I will praise You, Lord, forever
December 15, 2022 - Thursday, 3rd Week of Advent
Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-13
Psalm 30 narrates a drama of the psalmist on the brink of death. He was probably gravely ill and cried out to the Lord (see Ps 30:3-4). We have his prayer recorded in verses 10 and 11. It begins with three questions: “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?” (Ps 30:10). The answer to all of them is obvious. The dead people cannot praise God, only the living can. And so it is in the Lord’s interest to preserve the psalmist from death. Saved from death by the Lord’s intervention, the psalmist can proclaim God’s mighty deeds and lead others to put their trust in God.
The prayer continues with this request: “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me”. The commandment of love of God begins with, “Hear, Israel!” (Deut 6:4). What should Israel hear? That there is no other god but the Lord alone and that the people should love the Lord with their whole being. Now the psalmist, one among those who obey this commandment, pleads with the Lord to hear him. And the Lord did. Something incredible took place between verse 11, the psalmist’s call for God’s graciousness, and verse 12, where the psalmist declares that the Lord turned his lament into dancing.
The Lord answered the psalmist’s prayer and came to his rescue. At the centre of this story is the miracle of the Lord’s intervention. The circumstances “before” the Lord’s intervention are described as enemies, the nether world, and the Pit - signs of powerless desperation. The circumstances “after” God’s intervention are described as being “brought up” and “restored to life”. The situation “before” the Lord’s intervention is linked to God’s brief moment of anger and weeping. The situation “after” God’s intervention is pictured with metaphors of God’s favour and joy.
The statement that God’s anger lasts only a moment is also confirmed by Isaiah. We hear today: “In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting favour I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer” (Is 54:8). The contrasting situation of weeping and joy reminds us one of Jesus’ beatitudes, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21).
The psalm brings to mind Christ’s death and His resurrection, the event that has transformed the world. There was weeping on Good Friday evening but then, with the dawn on Easter Sunday, there was rejoicing. Christ’s defeat of death has opened to us the doors of everlasting life. We enter into this life at the moment of our baptism, when we take off our old life of sin and put on a new life for God (see Ps30:12b; Eph 4:22-24). In this way, we can fulfil the main purpose of human life, which is unending praise of our God: “O Lord my God, I will praise You forever” (Ps 30:13).