The Blessings in Answered Prayer – Psalm 30

1. Read: Psalm 30

2. About the Text:

1) The background of this Psalm was some illness David experienced.

2) He was so ill, that it delayed the dedication of his new house.

3) Upon recovery, he wrote this song and presented it at this dedication.

4) There is no indication that a miracle was performed by God to heal David.

5) Nevertheless, David credits God’s answering prayer for his recovery.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. God lifted David up.

1) David sings praise to God for lifting him up out of sickness.

2) He praises God for not letting his enemies rejoice over him because of death.

2. God lifted David up because David lifted God up in prayer.

1) “I cried out to you, and you healed me.”

2) Evidently, David thought he would die from this illness.

3) His soul was brought up from the grave; God kept him alive.

3. When we are anxious, God wants us to pray!

1) “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

2) “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).

4. God heals!

1) Sickness and death came from man’s fall in the garden (Genesis 3:19).

2) But God wants to heal!

3) God heals physically – “When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities ??And bore our sicknesses’” (Matthew 8:16-17).

4) God heals mentally – “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:7).

5) God heals spiritually – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

5. Do we ask?

1. David’s praise comes from joy.

1) He exhorts all saints to praise God.

2) He exhorts them to give thanks when you remember His name.

2. David’s joy comes from God’s grace.

1) Sickness is an expression of God’s anger at man’s sin.

2) But this is momentary – “weeping may endure for a night.”

3) God’s favor/grace is for life; it is constant/enduring – “But joy comes in the morning.”

3. For the child of God, suffering is conquered by joy.

1) “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

2) “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

3) “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

4) “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

4. We should always rejoice! (Philippians 4:4).

1. David contemplates his attitude before his sickness.

1) Prosperity generated this attitude.

2) It created false confidence in his own abilities.

3) He declared, “I shall never be moved.”

4) David had gotten to the point where he thought he had been established by his own efforts!

5) All it takes is one serious illness to prove that is not the case.

2. David contemplates what his sickness taught him.

1) By God’s favor/grace his kingdom was established.

2) If God hides His face, we should be troubled.

3. Life is at each moment a product of God’s grace.

1) “for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

2) “and upholding all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3).

3) “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17).

4. We never have occasion to glory in our own accomplishments.

1) “Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land’ . . . . It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but …. that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness . . . .” (Deuteronomy 9:4-6).

2) “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, ??Let not the mighty man glory in his might, ??Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; ??But let him who glories glory in this, ??That he understands and knows Me, ??That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. ??For in these I delight,’ says the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

3) “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’” (Luke 17:10).

5. David was saved by grace through faith and so are we.

1. David prayed.

1) What would his death accomplish?

2) How could he continue his praise and declaration of God’s truth?

3) He asks God for mercy and help.

2. It is God and God alone who gives our life meaning.

1) David is not saying, “If I die, no one else will praise you. No one else will tell your truth.”

2) He is saying, “Praising God and telling His truth is the only life that is worth living.”

3. The world and everything in it cannot satisfy.

1) “Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:17).

2) “All flesh is as grass, ??And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. ??The grass withers, ??And its flower falls away, ??But the word of the LORD endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25).?

3) “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, ??And the heavens are the work of Your hands. ?They will perish, but You will endure; ??Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; ??Like a cloak You will change them, ??And they will be changed. ??But You are the same, ??And Your years will have no end” (Psalm 102:25-27).

4. Only God can bring meaning to our lives and make them worth living.

1) “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: ??Fear God and keep His commandments, ??For this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

2) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).

5. Ultimate meaning is seated in God and God alone.

1. David acknowledges God’s greatness.

1) God turned his mourning into dancing.

2) God put off his sackcloth and clothed him with gladness.

2. David recognizes that God is worthy of worship.

1) He will sing praises to God and not be silent.

2) He will give thanks to God forever.

3. We must worship God for the good that He does for us every day.

1) “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:14).

2) “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

4. We worship God because of the good that He does for us.

1. Answered prayer brings the blessings of . . .

1) Healing

2) Joy

3) Humility

4) Meaning

5) Worship

2. Invitation