Word of Encouragement (6/16/2026)

“Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” (Ps. 30:10)‍

Why did David pray with such urgency? He found himself in danger of death: “To you, O Lord, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: ‘What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?’” (Ps. 30:8-9). How did he come into this urgent situation?

We see the reason in the preceding verses: “As for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved.’ By your favor, O Lord, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed” (vv. 6-7). It may be hard to understand what David is saying here because there are sudden turns in his thoughts. But the gist of what he says is this: because the Lord has blessed him and made his mountain (possibly, the city of David on Mount Moriah) stand strong, he became prideful and said in his heart, “I shall never be moved.” So, God hid His face and disciplined him by putting him in danger, which led him to pray this desperate prayer.

David recognized that he could not get out of the danger on his own; only by God’s mercy and help could he escape from it. So, he pleaded for God’s mercy, by which he displayed humility before God, which was a sign of his repentance.

David made another appeal: “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?” This is a daring logic. As Dale R. Davis put it, “If you don’t rescue me, you will end up in a praise deficit.” God is infinite in His glory and self-sufficiency. He does not need the praises of His creatures for His self-esteem. But it is only right that His creatures should praise Him as their Creator. He has all the right and reason to demand our praise, not for His personal benefit, but for the maintenance of moral rectitude in the universe.

Yet, David spoke as though God needed his praise. But that need not be the case. He was not making this appeal on the basis of his worth or the worth of his praise to God; he was doing so on the basis of God’s love for him. He was banking on God’s delight in his praises, particularly of His mercy. So, he began this Psalm by praising God for His mercy in delivering him from his foes and Sheol (vv. 1-3).

We know this to be even truer of us, who believe in Jesus Christ. The cross of Jesus Christ shows how much He loves us. We also know that He saved us, that “you may proclaim the excellences of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). If so, shouldn’t we praise His glorious grace as long as He gives us breath?