A few thoughts on the Psalm for July 8, 2007 (6^th Sunday after Pentecost)

-revcamp

Psalm 30
New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.
^[1]
1 I will exalt you, O LORD ,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
² O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.
³ O LORD , you brought me up from the grave ^[2] ;
you spared me from going down into the pit.

The calling out needs to happen before we go any further. God prepares a place for us, we need to seek after it. The Psalmist seems to be relaying the possibilities of being saved from an empty life or the eternal death because of calling out to God.

⁴ Sing to the LORD , you saints of his;
praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
God can be angry with you in this moment and yet you may still be in God’s favor. This is almost akin to the phrase, “Today is today, but tomorrow is a new day”.

⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
⁷ O LORD , when you favored me,
you made my mountain ^[3] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.
The Psalmist again seems to say, “I thought I could do it all and I realized that all I had done was because of you, O God.”

⁸ To you, O LORD , I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What gain is there in my destruction, ^[4]
in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, O LORD , and be merciful to me;
O LORD , be my help.”
The Psalmist finally comes around (he often does) to seeking after God again, and asking to come back into the shared life God has prepared, rather than chasing the Psalmist’s own plans.

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
Remember sackcloth designates one as removed from community. The invocation of sackcloth and being then clothed anew in joy speaks to the return to community, as part of being restored to God’s presence.

Footnotes

1. Title: Or palace

2. 30:3 Hebrew Sheol

3. 30:7 Or hill country

4. 30:9 Or there if I am silenced