Joy in the morning
When everything’s going well, we can forget that we exist for God’s sake, not vice-versa. When we do, God sometimes uses pain or grief to reorient us to himself, his ultimate goal being our true freedom and joy.
A David psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple.
1 I exalt you, YHWH
because you raised me up
refusing to let my enemies
rejoice over my defeat.
2 YHWH my God,
I cried out to you for help
and you gave me back my life.
3 You snatched me out of the grave, YHWH
stopped my free fall into the pit
in mid-air.
4 Sing to YHWH
all you who are loyal to his covenant!
Give thanks at every mention of his holy name.
5 Because his anger lasts but a moment
his favor a lifetime.
Weeping may stay overnight
but in the morning—what joy!
6 Once when everything was going my way
I crowed, “Nothing can stop me now!
God’s blessing has made me unshakable!”
7 But the moment you hid your face from me
I was panic-stricken.
8 I cried out to you, YHWH.
I begged the Lord for mercy:
9 “What will you gain if my blood is shed?
How can my departure from this life
possibly benefit you?
Will my decomposing flesh praise you?
And how convincing would it be
if my corpse attested to your faithful care?
10 Hear me, YHWH!
Be gracious to me!
Help me, YHWH!”
11 You turned my mourning into dancing—
stripped my sackcloth off me
and dressed me in pure joy!
12 So now I can’t help but praise you—
can’t keep quiet!
YHWH, my God
I will give you thanks forever!
We live our lives with God not sitting in the audience as spectator, but rather playing opposite us, as the lead actor in every scene we’re in. We depend on him as the play’s director too, such that his smile is joy, his frown distress.
David introduces us to one act in his play before giving particulars, including a few lines of his dialogue with God (vv. 6-10). We don’t know his specific context, only that David had become overconfident, presumptuous. Imagine young David beaming in Saul’s court—everyone’s hero—only for him later to flee for his life, the insanely jealous Saul in hot pursuit. By turning away from David, God instantly reoriented him, reminding him of who needed whom.
The little guy desperate for the big guy’s favor often becomes servile, fawning. But God doesn’t want that of us, and David doesn’t give it. Verse 9 offers a perfect example of the sort of honesty God wants, as David weaves a little black humor into his plea for pity, asking God if his decaying corpse would attest to God’s faithful care.
David concludes by remembering God’s sudden rescue, which led to his ecstatic joy, grateful praise, exuberant dancing, and this rock-solid truth: God’s anger doesn’t define him. It’s brief, momentary, long outlived by his favor. Weeping may stay as an unwelcome overnight guest, but in the morning—overwhelming joy. So, David can’t help but praise God for his spectacular rescue and his faithfulness.
Prayer:
You smile on me, Jesus, and I think I’m the star of the show and forget my constant need of you. Thank you for revealing myself to me in your withdrawal. Keep me humbly trusting that your anger gives way to grace, a tear-filled night to a joy-filled dawn. Amen.
In your free moments today, meditate on these words:
His anger lasts but a moment
his favor a lifetime.
Weeping may stay overnight
but in the morning—what joy!
