Psalm 30
The Resurrected King
This is a Resurrection Psalm.
This is a song about the King raised from the pit of death and into everlasting life.
And by our union with Christ, it is our reality too.
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.
1 I will exalt you, LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
2 LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.4 Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favour lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.6 When I felt secure, I said,
‘I shall never be shaken.’
7 LORD, when you favoured me,
you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.8 To you, LORD, I called;
to the LORD I cried for mercy:
9 ‘What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
10 Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me;
LORD, be my help.’11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you for ever.
The King opens up this Psalm with exaltation and thanksgiving (1-3) which leads to a call to all the people to join him in praising the LORD (4-5).
Throughout the Scriptures, descent is the way to death. So when the King praises the LORD for lifting him up and bringing him up, here he declares that God has raised him back into life. Therefore because God has lifted him up, the King exalts the LORD. For he is the one on high, seated on the throne, and the King is now ascended and seated next to him (Ephesians 1.20).
This was because the Father heard the cry of his Son. And he healed him of death’s sting. The true King was hung on the cross and buried in the tomb. Death mustered all his power but he was impotent when confronted by the Author and Architect of life. Jesus was restored to life. He was given the keys and walked out in glorious splendour (Revelation 1.18). Death has no claim on him. It could not tame him. Ultimately it has been shamed by him. And the name of the Son is now above every other name, ruling and reigning with all authority (Philippians 2.9-11).
The King then calls on his people to join with him in his praise. For all those who bow the knee to Jesus and confess him as Lord, are bound to him in faith and therefore are raised with him.
We praise the LORD not just for the resurrection of the King but our new life in him. God’s anger was laid on Jesus when he died in our place on the cross. But we are now in his favour, under his grace for a lifetime. And we aren’t talking about the average lifespan of a Japanese citizen, the current highest in the world, but that of Jesus, who was raised to everlasting life. We are therefore under the everlasting favour of God because we are united to him. Jesus suffered in the darkness for us and we live as children of the new day (Romans 13.12-13).
In 6-10, we get a closer look at the prayer of the King that was answered. I always find the logic here striking. The King says there is no benefit if he and his people are cast down for God, for then he would be denied the worship he has due. And so this is a reminder to us that it is God who secures his worship by not just lifting us out of death but seating us with Christ in the heavenly realms where in our local gatherings we join with the song of the angels (Ephesians 2.4-6; Hebrews 12.22).
And as he closes the Psalm, he returns to his praise. And at the heart of this he recognises the Great Reversal of the Gospel. Tears of sorrow now become tears of joy. Rags of repentance are replaced with glad rags. But see here what the King is saying. This is not us drawing from our own deep wells of joy but God clothing us in his own. The joy of God’s salvation comes to us we are united to Jesus.
God has established the eternal rule of his Son. And in the Son we are given eternal life. Therefore, we join in his eternal praise.
Yesterday I with a couple of others in our church family attended the funeral of a beloved friend who passed away suddenly. While we mourned that for now our connection is disrupted by death. We rejoiced knowing that she is now with her Heavenly Father, knowing now that the night has passed.
Glory be to God the Father, who has clothed us in the eternal joy of his salvation.
Glory be to God the Son, the one raised to rule eternally over all the cosmos as our radiant King.
Glory be to God the Spirit, by whom we are raised into the heights of heaven.
Ever three and ever One.