praise to God for how we have done wondrous things. Instead our focus should always be on
how God has worked, on what God has done, on how God lifted us up when we were
struggling or close to death.
True praise recounts
how we doubted, how we failed. It brings to light our faults
and gives glory to God for working anyway; give glory to God for working in
ways we would never expect; for working even in the midst of our own weakness.
Thanksgiving gives thanks to God; praises God for what God has done, for how God
has worked. The focus is always on God and never ourselves.
When God has worked in our lives, when we have known the
goodness of God, when we have known the darkness and have once again found the
light, giving thanks and praise to God is our natural response. We do this to give
God the glory God deserves. We do this so that when we find ourselves
surrounded by life’s struggles that we will remember how God has worked in the
past. And we do this, so that we can bring encouragement to those around us. Our
thanks and praise are vital parts of our faith. They are the natural response
to the wondrous ways God has worked in our lives. The Psalmist reminds us this
morning how important it is to share, to speak, to give thanks and praise to
God, before the people of God, about how God has worked on our behalf, about how
God has saved us, rescued us, was our strength when we had none. Words of thanksgiving
and praise bear witness to the character of God and are to be a part of our
lives.
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