Thanksgiving for Recovery from Grave Illness

Psalm 30

A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.

1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me. 2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. 3 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. 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.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” 7 By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cried, and to the Lord I made supplication: 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? 10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

It's a song of thanksgiving for God’s healing strength and presence.

We often pray for healing for those in our community and families and circle of friends, and we look to God for strength, wellness, hope and comfort.

Sometimes that healing comes. Sometimes it doesn’t. A song for tomorrow will focus on that. Blessings sometimes come even when the healing doesn’t.

And sometimes healing does come. For this we give thanks and rejoice.

I love verse 5 – there is a promise wrapped in this verse – weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Sounds like Easter to me! The sadness of Good Friday and the tears of Holy Saturday are replaced with tears of joy and shouts of Alleluia on Easter morning.

There is a promise. In the end, God wins. In the end, life wins. In the end, there is joy.

Here is the same passage from Eugene Peterson’s perspective found in The Message version of the Bible:

Psalm 30 - The Message

30 I give you all the credit, God— you got me out of that mess, you didn’t let my foes gloat.

2-3 God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together. God, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out.

4-5 All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God! Thank him to his face! He gets angry once in a while, but across a lifetime there is only love. The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter.

6-7 When things were going great I crowed, “I’ve got it made. I’m God’s favorite. He made me king of the mountain.” Then you looked the other way and I fell to pieces.

8-10 I called out to you, God; I laid my case before you: “Can you sell me for a profit when I’m dead? auction me off at a cemetery yard sale? When I’m ‘dust to dust’ my songs and stories of you won’t sell. So listen! and be kind! Help me out of this!”

11-12 You did it: you changed wild lament into whirling dance; You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers. I’m about to burst with song; I can’t keep quiet about you. God, my God, I can’t thank you enough.

Let us pray: Your great love fills us with great joy. Help us to share your joy today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen