Easter 3
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
-- Psalm 30:3
The lectionary places this psalm as a response to the story of Saul's conversion. It is enlightening to read it as a prayer that Saul may have uttered following his experience. During the several days that Saul stayed in Damascus with the disciples, you can imagine this familiar psalm being prayed in a new context. Recognizing what had happened to him, Paul could have prayed, "I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up." In light of what had happened to him, could he not see his own zealotry as a cry for help, and so he would have prayed, "O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me." His very fanaticism was leading his soul to destruction, and God had saved him. "O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit." While God would have had every reason to judge Paul harshly for his actions, Saul experienced that the judgment of God is for salvation. "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."
Saul could freely acknowledge his self-righteous confidence that he was executing God's judgment by persecuting those new believers. In retrospect, he could now see that God had used that very confidence to turn him around. "As for me, I said in my prosperity, 'I shall never be moved.' By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed." In the shattering moment on the road to Damascus, he discovered that God had not abandoned him (v. 8), and Saul chose a life rescued by forgiveness rather than some abstract judgment that could only result in death (v. 9). Out of Saul's experience of death and resurrection he could pray, "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."
Psalm 30, when prayed in the light of Saul's experience, can become our prayer when we become overwhelmed by our own betrayal and wonder at the forgiving grace of God.
-- Psalm 30:3
The lectionary places this psalm as a response to the story of Saul's conversion. It is enlightening to read it as a prayer that Saul may have uttered following his experience. During the several days that Saul stayed in Damascus with the disciples, you can imagine this familiar psalm being prayed in a new context. Recognizing what had happened to him, Paul could have prayed, "I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up." In light of what had happened to him, could he not see his own zealotry as a cry for help, and so he would have prayed, "O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me." His very fanaticism was leading his soul to destruction, and God had saved him. "O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit." While God would have had every reason to judge Paul harshly for his actions, Saul experienced that the judgment of God is for salvation. "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."
Saul could freely acknowledge his self-righteous confidence that he was executing God's judgment by persecuting those new believers. In retrospect, he could now see that God had used that very confidence to turn him around. "As for me, I said in my prosperity, 'I shall never be moved.' By your favor, O Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain; you hid your face; I was dismayed." In the shattering moment on the road to Damascus, he discovered that God had not abandoned him (v. 8), and Saul chose a life rescued by forgiveness rather than some abstract judgment that could only result in death (v. 9). Out of Saul's experience of death and resurrection he could pray, "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."
Psalm 30, when prayed in the light of Saul's experience, can become our prayer when we become overwhelmed by our own betrayal and wonder at the forgiving grace of God.
