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Psalm 30:5 - Joy Comes In The Morning.Psalm 30:5 (NLT) For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.CONTEXT David may have written this psalm when he dedicated Araunah's threshing floor (which became the future site of the Temple) and after God had stopped the great plague he had used to discipline David (1 Chronicles 21:1-22:6). The serious illness mentioned in Psalm 30:2-3 may refer to an illness David experienced or to the plague itself. [Life Application SB 2019] INTRODUCTION Whereas God's anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime. [Ryrie SB] God's anger is very short in the case of one who sins, repents, confesses, and prays for mercy (vs. 8-10). [SDA Bible Commentary] COMMENTARY PEARL God's Promises Are for Us "To blot the promises of God from the Word would be like blotting the sun from the sky. There would then be nothing to gladden our experience. God has placed the promises in His Word to lead us to have faith in Him. In these promises He draws back the veil from eternity, giving us a glimpse of the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory which awaits the overcomer. Let us, then, rest in God. Let us praise Him for giving us such a glorious revelation of His purposes. All along our pathway God places the flowers of promise to brighten our journey. But many refuse to gather these flowers, choosing instead the thorns and thistles. At every step they weep and mourn, when they might rejoice in the Lord because He has made the road to heaven so pleasant. As we look at the promises of God we find comfort and hope and joy, for they speak to us the words of the Infinite One. Properly to appreciate these precious promises we should study them carefully, examining them in detail. How much joy we might bring into life, how much goodness into the character, if we would but make these promises our own! As we journey in the upward way, let us talk of the blessings strewn along the path. As we think of the mansions Christ is preparing for us, we forget the petty annoyances which we meet day by day. We seem to breathe the atmosphere of the heavenly country to which we are journeying, and we are soothed and comforted.... Let us honor God by weaving more of Jesus and heaven into our lives. The unfailing promises of God will keep your heart in perfect peace." MLT338 COMMENTARY Long Nights The longest night of the year in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere is called winter solstice, when either of Earth's poles reaches a maximum tilt away from the sun. The word solstice, from the Latin soistitium, means "sun stands still." On this day, the apparent movement of the sun's north or south path stops before changing direction. Some people suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) on shorter winter days. The lack of sunlight in the late afternoon or early evening causes them to feel hopeless and depressed. Today's Bible verse more likely describes someone who suffered from physical illness. David's psalm is one that celebrates thanksgiving to God for recovery and is very personal. "O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit" (Psalm 30:2, 3). When David wrote that God's "anger is but for a moment," he may have been referring to an outbreak of a pestilence in Israel after he went against the Lord and counted the fighting men of his nation. Perhaps he was physically ill himself. But in faith he clung to God, whose "favor is for life." Though he endured a long night of "weeping," "joy [came] in the morning." Night is not only a time when illness is often more difficult; it is also a spiritual depiction of not seeing Jesus, "the light of the world" (John 8:12). So, if you are going through a season of difficulty and feel darkness surround you, turn to Jesus and seek the light of His glory. Morning will come. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. [The Most Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts] Although I have afflicted you, ... I will afflict you no more. (Nahum 1:12) There is a limit to our affliction. God sends it and then removes it. Do you complain, saying, "When will this end?" May we quietly wait and patiently endure the will of the Lord till He comes. Our Father takes away the rod when His purpose in using it is fully accomplished.... It is not difficult for the Lord to turn night into day. He who sends the clouds can just as easily clear the skies. Let us be encouraged - things are better down the road. Let us sing God's praises in anticipation of things to come. "The Lord of the harvest" (Luke 10:2) is not always threshing us. His trials are only for a season, and the showers soon pass. "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Ps. 30:5). "Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Cor. 4:17). Trials do serve their purpose. Even the fact that we face a trial proves there is something very precious to our Lord in us, or else He would not spend so much time and energy on us. Christ would not test us if He did not see the precious metal of faith mingled with the rocky core of our nature, and it is to refine us into purity and beauty that He forces us through the fiery ordeal. Be patient, O sufferer! The result of the Refiner's fire will more than compensate for our trials, once we see the "eternal glory that far outweighs them all."... Just as the weights of a grandfather clock, or the stabilizers in a ship, are necessary for them to work properly, so are troubles to the soul. The sweetest perfumes are obtained only through tremendous pressure, the fairest flowers grow on the most isolated and snowy peaks, the most beautiful gems are those that have suffered the longest at the jeweler's wheel, and the most magnificent statues have endured the most blows from the chisel. All of these, however, are subject to God's law. Nothing happens that has not been appointed with consummate care and foresight. [Streams In The Desert By Cowman] CLOSING THOUGHT Each morning is a new beginning of our life. Every day is a finished whole. It is long enough to find God or to lose Him, to keep faith or fall into disgrace. God created day and night for us so we need not wander without boundaries, but may be able to see in every morning the goal of the evening ahead. Just as the ancient sun rises anew every day, so the eternal mercy of God is new every morning. Every morning God gives us the gift of comprehending anew His faithfulness of old; thus, in the midst of our life with God, we may daily begin a new life with Him. The first moments of the new day are for God's liberating grace, God's sanctifying presence. Before the heart unlocks itself for the world, God wants to open it for Himself; Before the ear takes in the countless voices of the day, it should hear in the early hours the voice of the Creator and Redeemer. God prepared the stillness of the first morning for Himself. It should remain His. Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Cricket364 [Cricket364@aol.com] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY Psalm 30:5 - Joy Comes in the Morning! https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20221107-1016.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2004/20040527-0940.html http://www.abible.com/devotions/2000/20000516-0000.html Lamentations 3:22, 23 - God's Compassion, Mercy and Faithfulness. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2005/20051123-0847.html Psalm 143:8 - Waking Up With God. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2014/20141218-2007.html John 1:4, 5 - JESUS; His Light, Shines Through Darkness. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2025/20250423-1415.html 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - This, Too, Will Pass. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200403-1040.html 2 Corinthians 4:17 - Look Beyond The Gloom To The Glory! https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230422-1009.html 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - Focus on What Will Last Forever. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2024/20240209-0823.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |