for the dedication of the temple. Of David.
¹ I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
² O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.
³ O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.
⁴ Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
⁶ When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”
⁷ O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.
⁸ To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.”
¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

This psalm of dedication for the Temple came from David’s experiences of daily walking with God. Paul like David also had many incidents in his daily walk with Christ. Oswald Chamber’s devotional for February 6 centered on II Timothy 4:6 where Paul stated, “I am already poured out as a drink offering…”.  Paul knew that his time on earth was near, and that his work for Christ was almost finished.  In this devotional Oswald Chambers reveals three characteristics that will come from our experience of being broken bread and poured out wine.  First God will send you through an explainable crisis in private, one where no other person (even those close to you) can help you.  I believe God has given us the book of Job to help us through these times.  For then we go through a time of crisis it is usually like Job’s crisis where no one including Job himself could explain why it was happening.  The second characteristic of this crisis that we must understand is the way we must deal with the crisis.  Sympathy will be showered on us by others when we try to handle the crisis in our own strength.  However, the true work of the crisis does not come until we deal with the crisis with God and God alone.   This process is just like offering a sacrifice, it must go through the fire, be purified and set apart for God’s use.  The third and last characteristic that happens in your life is when another crisis arises, you now realize that God is always presence, even though you might not be able to see him.  Any crisis that is faced after going through this process will no longer touch us like they did in the past.  People will see the change in you but cannot usually explain it unless they have been through this process too.

As I read verse one the words “for you lifted me out of the depths” seem to describe those to whom the Lord uses for his special purposes on this earth.  It is the process of regeneration, of Christ living in us, that transforms us into an instrument that God can use for his ministry.  As you read this Psalm notice how it is God that makes things happen.  He is the one that lifts me up, heals me, brings me up from the grave, spares me from the pit, who favors me, makes me stand, who turns my wailing into dancing, and removes my sorrow and clothes me with joy.