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
This psalm is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving after having been healed from serious illness that brought the psalmist to the brink of death. This theme is made clear in the first three verses and makes the psalm a perfect match for this week’s gospel reading. Verses 6-12 are a rehearsal of the experience that brought the psalmist to the point of praise. Verses 6-9 especially speak to my own experience. When the psalmist is healthy, he feels secure, even arrogant: nothing bad will ever happen to me! But as soon as he gets sick, all that confidence goes right out the window! He cries out to God for healing. He even bargains with God: will my dust praise you from the grave? But in the end, he is restored to health, and he sings praises. “I will give you thanks forever!”
Prayer
Gracious God, your mercies are too many to number. We will give you thanks forever. Amen.
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