Series: New New
Psalm 30:4-5 MSG
There’s nothing quite like singing in a large church choir that has a great organ and a director who is proficient.
It IS invigorating to hear all the parts!
Psalm 30:4-5 tells us, “All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God!
Thank him to his face! He gets angry once in a while, but across a lifetime there is only love. The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter.”
The introduction to this psalm says it it: “A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the house of David”.
We note that the song ‘shiyr’ in Hebrew is a joyful song. The same word for song is used in Genesis 31:27, Exodus 15:1, and Psalm 33:3 and it points to a joyful song. The event being planned to build a great House of Worship to the Lord was definitely surrounded by joy.
When we look at the timing of the building and completion of the Temple we find Solomon reigned between 970 and 931 BCE and experts believe construction began around 958 or 966 BCE. It is believed that the Temple took seven years to complete.
Even though King David wanted to build the Temple we are told in 1 Chronicles 22:7-8, “David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.”
And so David’s son King Solomon built the Temple. In 2 Samuel 7 we learn that the Temple Dedication was done by King Solomon.
The purpose of Psalm 30 was to honor God and God’s love. The opening statement tells us it is called the House of David even though it was his son Solomon who actually built the Temple. That may seem strange to us but God only stipulated the Temple could not be built by David because there was blood on his hands. When Solomon finished the Temple it was called the House of David. It was David who was specifically called to lead Israel after King Saul died. It was David who fought for Israel to be ONE. Then it was David who proclaimed that Israel belonged to God.
David gave God the credit and praised God for His mighty works. In addition to David praising God for His mighty works, he called up all the saints of Israel to give credit and praise to God. Not only did David encourage Israel to sing praise to God, he encouraged them to ‘sing their hearts out’ to God.
It’s as if David was telling them to give it all they could because that’s exactly what God did for Israel.
David wasn’t taking the credit here…he was pointing the people of Israel to God.
We also notice that David included his audience when he called on the ‘saints’ to praise God. David wasn’t only reminding Israel who they were but he was telling them ‘whose’ they were. They were the children of the most high God. God had remembered Israel and called them His own people. Israel needed to remember and return their praise and affection to God.
What is key in this statement is that David led Israel to a point of personal relationship with God. Generally speaking a people will follow their King…their leader. In this song that they would repeat over and over again the great King David was using phrases that they would repeat. They were words that would continually remind Israel this God was THEIR God.
In addition to that, did King David have any idea that thousands of years later you and I would read this psalm that extolled God as THE GOD of the universe?
Did King David know that the Son of God would come and be able to sing this psalm in Temple? Those are questions that cannot be answered but it makes us realize there is a lasting impact on the words that were pinned.
Because David’s heart was filled with so much joy he was leading Israel to shout with joy.
Finally in verse 5 David reminds Israel (and us) that this God, our God is real. When a wrong is committed, God does respond with anger. As His children God gave us the same range of feeling. Anger serves a purpose here. Anger prompts us to right a wrong. When God sees unrighteousness, God responds and then God corrects it. How does God correct it? It’s with His love.
So even though we may be sad for a time because we have been oppressed or even persecuted, we can rest in knowing that God’s great love is on our side and we can even laugh.
We can rejoice in knowing that ultimately God’s love will win in the end.
While it’s sometimes difficult to remember during times of hardship, we can always know that whatever happens, God is in charge.
David was right.
God has a plan and that plan includes God’s love which covers everything. In the end…everything is about God’s great love.
Spiritual Practice: God’s Love
Spend time letting God love you.
In God, Deborah
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