Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.ipc-ealing.co.uk/sermons/89807/psalm-30/.

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[0:00] Please do open up Psalm 30 again. Psalm 30, it's on page 461.! Let's pray for God's help as we consider His word. Lord God, we need your help today. Lord God, we need your help today. We need your spirit to open our eyes, to open our hearts, and to open our hearts.

[0:29] And to receive your word in faith. And so we pray that that would happen today. Would your spirit be a work in us? Help us to turn our eyes to you. And in Christ's name, we pray this. Amen. This psalm is for those of you who are at rock bottom. For those of you who are in a pit.

[0:49] It might be a pit of despair, of pain, of darkness. Maybe a pit of death. Just look at the words David uses.

[1:03] Those who go down into the pit. Those who are mourning. Those who struggle to find sleep throughout the night because you're weeping. This is a psalm for you.

[1:17] But at the same time, this is a psalm for those who are on top of the world. Who have everything they need in life. And you feel like life is going really well. And you think, yeah, I've got this.

[1:29] Those who like David said in verse 6, I shall never be moved. And you feel like you're invincible. And you're young and death can't touch you. And life is just going well.

[1:42] This is a psalm for you. Because this is a psalm. This psalm is a testimony of King David. A man who was on top of the world. But was brought down near to death.

[1:55] But the Lord restored him. And David reflects on that rollercoaster that he went through. And as he does, he realises what the Lord was doing in his life.

[2:07] He realises that the whole time, through the highs and the lows, up in the air and down in the pits, he sees what the Lord was doing. And it causes him to praise the Lord.

[2:23] And this psalm pushes us to join in with that praise. It causes those on top of the world and those at rock bottom and everyone in between to join in and praise God.

[2:37] And David leads us to this praise by showing us why God brings us down to the bottom of that pit. He shows us why the Lord does that.

[2:48] And it's not easy words to hear this morning. But they're good words for us. David says, all this, this hitting rock bottom, he says, this was all necessary so that it would bring him to God and he would rely on God.

[3:08] He realises he was brought down to the lowest point of his life to humble him. And this is the first thing that we see from Psalm 30 today.

[3:22] The Lord brings us down to the pit to humble us. Look what David experienced. Look what the Lord saved him from.

[3:32] So in verse 1, he needed drawing up. He was low. He needed healing in verse 2. Verse 3, he was down in shale.

[3:44] That's the place of death. Verse 3, again, his life was down in a pit and he needed restoring. And so the picture here is he seems to have been physically nearing death.

[3:58] His body was failing. But it wasn't just his body. He's going through spiritual and emotional turmoil too. Do you see that in verse 5?

[4:09] Weeping may tarry for the night. Tarry just means lodging. Staying the night. Weeping has been his lodger for the night.

[4:21] He couldn't sleep. He was just weeping instead. He was in a dark place. So he's spiritually and physically in the pit.

[4:33] And this is often the case, isn't it? We're body and soul. And the body can affect the soul. And the soul can affect the body.

[4:45] And when we're physically low, it can send us into a spiritual pit. And David is experiencing just that. And what caused all of this?

[4:57] What caused him to be in that pit? It's from the Lord. Look in verse 5. He felt the Lord's anger.

[5:08] And in verse 7, he says to the Lord, You hid your face. I was dismayed. The Lord did this.

[5:20] But why has the Lord done this? Well, look how he was before he was in the pit. Look at verse 6. As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.

[5:34] He was on top of the world before this. His life was comfortable. It was great. It was... He had all that he wanted. He felt invincible. I shall never be moved.

[5:46] Nothing can stop me. And that is so easily a dangerous place to be in. When we think we all have it. When life is good.

[5:58] When we think, I've got it sorted. A comfortable life can be a dangerous life. Because when we're in that place of comfort and prosperity, it's so easy to forget where all those comforts and all those securities come from.

[6:15] David forgot it too. Just look at verse 7. By your favour, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong.

[6:27] David is saying, I was so confident in myself. I thought I had it all sorted. I thought it was all me. But the whole time, it was by your favour, O Lord.

[6:41] You made my mountain stand strong. It was the Lord. And I said in my heart, it was all me. All the comforts and securities we have in this life, it's all from the Lord.

[6:57] Your health, your bank accounts, the food in your cupboard, your house, your park runs, your job, your family life. All of that, it's by God's favour.

[7:12] We don't deserve any of it. But, by his favour, by his kindness, he lavishes us with all these good gifts. And so, these comforts, these securities you have in your life, they're a good thing.

[7:28] They're from the Lord. Praise God. He makes our mountain stand strong. But that comfort can be a danger for us. In our sin, we can so easily take that for granted.

[7:42] When we're in that place, we can become self-reliant, self-confident. We become proud. We begin to think that life is just fine.

[7:53] This is pretty good. I think I've got this. I think I can do this without God. And he fades into the background. It's almost like, the more he gives us, the more we ignore him.

[8:08] Well, that's sin for you. And as we look at David in his prosperity, what do you think you want to say to David in that moment? When he says, I shall never be moved.

[8:22] It's all me. What would you want to say to him? You want to say, wake up. Don't you see, all this you have is from the Lord. Snap out of it.

