The Holy Spirit, a well of joy (Pt. 1)

Exploring in fragments the themes of joy, God's oft-neglected Spirit, and our resurrection

Psalm 30
A psalm — a song used at the dedication of the temple; by David.

I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,

   and did not allow my enemies to gloat over me.

O Lord my God,

   I cried out to you and you healed me.

O Lord, you pulled me up from Sheol;

   you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.

Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers of his;

   give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a brief moment,

   and his good favor restores one’s life.

   One may experience sorrow during the night,

   but joy arrives in the morning.

In my self-confidence I said,

   “I will never be upended.”

Oh Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.

   Then you rejected me and I was terrified.

To you, O Lord, I cried out;

   I begged the Lord for mercy:

“What profit is there in taking my life,

   in my descending into the Pit?

   Can the dust of the grave praise you?

   Can it declare your loyalty?

Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me!

   O Lord, deliver me!”

Then you turned my lament into dancing;

   you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.

So now my heart will sing to you and not be silent;

   O Lord my God, I will always give thanks to you. (NET)

¹A few months ago, I found myself chewing on Psa 30 throughout my day after reading Rom 6-8 that morning. The concept of experiencing spiritual death, burial, and resurrection alongside Jesus through baptism seemed to have some thematic overlap with David’s grateful praise after being rescued from the realm of the dead. If we have been “buried therefore with him by baptism into death”² before being “raised from the dead” alongside Christ (Rom 6:1-11, cf. Col 2:11-12, 1 Pet 3:21), then I think we can relate to David’s psalm on a new level. David had apparently been rescued from physical harm after a period of sorrow, whereas we have been rescued from spiritual death after a lifetime as enemies of God.

Although it was surely unintentional on David’s part, Psa 30 is functionally a poetic description of baptism. In a sense, David was rescued from the realm of the dead, just like we were (“Oh Lord, you pulled me up from Sheol”), and he responded with praise, thanks, and joy, just like we do (“you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy”). Is that where the connection ends?

As it turns out, it’s only the beginning.³

Language similar to Psa 30 is found in Psa 16, one of the psalms commonly recognized as Messianic in context:

I have set the Lord always before me;

   because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

   my flesh also dwells secure.

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

   or let your holy one see corruption.

You make known to me the path of life;

   in your presence there is fullness of joy;

   at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psa 16:8-11)

In Psa 30, David joyfully thanks God for rescuing him from harm. Here in Psa 16, David seems to have a similar attitude despite knowing death is inevitable; he will die and his soul will enter Sheol, but it will not be abandoned by God. Like other righteous people of God in the Old Testament, he understood there would be a resurrection of believers on the Day of the Lord.⁴

Later, in the New Testament, Peter—with the help of the Holy Spirit—recognized a connection between David’s hope and the kingdom brought about by Jesus. In one of the most important moments in Acts, he quotes these words of David and does something unique with it: he quotes the psalm as if it were Jesus who spoke the words through David’s mouth:

For David says concerning him,

   “I saw the Lord always before me,
      for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
   therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
      my flesh also will dwell in hope.
   For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
      or let your Holy One see corruption.
   You have made known to me the paths of life;
      you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”

Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. (Acts 2:25-33)

The importance of this passage cannot be overstated: it is in Acts 2 that the kingdom of God every worshipper of Yahweh had been yearning for (Acts 1:4-8) is finally poured out on all in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had been poured out as visible tongues of fire and was about to be spread to thousands (Acts 2:41) who would go on to extend the kingdom of God throughout the earth. Earlier in his sermon, Peter quoted Joel 2, pointing out to his audience the “last days” had come, the days in which God declared, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh…And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:16-21).⁵

It’s an important passage to say the least, and I don’t have anything to say about it that hasn’t been said. But I’d like to zoom in on the end of Peter’s quote of Psa 16: “you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” Some translations read “joy” instead (KJV, NET, NIV, etc.). So the coming of the Holy Spirit is associated, in literary terms if not necessarily theological, with being filled with gladness or joy in the presence of God. Some other examples of this association include:

“But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” (John 17:13)

“And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:17)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom 15:13)

By now, you might be wondering where we got off track. This is cool and all, but what has all this got to do with Psa 30 and baptism and resurrection again? We recognized an unintentional connection on David’s part between his psalm of joyful praise and baptism, but what about what David actually meant? Let me read the heading of Psa 30 again:

A psalm — a song used at the dedication of the temple; by David.

I hope this teaser provokes some fun moments for you like it did for me. Part 2 will flesh out the connections a little further.⁶

1. Biblical quotations will be from the ESV unless otherwise specified.

2. Rom 6:4.

3. Many passages will be quoted without my covering their context; I encourage you to be like the Bereans. The intent here is not proof-texting or systematic theology, but a purview of scriptures where certain literary threads are visible. To be theologically complete, which is not my goal here, each passage would need to be explored in fuller context.

4. Compare to Psa 49:10-15, Ezek 47:1-14, and the parable of Jesus in Luke 16:19-31.

5. Compare to the hope of Moses in Num 11:26-30.

6. The image used for the post header is from a video by the Bible Project.