Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 30 NIRV, Ch. 31-32 CEV

Podcast Introduction

This Psalms Wednesday. Our chapters will be 30-32 I’m calling the episode, “The Grace of God.” I will of course have an introduction for you before reading each chapter.

And it’s December 14th, so we’ll have Christmas Question number 14 today, sent in by —-Of course, our Christmas expert, James Cooper of whychristmas.com has an answer for him.

And it’s Wednesday, so we will have a short time of prayer.

S132E074Art1400-snow covered mountains with shooting star — Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Benjamin Voros on Unsplash

Comments on Psalms 30-32

One thing we learn from the Psalms is that David didn’t hold back. When he was down, he wrote about it. When he was up, he wrote about that. Of course, we know that David was far from a perfect man, right? Sure, he was the kid who killed Goliath. He became the king of Israel. He wrote these wonderful songs, which became the book of Psalms. But he was also a failure as a father, judging by what happened to his family, he was an adulterer and a murderer.

The fact that he had the failings he had, and still was called a man after God’s own heart should give each one of us encouragement, especially in the light of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. In His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus conquered sin and death. So for those who have asked Him to be their Lord and Savior, we know that God sees us through the lens of grace.

So when we stumble, let’s not let circumstances keep us down. Let the fact of God’s grace give us strength to stand up and keep reaching for the prize.

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Transcript

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Psalms 30-32: The Grace of God (LSFAB S13E074)

[TEASER – 0:00]
Keep reaching for the prize.

[INTRO S13E074 – 0:09]
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we are reading together through the entire Bible in a year. The website is lifespringmedia.com. I’m glad you’re here. This is Psalms Wednesday, and our chapters will be 30 through 32. I’m calling the episode “The Grace of God.” And I will of course have an introduction for you before reading each chapter.

And it’s December 14, so we’ll have Christmas question number 14a, 14b, and 14c sent in by Mike Haner. Of course, our Christmas expert, James Cooper, has answers on all three. And being Wednesday we will have a short time of prayer.

But before we read, let’s pray.

[OPENING PRAYER – 0:57]
Our Father, we thank you so much for our time together around your Word. We thank you for it. We thank you for your Word and for the time together. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Okay, let’s begin.

[INTRO TO PSALM 30 – 1:11]
Psalms, chapter 30. The title of this psalm depending on the translation is “A song, a song at the dedication of the house of David.” Some translations use the word “temple” instead of “house,” so “A song at the dedication of the temple of God.” The King James, the New King James, the Complete Jewish Bible, the Christian Standard Bible, Holman Christian Standard, etc. all say, “the house of God.” And then a couple of the newer translations like the New Living Translation, the Contemporary English Version, and even the older Revised Standard Version use the word “temple.”

Well, some scholars believe that this was written by David for the dedication of David’s Palace, which was built before the temple. Others including Charles Spurgeon believe that David wrote it before the temple was ever built. You see, God had told David that he would not be the one to build a temple, but that his son, Solomon, would be the one to build it. So perhaps he wrote this song so that it could be sung at the dedication of the temple. We don’t know for sure.

Well, with there being no across-the-board agreement on whether this was for the dedication of David’s palace or the temple, all I can say is it doesn’t really matter for our purposes. The fact is that the psalm doesn’t even mention the house or the temple. Whether it was for the palace or the temple, David wanted everybody’s attention to be on God. This is really a psalm of praise for God or to God. With that said, here’s Psalms chapter 30.

[PSALM 30 (NIRV) – 2:47]
Psalms, chapter 30.

(1) Lord, I will give you honor.
You brought me out of deep trouble.
You didn’t give my enemies the joy of seeing me die.
(2) Lord my God, I called out to you for help.
And you healed me.
(3) Lord, you brought me up from the place of the dead.
You kept me from going down into the pit.

(4) Sing the praises of the Lord, you who are faithful to him.
Praise him, because his name is holy.
(5) His anger lasts for only a moment.
But his favor lasts for a person’s whole life.
Weeping can stay for the night.
But joy comes in the morning.

(6) When I felt safe, I said,
“I will always be secure.”
(7) Lord, when you gave me your help,
you made Mount Zion stand firm.
But when you took away your help,
I was terrified.

(8) Lord, I called out to you.
I cried to you for mercy.
(9) I said, “What good will come if I become silent in death?
What good will come if I go down into the grave?
Can the dust of my dead body praise you?
Can it tell how faithful you are?
(10) Lord, hear me. Have mercy on me.
Lord, help me.”

(11) You turned my loud crying into dancing.
You removed my clothes of sadness and dressed me with joy.
(12) So my heart will sing your praises. I can’t keep silent.
Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.

[INTRO TO PSALM 31 – 4:14]
Psalm 31. The title is “To the chief musician.” And Charles Spurgeon said of this psalm, “The dedication ‘To the chief musician’ proves that this song of mingled measures and alternate strains of grief and woe, was intended for public singing and thus a deathblow is given to the notion that nothing but praise should be sung.”

So David sometimes sang the blues. But isn’t that point that Spurgeon made interesting? How many songs are written for the church today that are not songs of praise? I daresay not many, and perhaps that’s appropriate. But as we’ve seen from our reading of the Psalms thus far, David did not shy away from writing about the troubles in his life. And the fact that so many of the Psalms reflect the difficulties that we sometimes face tells us that God wants us to bring those troubles to him. Like a good loving father, he wants us to trust him, to help us in the midst of difficult times.

Now, portions of the psalm are quoted in many other places in the Bible as well. Most notably, the last words Jesus spoke on the cross were from verse 5, “Into your hand, I commit ...