The title of this Psalm gives us some apparently cotradictory information.  It is said to be "Of David" and at the same time "For the Dedication of the Temple."  The Temple, of course, was not built in David's lifetime.  It's not unreasonable, though, to suppose that he wrote a prayer to be used on that future occasion, or that one of his compostions might not have been coopted for use in the dedication ceremony.

It's one of God's little mysteries that this psalm should happen to fall in the Lectionary on this day, when our own church closes out its fund raising campaign for a new building and commissions a mission team to travel to Peru.

The steady rythm of the psalm reflects the reality of life.  The psalm points out both the joys and sorrows of life and places all of these under the authority of God.

In the end, joy overwhelms sadness.  Mourning gives way to dancing.  The reader is reminded that such dramatic reversals invite us to praise the delivering God.