Psalm 30 — In what should you boast?

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House; a Psalm of David.

1 I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast raised me up,
And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God,
I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol:
Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing praise unto the LORD, O ye saints of his,
And give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
In his favour is life:
Weeping may tarry for the night,
But joy cometh in the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
I shall never be moved.
7 Thou, LORD, of thy favour hadst made my mountain to stand strong:
Thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled.
8 I cried to thee, O LORD;
And unto the LORD I made supplication:
9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit?
Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me:
LORD, be thou my helper.
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing;
Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness:
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Each one of us, each in our times and ways, have strayed from the straight path of the Lord. Sometimes by pride, other times out of selfishness, we dedicated our will to ourselves rather than the Lord and his wishes. And so, every one of us can relate to the words of this psalm: "thou didst hide thy face: I was troubled".

I find David's confession interesting: In his prosperity he said he would not be moved. He knew his blessings and prosperity were from God, and said as much. Even so, the Lord's face turned away. Is this a failure of the Lord? David doesn't think so.

Rather than charge God with injustice, he pleads for God's mercy and help. He pleads for the continued chance to praise God - no one can praise God from the pit, after all. I think it was David's overconfidence that was the failure, not the Lord. It was David's boast of impenetrability.

It is in the saving of the Lord that David's words become clear and dedicated to God alone. In his salvation - and his need for salvation - he praises God for his healing power, both physically and emotionally. He's moved from the grave to life. He's moved from mourning to dancing.

It is in the salvation of God that we should boast, not the blessings we receive from him.
It is in our spiritual life that we should rest with confidence, not in our earthly security.