Psalm Meditation 1009
Proper 24
October 20, 2019

Psalm 30
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.
(NRSV)

As parents, when we are dealing with a child due to unacceptable behavior, it is not the child that draws our ire, it is the behavior. As children being disciplined, punished, or scolded we take the whole situation quite personally, knowing that we are personally disliked by the parent on the other side of our situation. We curl up and withdraw or stand firm and defiant. Either way, we have taken this as personal judgement against us as people. In the heat of the moment we do not feel like persons of sacred worth, we feel more like scolded puppies.

The psalmist points out that being disciplined by God puts us in a similar situation. We feel as if we are being punished more than we deserve, we feel as if it is our personhood being judged as unworthy, and we are tempted to turn away from God since we are not worthy anyway. The psalmist says, “[God’s] anger is but for a moment; [God’s] favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” It is a reminder that God does not hate us, God loves us. Even when we have done something sinful, God continues to love us. It is God’s love for us that leads to our discipline.

God is not out to destroy us through punishment, God is out to teach us through discipline. Any correction can feel like a personal attack; most corrections are out of love, whether it be God or another doing the correcting. Even though we may feel pain in the moment, there is good that can come out of being disciplined/taught. “You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.”


October 13, 2019
LCM lcrsmanifold@att.net
http://psalmmeditations.blogspot.com/