[8:33] What are you talking about, David? Well, that's precisely what he needs. And mercifully, that is what the Lord does to him. Look at verse 7.

[8:46] By your favour, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong. Then you hid your face, and I was dismayed. What did the Lord do?

[8:57] He hid his face. He stopped his favour. He took all those comforts and securities away. He pulled the mountain from beneath David's feet.

[9:10] And it sent David into a dark place. He became ill. He nearly died. He went to the pit. He hit rock bottom and wept throughout the night.

[9:25] But, because of that, he turns to the Lord. In verse 8, To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy.

[9:38] Now, our sinful instincts, as we read this, we might want to say, well, the Lord shouldn't have done that. But that's our sin. Because, do you realise what God did here?

[9:53] It was incredibly merciful what he did. David was heading to a worse pit. A bottomless pit of pride and sin and godlessness.

[10:06] And the Lord woke him up by taking him out of that bottomless pit and actually placing him into a better pit. A pit that made David rely on the Lord.

[10:19] Verse 10, Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me. This is what he cries out, O Lord, be my helper. He wouldn't have said that in his prosperity, would he?

[10:32] But he's saying it now. And this is how the Lord can work. The Lord brings us down to the pit to humble us. Now, even to hear this is humbling, isn't it?

[10:47] It's hard to hear. But we need to see how merciful this is. This wasn't an easy thing for David. It was a hard time, but it was incredibly merciful.

[11:02] The Lord loved him enough to shake him out of his sin. I was told a story a few years back about a minister in America. He was a very godly minister.

[11:14] And this minister, his brother, had an affair. And his brother left his wife and he started living with this other woman. And his wife wanted him back. But he refused to return to his wife.

[11:26] And he was very happy with where he was. And this godly minister, he said to his brother, not in anger or bitterness, he very calmly said to his brother, I hope this doesn't go well for you.

[11:41] Now, he wasn't wishing evil on him at this point. Do you see what he was saying? He was speaking Psalm 30 to his brother. And thankfully, things didn't go well.

[11:55] And he did repent and he returned to his wife. And that is how the Lord can work. And this Psalm gives us a real insight into the meaning of the sufferings in our life.

[12:10] If you're a believer here today, you could well be feeling like you're in a pit. Like David, it could be physically. You could be longing for healing.

[12:23] Or maybe it's not particularly physical. Maybe it's emotional or spiritual. And you struggle to sleep. And there's a lot of weeping.

[12:36] Well, we see here what the Lord is doing. He wants you to come to him. He wants you to rely on him in this time. He wants you to come to him and cry for mercy.

[12:50] God works all things, all things in your life. He works it all together for your good, for your salvation. God uses our sufferings and our sorrows to drive us more to him.

[13:03] And it's not because the Lord hates you. It's because he loves you. Now, this can be a hard thing to hear.

[13:15] It's humbling to hear. That's the point. It's humbling. The Lord brings us down to the pit to humble us. Now, the pit you're in, maybe it's because of sin.

[13:30] Maybe like David in his pride and that man leaving his wife, maybe we've fallen into that pit. And our sorrows are there from the Lord addressing this sin.

[13:45] And we're feeling the consequences of our sin. Well, that is the Lord's mercy. That is the Lord calling you back.

[13:58] The Lord mercifully gives consequences to our sin. That is grace. But often, there isn't that one-to-one connection between our sin and our suffering.

[14:15] Maybe you can't see why this is happening. Well, the purpose is still the same. The Lord wants you to come to him. The Lord wants you to acknowledge him all the more.

[14:30] Or if you're an unbeliever here and you're at rock bottom today and you're looking for a reason, a why, some meaning behind all that's going on in your life, here it is.

[14:45] The Lord is driving you to repentance. He's calling you out of a worse pit, a bottomless pit. And he's showing you that it is only by the favour of the Lord that your mountain stands strong.

[15:00] He's taken things away from you to humble you so that you cry to him for mercy. And often, the last thing we want to do is turn to God, isn't it?

[15:18] But actually, that is precisely what we need to do. Here is the response we should have. It's not hopelessness. It's not silent.

[15:28] It's verse 10. Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me. O Lord, be my helper. This is humility.

[15:41] That is exactly what is good for us. And what about people on top of the world right now? Now, you might hear of these pits and you're thinking, well, that's just not me.

[15:54] Life is pretty good. Well, praise God that that is the case. That's a good thing. But make sure you do that. Make sure you praise the Lord.

[16:07] Don't turn into David and say, I shall never be moved. Don't forget that all this is by the Lord's favour. And for the teenagers here, that is a real temptation for you.

[16:21] You're young. You're healthy. Your back doesn't hurt when you pick up your two-year-old daughter. You feel invincible, don't you? And the troubles of life seem far off.

[16:32] Well, don't forget, it is all by the Lord's favour. He makes your mountain stand strong. Never take that for granted. Always give thanks to the Lord.

[16:45] But as we think about these pits, maybe we can't help but react. Is that it? Is that all David has to say about our sorrows?

