Psalms · Chapter 30

Verse 1. I will extol thee-for thou hast lifted me up] I will lift thee up, for thou hast lifted me up. Thou hast made me blessed, and I will make thee glorious. Thou hast magnified me in thy mercy; and I will show forth thy praise, and speak good of thy name.

I have made some remarks on this Psalm in the Introduction. In this Psalm we find seven different states of mind distinctly marked:—

1. It is implied, in the first verse, that David had been in great distress, and nearly overwhelmed by his enemies.

2. He extols God for having lifted him up, and having preserved him from the cruelty of his adversaries, Psalm 30:1-3.

3. He is brought into great prosperity, trusts in what he had received, and forgets to depend wholly on the Lord, Psalm 30:4-6.

4. The Lord hides his face from him, and he is brought into great distress, Psalm 30:7.

5. He feels his loss, and makes earnest prayer and supplication, Psalm 30:8-10.

6. He is restored to the Divine favour, and filled with joy, Psalm 30:11.

7. He purposes to glory in God alone, and to trust in him for ever, Psalm 30:12.

As it is impossible for any man to have passed through all these states at the same time; it is supposed that the Psalm, like many others of the same complexion, has been formed out of the memoranda of a diary. See this point illustrated in the Introduction.

Thou hast lifted me up] Out of the pit into which I had fallen: the vain curiosity, and want of trust in God, that induced me to number the people. Bishop Horsley translates, Because thou hast depressed me. I thank God for my humiliation and afflictions, because they have been the means of teaching me lessons of great profit and importance.

Verse 1. Thou hast lifted me up — Hebrew, yntyld, dillitani, evexisti me, Buxtorff. Dr. Waterland renders it, Thou hast drawn me up, namely, out of the deep pit, or waters, to which great dangers and afflictions are frequently compared. “The verb is used, in its original meaning, to denote the reciprocating motion of the buckets of a well; one descending as the other rises, and vice versa; and it is here applied with admirable propriety to point out the various reciprocations and changes of David’s fortunes, as described in this Psalm, as to prosperity and adversity; and particularly that gracious reverse of his afflicted condition, which he now celebrates, God having raised him up to great honour and prosperity: for, having built his palace, he perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom, for his people Israel’s sake, 2 Samuel 5:21.” — Chandler.

1. Lifted me up—The word signifies to draw up, as water from a well, or a man out of a deep pit, and is used to denote any extrication from perilous conditions. See verse 3. My foes to rejoice over me—Great as David had become in war and in peace, he was never without deadly enemies who would have rejoiced at his downfall, and only waited opportunity to accomplish it. No innocence or prudence can protect a man in power and influence from envy, rivalry, and hatred, nor a godly man from persecution.

Verse 2. Thou hast healed me.] Thou hast removed the plague from my people by which they were perishing in thousands before my eyes.

Verses 2, 3. Thou hast healed me — That is, delivered me from the fears and troubles of my mind, (which are often compared to diseases,) and from very dangerous distempers of my body. For the original word is used, either of the healing of bodily disorders, Psalm 103:3, or to denote the happy alteration of a person’s affairs, either in public or private life, by the removal of any kind of distress, personal or national, Psalm 107:20; Isaiah 19:22. Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave — My deliverance is a kind of resurrection from the grave, on the very brink of which I was. Under Saul he was frequently in the most imminent danger of his life, out of which God wonderfully brought him. Thou hast kept me alive — This he adds, to explain the former phrase, which was ambiguous. That I should not go down to the pit — That is, into the grave, which is often called the pit.

2. Thou hast healed me—The word for “healed” often means,

figuratively, to restore to prosperity, whether of a nation, (Psalm 60:2; Isaiah 6:10;) or, morally, of individuals, (Jeremiah 3:22;) or, physically, of bad waters and malarious marshes, (2 Kings 2:22; Ezekiel 47:9, 11.) David had suffered as the head of the nation, as a king and father for his people, and had been reduced to great distress and perplexity, from which he was now “healed” or restored.

Verse 3. Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave] I and my people were both about to be cut off; but thou hast spared us in mercy, and given us a most glorious respite.

Verses 2, 3. Thou hast healed me — That is, delivered me from the fears and troubles of my mind, (which are often compared to diseases,) and from very dangerous distempers of my body. For the original word is used, either of the healing of bodily disorders, Psalm 103:3, or to denote the happy alteration of a person’s affairs, either in public or private life, by the removal of any kind of distress, personal or national, Psalm 107:20; Isaiah 19:22. Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave — My deliverance is a kind of resurrection from the grave, on the very brink of which I was. Under Saul he was frequently in the most imminent danger of his life, out of which God wonderfully brought him. Thou hast kept me alive — This he adds, to explain the former phrase, which was ambiguous. That I should not go down to the pit — That is, into the grave, which is often called the pit.

