Psalm Meditation 1302 ¶Seventh Sunday of Easter ¶June 1, 2025 ¶Psalm 30 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2030&version=NRSVUE ¶I know someone who describes serious illnesses with these words, “First, I was afraid I was going to die, and then I was afraid I wouldn’t.” It appears that this is the type of illness the psalmist was experiencing before writing this psalm. Having been healed, there is much rejoicing over the ability and willingness of God to offer the kind of help and healing that was needed in this discomforting illness, including the rescue from the pit of Sheol, a place of silence, inactivity, and separation from God. ¶The psalmist is very pleased to have been either kept out or pulled out of Sheol by the healing hand of God. Sheol is the place of death. It is neither a place of torment nor shame, it is simply where people go after death. In this era, eternal life is being remembered by those still alive, and Sheol is essentially nothingness, and separation from God. The psalmist is bold enough to ask, “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? Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me! O LORD, be my helper!” ¶The healing power of God has a way of turning mourning into dancing, of reminding us that there is a time to mourn and a time for joy. Those times may intermingle so that we experience loss and joy, mourning and dancing in the same moment. In every moment, God is with us, “so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.” ¶May 28, 2025 ¶LCM