Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Psalm 30 is full of contrasts. Our foes attack and we look to God for help. We are doomed to death and God brings life. God may be angry, but his favor lasts all our life. There’s weeping and there’s joy. In verses six and seven, we look at our prosperity and security. This is a good thing. It brings security. And this is where we find the surprising contrast of the passage. We would expect an opposite to our prosperity to be our fall. What is it really? In verse seven it is God’s favor.
Can we rely on riches? Possibly so, to some extent, for a little while. I have known some wealthy people, some who are, in fact, very wealthy. They have a security that many people lack. But compare that to the security of God’s favor! No matter how much confidence we could have in our riches, God’s power is greater. He is the one who makes our mountain strong.
I normally think of a mountain as a solid and enduring object. Countless tons of rock and soil, piled up, able to block winds, difficult to scale, virtually immovable. It will stand longer than we can. But before God, it is easily moved. Before the eternal one, it is momentary and ephemeral. Yet the Psalmist syas of God, “You made my mountain stand strong.”
We see here God’s majestic love, which condescends to care for our resources. He takes what we thought was secure and lasting, sees that it is feeble, and makes it right. Can we trust the Lord? Yes, he knows our frailty. He redeems it for the good of His kingdom, which lasts forever. For this we bring Him all glory, honor, thanks, and praise.
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