~Alex Wu

For His anger is but for a moment, his favor is for a lifetime; weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5 (NASB)

Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! Psalm 17:1

God is faithful and merciful. After long suffering, He will give His people relief and joy, which I fully believe. But sometimes the night of suffering seems endless, or it seems that morning has come but there is still no sign of final victory. Without that great joy, how do I receive encouragement from Psalm 30:5?

Psalm 30 was written by David after he was established as the king of Israel in Jerusalem. However, at that time the Philistines, arch-enemy of Israel, had not been completely defeated. His biggest crises had not arrived yet. His plea for God’s mercy was an on-going cry rather than an event in the past in Psalm 30. The last part of Psalm 30:5 contains literally two words: morning shout. The shout chiefly indicates a shout of victory or joy, but it may also mean a loud cry as David often did in his earnest prayers (Psalm 17:1). Weeping shows the depressed spirit of the psalmist, but a shout indicates his spiritual awakening. I may not need the final victory to come out of weeping. As long as my spirit gives an earnest cry in prayer, the situation has indeed been turned around. Morning dawns at that moment. With my spiritual vision, I have seen that my prayer is heard by God and the enemy is fleeing. Hallelujah, God has turned my shout into a battle cry. Let this morning shout bring out praise and true joy to our life!  

Father, thank you for your faithfulness and mercy. You have heard my cry and plea. You have turned my shout into an arrow to defeat the enemy. May the power of the morning shout come to anyone who is still weeping. May morning dawn in him who is still in suffering. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.