Answered Prayer, Grace for Life

Psalms 30:1-12
A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the house of David.

1 I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.

2 O LORD my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
3 O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4 Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
5 For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning.

6 Now in my prosperity I said,
"I shall never be moved."
7 LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
8 I cried out to You, O LORD;
And to the LORD I made supplication:

9 "What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?

10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me;
LORD, be my helper!"

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Answered prayer.  We all yearn for God to hear us and respond favorably when we are in distress or adversity and our enemies’ gloating over our condition.  The psalmist reminds us that we should start with adoration and thanksgiving for His answers, not just expecting our needs are met and then just moving on without giving Him the glory and honor due to His name.  We also can therefore cry out to the Lord to be relieved of an early death or extreme suffering, to be delivered from death and the grave.  This especially includes deliverance from the pit, being kept alive from judgment unto eternal life in His presence as the ultimate salvation from the grave.  Our prayers must move to praise in thanking the Lord for all He has and will do, for we are His declared holy ones as verse 4 tells us, now saints in believing and receiving Christ (1 Corinthians 1:2) because of His calling and election for deliverance.  We know that His wrath on our sin was truly for a moment, because His grace is for life.  When we agonize over our sin with many tears, we find along with king David that joy truly does come in the morning and through the mourning.  We sometimes think that nothing can move us, but we learn that is only by His grace; as soon as He appears to disappear from view in our adversity, we are immediately troubled and cry out in prayer for help until we learn to trust Him more.  Like the psalmist in this sung prayer, we want to live through the devastating adversity to instead declare His truth to others.  We ask for mercy to help in these times (Psalm 109:26, Hebrews 4:16).  We rejoice in our deliverance from each adverse circumstance and for eternal deliverance, no longer in mourning for the dead, but rejoicing in our salvation with great gladness of heart!  Why?  So that our giving glory to God in Christ who delivers us may result in unending outward praise with eternal gratefulness.  Are we thankful and praising our Lord for all He has done and will continue to do?  This is the lesson to learn from this psalm of answered prayer with grace for life everlasting.