[16:55] Because I'm still in the pit. Well, this is not a psalm of despair. This is a psalm of praise. Because the Lord allows us to go down into these pits, not to leave us there, but to restore us.

[17:11] It is in those pits that we cry out to God in mercy, and the Lord answers those cries. The Lord brings life to those in the pit.

[17:23] And this is my second and final point today. The Lord brings life to those in the pit. The Lord brings life to those in the pit. So David doesn't stay in the pit, does he?

[17:34] Look how the Lord responds to David's cries. Verse 1, Verse 2, Verse 3, Verse 5, Verse 11, God raises David up.

[17:59] He shows David even more mercy. So not only does he take him out of the bottomless pit, he raises him up out of all the pits. And so he's not just back on level ground, he's on the mountaintops.

[18:14] God hears his cry for mercy, and the Lord answers with sheer grace. What happens? His body is healed, his life is restored, his weeping ended.

[18:24] And not just ended, it's turned to joy. There's gladness in his heart. His favour is for a lifetime. Now the question you may be asking is, well when will this be for me?

[18:40] When will God restore me? I'm crying out. I'm in the pit, I'm waiting. Well before we answer that, and we will answer that, let's just pause for a moment and try to take in what we learn about God here.

[18:54] God is not the God just of teaching painful lessons. He may put us through that, but what is the picture of God we're given here?

[19:06] Who is God to his people in this psalm? He's the God of life, of healing, of resurrection, of restoration, of raising up the humbled.

[19:18] The God who wipes away tears, the God of joy and gladness. And we see that most clearly in the Lord Jesus.

[19:30] The Lord Jesus, as he faced the curse of the cross, he felt sorrow in the garden of Gethsemane. He went through a sleepless night with no rest, only torment.

[19:45] The Lord Jesus, on the cross, he felt the anger of the Lord, and he cried out, my God, why have you forsaken me? He gave up his spirit, he descended to the dead, down into the pit, down to the depths of human suffering.

[20:02] If anyone knows the sorrows of the pit, of rock bottom, it's the Lord Jesus. But there was no pride in him. There was no self-confidence, no ignoring the Lord.

[20:15] Jesus didn't go down to the pit because of his pride. No, he went down to the pit because he was carrying our pride, our self-confidence.

[20:27] All the times that we said, I shall never be moved, Jesus went down there because of that. He experienced the horrors of the bottomless pit so that you will never have to go down there.

[20:42] And his father did not leave him there. He endured the cross because there was a joy set before him, a joy that came in the morning, a Sunday morning in fact, where his life was restored, where the weeping of his disciples ended, where he marked the point of history, where the power of death ended.

[21:03] And where resurrection, hope and joy and gladness will be guaranteed to everyone who believes in him. That is our God. The God of life and restoration, that is your God.

[21:17] But you're still asking, well, when will this happen? I'm still in the pit. Well, the Lord doesn't promise that this life will be easy. He doesn't promise that all our sufferings will end in this age.

[21:31] But he does promise to give you the grace to get through them. In those humbling times where we're struggling and low, what does God promise?

[21:44] James chapter 4, God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

[21:56] The Lord can give you the grace to handle your troubles, handle them with strength and godliness. Every spiritual blessing is in Christ and he can give you the strength and the patience to get through those nights of weeping.

[22:15] The Lord has not abandoned you. He's here to restore your soul, to give you the strength that you need. The Lord gives grace to the humble.

[22:26] The Lord brings life to those in the pit. So the pain of whatever you're going through, it may not end in this life. God doesn't promise to solve everything in this age.

[22:42] But he does promise something to all his people, something glorious. He promises one day it will all end. Joy is coming in the morning of the new creation, on the day of your resurrection.

[23:00] This life, this age that we live in as we wait for Christ to return, this is all just being one big long weeping night. It's dark.

[23:13] The world cries out to be restored and healed. And it's like being in a pit. And what hope is there in this world? Those without Christ, they will suffer sleepless nights and hit rock bottom, hoping it will end.

[23:33] Hoping that somehow they will be restored. But if we're honest with ourselves, that's not hope, is it? That's just, it's wishful thinking. So what is our hope?

[23:45] What hope is there in the pit of this world? Christ is our only hope. Christ has secured an eternal joy for the world.

[23:57] All who believe in him will be raised from the dead. Your body's perfectly healed. Pain gone, tears no more. You will know the favour of the Lord forever and ever.

[24:08] And that is an actual certain hope. It's happening. It's going to happen. If you trust in Christ, you may grieve, but you will never grieve without hope.

[24:22] For all those in Christ, if you are in a pit, joy is coming in the morning. Your tears will be turned into dancing. And that is why we can praise God right now.

[24:36] It's why we should praise God right now. All this is certain for you, because he's already turned your weeping and the pit of your sin.

[24:48] He's turned it all into the gladness of forgiveness and the joy of peace with God. Christ has already restored you to life, and he will restore you to eternal life.

[24:58] One day, there will be joy forever. And brothers and sisters, joy is coming in the morning. So whether you are in the pit, whether you are on top of the world right now, let us always say, oh Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

[25:21]  And we will give thanks to him forever. Let me pray. Amen. Amen.