Psalm 30 portrays the struggles of the life of faith within a brilliant edifice: The Jerusalem Temple, a powerful icon that portrays the faith of the community, the enduring presence of God and the sanctity of God’s promises to the Israelites. The Psalm is ascribed to David, but it is also dedicated to the construction of the Temple in 164 B.C. The title of the Psalm, “Thanksgiving and Deliverance”, gives us a sense of graciousness, which we should keep in our hearts when we read it and meditate on its message. At face value, the psalm sings a praise of thanksgiving from the psalmist towards the Lord for saving him “from going down to the pit” and the deliverance from “going down to the grave” (Ps. 30: 4 &10). However, the Psalm is an allusion towards our own struggles of the present. It is a living word which one can relate and draw fundamental principles of God’s teachings.
The complexity of the rhetoric invites us to hear the Psalm as a reflection on the fortunes of God’s people. The “Temple” becomes a layered symbol for the participation of the faithful through the centuries. …show more content…
. . does dust give you thanks” (vs.10). “His plea is that it is to the advantage of the Lord to preserve his life . . . blood here is equivalent of death.” The separation of the servant from his Lord is equated to death. He asks the Lord to be his “helper”, his divine helper in which he is brought out of his sin (vs.11). Again, we see a turn in rhetoric in part four, the psalmist is moved and “clothed with gladness” (vs.12). God has brought him out of his sin and his mourning is turned into dancing (vs.12). He gives the Lord all his praise and will “not be silent” (vs.12). we can draw from this not only the individual happiness of the psalmist but our own happiness as well. As readers, we are given a sincere sense of gladness. We are reminded of the awesomeness of the Lord and his
The complexity of the rhetoric invites us to hear the Psalm as a reflection on the fortunes of God’s people. The “Temple” becomes a layered symbol for the participation of the faithful through the centuries. …show more content…
. . does dust give you thanks” (vs.10). “His plea is that it is to the advantage of the Lord to preserve his life . . . blood here is equivalent of death.” The separation of the servant from his Lord is equated to death. He asks the Lord to be his “helper”, his divine helper in which he is brought out of his sin (vs.11). Again, we see a turn in rhetoric in part four, the psalmist is moved and “clothed with gladness” (vs.12). God has brought him out of his sin and his mourning is turned into dancing (vs.12). He gives the Lord all his praise and will “not be silent” (vs.12). we can draw from this not only the individual happiness of the psalmist but our own happiness as well. As readers, we are given a sincere sense of gladness. We are reminded of the awesomeness of the Lord and his