Psalm 30 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 30 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
Verse 2O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
Verse 3O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
Verse 4Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.
Verse 5For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Verse 6As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."
Verse 7By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
Verse 8To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication:
Verse 9"What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Verse 10Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!"
Verse 11You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
Verse 12so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
Devotion
At recent pastoral gatherings I have attended, a look of dismay has been on the faces of many of my colleagues: dismay over biblically illiterate congregations; dismay about missions driven by conflict; the general malaise of a graying flock. Their eyes echo the psalmist: What profit is there in our death, if we go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to us!
But then we see a child demonstrate faith and love, the hungry fed and the lonely enveloped by community. God’s kingdom comes and there is hope. Hope is on the horizon … but is it enough to turn my mourning into dancing? Is it enough to move my soul to praise the Lord and not be silent?
Prayer
Most gracious Lord, restore unto us the joy of your salvation and draw each of us out of the pit, that we may sing your praises and give thanks once again to your holy name. Amen.