Psalm for the 3rd Sunday of Easter (C)

Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13

This week’s responsorial psalm is from Psalm 30, a joyful thanksgiving for deliverance from the brink of death and despair.

I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

The psalmist praises God for rescuing him from some kind of near-death experience — perhaps illness, spiritual desolation, or another grave trial.

“The netherworld” (Sheol) refers to the realm of the dead in Hebrew thought, here used metaphorically to express how close the psalmist came to death.

God’s intervention not only preserved his life but also protected him from public shame at the hands of his enemies.

Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name.

Moved by gratitude, the psalmist invites the community (“his faithful ones”) to join in worship and thanksgiving, recognizing that praise is not only personal but communal.

In biblical thought, a name is not merely a label — it expresses the essence, character, and presence of the person. To give thanks to God’s holy name is to honor who God is in his fullness: his mercy, justice, power, and steadfast love.

For his anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing.

This verse affirms God’s justice and mercy: while divine correction may come, it is brief compared to the enduring nature of God’s favor.

Sorrow may visit us temporarily, but joy comes with God’s deliverance.

Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me; O LORD, be my helper.

The psalmist turns again in prayer to God, pleading for mercy (“have pity on me”) and for grace to help in his time of need (“be my helper”).

You changed my mourning into dancing; O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

The transformation is complete: God has turned sorrow into joy, mourning into dancing.

In response, the psalmist commits to a life of thanksgiving: he will be forever grateful.