Not Silent Souls – Psalm 30

A text – Psalm 30

30:1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
30:2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
30:3 O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
30:4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.
30:5 For 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.
30:6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
30:7 By your favor, O LORD, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
30:8 To you, O LORD, I cried, and to the LORD I made supplication:
30:9 “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?
30:10 Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me! O LORD, be my helper!”
30:11 You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
30:12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

A reflection:

The miracles Jesus did in our Gospel text for this week could certainly have provoked this psalm to be sung. People whose health has been restored might certainly have recited this psalm of praise after lamentations. People whose daughter had died and then been raised surely could have raised the roof with this psalm. They were brought up from hell and made whole again.

One might ask, well, if God blesses someone, does God really need to hear that person bless and thank God for that? Is God waiting around to get acknowledgement of the gifts we are given every day? Well, I like this psalm because the singer says she is going to praise God for all the good things God has given her. For all the times she was suffering and felt she was in Sheol, in hell, and then God healed her. For all the times she cried out for help, and the Lord turned her mourning into dancing…”so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.”

The next time we are filled with joy or relief or just have a wonderful night’s sleep, let our souls not be silent. Let us praise God for the gifts we are given every day. Not so much because God needs the thanks, but because if we are in relationship with God, we need to breathe out our gratitude.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the psalms that teach us to praise you and turn to you in all times. We are in relationship with you, of Lord, and for our own well-being we need to acknowledge you daily with praise and thanksgiving. Help us remember to do that, to not forget how good you are to us.  Amen.