Sing Praises

Psalm 30 reads in part:

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up…
I cried to you for help, and you have healed me…
…you brought up my soul… and restored me…

These verses sound like the poetry, like the song of someone who has just been through the depths of despair and come out on the other side.

I think most of us, have had that experience of coming out on the other side of a long illness or getting a glimpse of light or hope after a tragedy or great loss. Or, even other times when we experience great beauty or joy in the midst of it all, and we can’t help but sing.

And this psalm, which is a prayer of praise – invites us to join in this praise.

Sing praises to the Lord… give thanks to his holy name.

If we were to back up just a little bit, the title of this Psalm reads: A Song at the Dedication of the Temple – which means that it would have been used in a public worship setting.

And so I have to imagine that there were people in this worship setting who heard these words, this poetry, this song who were feeling some measure of anxiety. I have to imagine there were people there who were worried about their situation and who wondered, “What kind of world will our children or grandchildren grow up in? What will their lives be like?” I have to imagine there were people there who were longing for healing, perhaps asking: will this diagnosis; this disease, this problem get to have the last word in my life? Or is there hope?

And I have to imagine that when this Psalm read was out loud or sung by a congregation, people would hear its overwhelming tone of joy; they would hear the witness of the community over a thousand years; they would hear this powerful reminder that God had moved in people’s lives in the past; a reminder that we worship a God who rescues, who redeems, who saves. And I have to imagine, these words would have to give them a measure of hope.

But this Psalm does something else as well… It also reminded them, and it reminds us, that we have this same power to bring hope with our own words and with our own stories… Notice the verbs again in the Psalm: sing praises, give thanks. In other words, don’t keep this inside. If you have seen God’s hand at work in your life, you’ve got to share it… What this Psalm does for you, you can do for others!

Let us pray: We don’t have to look far, O God, to see your hand at work in our lives. And so again this day, we praise you. Help us to share our joy, our hope, and our love with those most in need. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.