Psalm 30:11-12 You turned my wailing into dancing;
    you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

The heading for this Psalm says, “A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.” However, David wasn’t alive when the temple was built. That said, he was very involved in preparing the finances and materials for the temple, and it seems entirely reasonable that he would have written this Psalm at that time for it to be used once the temple was completed. That indicates that it was written in his old age, which shows that gifting is operative throughout a person’s life. These two verses were set to music early in the Charismatic Movement, I believe, and I have sung them a lot in both English and Japanese. The Psalm as a whole alludes to various problems David had, but not specifically. For all of his writing about “going down to the pit,” in verse 9 and various other Psalms, I think David had a strong conviction that his connection to God would not end with his physical death, and that is reflected in the very last line of this Psalm. At the time he wrote this, David didn’t know of the Son of God who would come to die for his sins, but I’m sure everything fell into place once he got to heaven. Jesus said clearly, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Everyone who is saved, from Adam to the end of the world, is saved by the atoning work of Christ on the cross, even if they didn’t know about it in this life. That creates all sorts of questions about people today who die in total ignorance of the Gospel, and frankly, those questions are beyond our “mental horsepower” and authority to answer definitively. Paul said in Romans 2 that everyone will be judged according to their personal response to God. That certainly doesn’t mean Universalism, “everyone gets saved,” but it does mean that we have to release each person to God.

I certainly didn’t expect to get into this issue when I started writing this morning! However, it’s an inescapable one. This morning I read a Facebook post that told how a 25-year-old young man died in his sleep, to the total shock of the family he was visiting. There was no indication of foul play or drugs, so current indications are that it was an unrecognized medical issue. I have no knowledge of his spiritual status, but the point is driven home that none of us knows how long we have here. Having already outlived my father by over 11 years, if I were to go today people would be surprised, since I am in good health, but they wouldn’t say, “So young!” I have complete assurance of my salvation by grace through faith, and I am to spend my time actively seeking and doing the “good works” God has prepared for me to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10) In that, I am to be filled with praise and gratitude to God, as David was here, sharing the Gospel with all who will receive it, for their salvation and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the experience I had of discovering someone who had died, though he wasn’t in this house. Thank You that I have assurance that he knew Christ as his Savior and Lord, and that I will see him again before God’s throne. There are so many more around me about whom I don’t have that assurance. Help me be fully available and useful to You in bringing them to repentance and faith, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!