We should hem all our blessings with praise lest they unravel.
Let us never forget to pray, nor ever doubt the success of prayer.
Psalm 1
1 I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
8 I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.
9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
Psalm 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 30 – “Joy Cometh in the Morning”
This psalm dates from II Samuel 5:11. What a contrast between Adullam’s cave and the house of cedar! When God has lifted us up in mercy, we should lift Him up in song.
Apparently David had been passing through a time of sickness or intense sorrow, and now he could not be thankful enough for God’s redeeming mercy. When shall we realize that God both forgives sin and redeems us from its eternal consequences! Weeping is here personified; she is only a lodger, who tarries for the brief Eastern night, and then, veiled, glides out of the house at daybreak. With the first ray of light Joy comes to abide, and we hear His hearty salutation in the vestibule.
We need more of the joy of the Lord. The first touch of pain makes us cry, Psalm 30:8; but we are slow to put on and wear the girdle and the garments of gladness. Be of good cheer, sad friend; God will yet turn “the shadow of death into the morning” (Amos 5:8)! —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 30:5—Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
See, at nightfall, a black-vestured guest comes to thy heart. Thou must let him in; he brings a warrant from your King for his quartering and entertainment. But he is only a lodger; he has no abiding-place with thee; at daybreak he must be gone. Canst thou not bear with him for these brief hours? It is only for the brief space of an Eastern summer-night. Let the first tint of the dawn flush yon sky, he will go. Like the ghosts of fable, he dies in the light.
Now, see, the morning breaks! Who is this hurrying up the hill, and knocking at the door? Hark to his joyous shout! Who is this? Ah! It is Joy. The child of the morning light! The first-born of Resurrection! And he comes not as a lodger, but as the Lord and Master of Life, to abide forever. Oh, welcome him in the name of the Lord, and throw open each chamber and each closet in your heart, that all may be filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. And as he enters, sorrow and sighing flee away. They have passed out at the back as he came in at the front.
Joy in the morning at the resurrection of Jesus: Joy in the coming of the Savior for his bride: Joy as the Millennium breaks on the world: Joy when the Eternal Day comes to gladden those who have drunk of Christ’s sorrow, and shall share his bliss.
Child of God, be on the outlook to welcome Joy. Do not fear his advent, nor thrust him away. Milton’sL’Allegro is a truer presentation of Christian experience than Il Penseroso, “Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee” (Deuteronomy 26:11). —Our Daily Homily