Psalm 30: A Song of Dedication 1. Dedication For Deliverance

Text:  I will extol Thee, O Lord; for Thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

                                                                                                                        Psalm 30:1.

Good morning, Divinely delivered Christian!  Apart from the Divine deliverance of your soul and mine from the death of ‘original sin’, and from countless sins we have wilfully committed during our years of unbelief - you and I, like king David, have no doubt been Divinely delivered again and again from gross failings - after we were graciously saved - in word, in thought, and in deed.  Fact. 

Honesty is the best policy when the personal sin question is poised.  If we have no true confession of our vile sin - we have no true repentance from it, and therefore, no forgiveness of that sin.  True and sincere repentance brings perfect cleansing.

Therefore, it is much easier for you and I to honestly ‘confess our sin’ to God, and then we can be shown His gracious forgiveness and new sanctification.  We have our Father’s Word on this vital matter of daily sins committed after we have been saved.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us (sanctify us afresh) from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.”  (1 John 1:8-10) (John 14:6) (John 1:1;14)

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man/woman availeth much.”  (James 5:16)

“Title:  ‘A Psalm and Song at the Dedication of the House of David.’; or rather, ‘A Psalm; a Song of Dedication for the House, by David.’  A song of faith since the house of Jehovah, here intended, David never lived to see.  A Psalm of praise, since a sore judgment had been stayed and a great sin forgiven.”  (Treasury of David, page 144)

Dictionary Definition: Dedicate: (verb transitive) to set apart and consecrate to some sacred purpose; to devote wholly or chiefly; to inscribe or give orally in tribute (to anyone); to inaugurate or open.

In other words, David in writing this Psalm, looks forward in faith to the purpose of the great temple that his son Solomon will one day build - in dedication to the Lord God Almighty, Jehovah, who has, will, and will always deliver His people from all sin and harm.  Psalm 30: therefore, is a Psalm of dedication to the perpetual worship of the One true and Almighty Lord God, Jehovah.  The Divine Deliverer.  Praise His Name!

“And God spake all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”  (Exodus 20:1-3)

Verse 1. “I will extol Thee.  I will have high and honourable conceptions of Thee and give them utterance in my best music.  Others may forget Thee, murmur at Thee, despise Thee, blaspheme Thee, but ‘I will extol Thee,’ for I have been favoured above all others.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 144)

Verse 1.  “For Thou hast lifted me up.  Here is an antithesis, ‘I will extol Thee, for Thou hast exalted me.’  Grace has uplifted us from the pit of Hell, from the ditch of sin, from the Slough of Despond, from the bed of sickness, from the bondage of doubts and fears; have we no song to offer for all this?  How high has our Lord lifted us?  Lifted us up into the children’s place, to be adopted into the family; lifted us up into union with Christ, ‘to sit together with Him in Heavenly places.’  Lift high the Name of our God, for He has lifted us above the stars.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 144)

"Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is One Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…”  (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)

In antithetical balances, the verses of Psalm 30: rise and fall like the waves of a sea of action and reaction: Lift up the Name of the Lord, for the Lord has lifted us up; cry unto the Lord, and He will hear and heal us; the Lord brings our souls UP from the grave of sin and Spiritual death, thus, we do not go DOWN into the pit of Hell.  Surely these Divine contrasts evidenced personally in our own lives, should cause us to sing and give thanks at the remembrance of His Holiness and His Sovereign grace to us?

“The verb is used, in its original meaning, to denote the reciprocating motion of the buckets of a well, one descending as the other rises, and vice versa; and is here applied with admirable propriety to point out the various reciprocations and changes of David’s fortunes as described in this Psalm, as to prosperity and adversity.”  (Samuel Chandler 1693-1766) 

“I will extol Thee, O Lord; for Thou hast lifted me up…”

Thought:  “And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.  Oh, happy they whom the Lord keeps so consistent in character that the lynx eyes of the world can see no real fault in them.  Is this our case?  Let us ascribe all the glory to Him Who has sustained us in our integrity.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 144)