3. Brought up… from the grave… the pit—The sweeping pestilence had brought him and the nation to the grave’s mouth. See 2 Samuel 24:15-17.

Verse 4. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his] Ye priests, who wait upon him in his sanctuary, and whose business it is to offer prayers and sacrifices for the people, magnify him for the mercy he has now showed in staying this most destructive plague.

Give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.] “Be ye holy,” saith the Lord, “for I am holy.” He who can give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, is one who loves holiness; who hates sin; who longs to be saved from it; and takes encouragement at the recollection of God’s holiness, as he sees in this the holy nature which he is to share, and the perfection which he is here to attain. But most who call themselves Christians hate the doctrine of holiness; never hear it inculcated without pain; and the principal part of their studies, and those of their pastors, is to find out with how little holiness they can rationally expect to enter into the kingdom of God. O fatal and soul-destroying delusion! How long will a holy God suffer such abominable doctrines to pollute his Church, and destroy the souls of men?

Verse 4. Give thanks at the remembrance — Or, at the mention, of his holiness — When you call to mind, or when others celebrate, as I do this day, the holiness of God’s nature; which he manifests by his works, by his mercy and truth, his care and kindness toward his holy ones. Of the holiness of God, or of the rectitude and sanctity of his nature, demonstrated by his faithfulness to his promises, David had the highest and most comfortable assurance. “God having, at last, brought him to the throne and settled him in the possession of it, notwithstanding he was often reduced to the greatest hazard of his life, and his advancement to the kingdom seemed, according to all human probability, almost impossible.” — Chandler.

4. Ye saints—Ye pious ones, ye who worship God, and have obtained his grace. In Psalm 29:1, the psalmist calls upon the angelic host to give glory to God; here he calls upon the devout worshippers on earth to sing. Remembrance of his holiness—Rather, the memorial of his holiness; that is, the great recent deliverance which he has wrought. The memorials of God’s holiness are his great works of redemption and providence. See Exodus 3:15; Psalm 97:12.

V. 5. Cometh-Speedily and in due season.

Verse 5. For his anger endureth but a moment] There is an elegant abruptness in these words in the Hebrew text. This is the literal translation: “For a moment in his anger. Lives in his favour. In the evening weeping may lodge: but in the morning exultation.” So good is God, that he cannot delight in either the depression or ruin of his creatures. When he afflicts, it is for our advantage, that we may be partakers of his holiness, and be not condemned with the world. If he be angry with us, it is but for a moment; but when we have recourse to him, and seek his face, his favour is soon obtained, and there are lives in that favour-the life that now is, and the life that is to come. When weeping comes, it is only to lodge for the evening; but singing will surely come in the morning. This description of God’s slowness to anger, and readiness to save, is given by a man long and deeply acquainted with God as his Judge and as his Father.

Verse 5. His anger endureth for a moment, &c. — Hebrew, wnwxrb µyyj wpab [gr, regang beappo, chaiim birzono, a moment in his anger; lives in his favour. The duration of his anger is but short; comparatively, but for a moment, but the effects of his favour substantial and durable. Commonly the afflictions which he sends on his people are of short continuance; and last but a small part of their lives: but he heaps his favours upon them for the greatest part of their present lives, and in the next life which endures for ever; of which the Chaldee paraphrast expounds this passage. And, indeed, without the consideration of eternal life, the difference between the duration of the afflictions and of the prosperous and comfortable condition of God’s people, is neither so evident nor so considerable as David here represents it. Weeping may endure for a night — Hebrew, In the evening weeping will lodge with us. Its stay will be short, like that of a guest who only lodges with us for a night: but joy cometh in the morning — hnr rqbl, laboker rinnah, for the morning there is singing: joy comes speedily, and in due season. Thus the Lord says to his church by his prophet, For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee: In a little wrath I hid myself from thee, for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, Isaiah 54:7, 8. If weeping continue for a night, and it be a wearisome night; yet, as sure as the light of the morning returns, after the darkness of the night, so sure will joy and comfort return in a short time, and in due time, to the people of God; for the covenant of grace is as firm as the covenant of the day. This word has often been exactly fulfilled to us: the grievance has soon vanished, and the grief has passed away. The tokens of his displeasure have been removed; he has lifted up the light of his countenance upon us, and the return of his favour has been as life from the dead. In this sense also, in his favour is life; it is the life, or lives of the soul, spiritual life here and eternal life hereafter. These poetical descriptions of the shortness of God’s anger, and the permanent effects of his favour, are further illustrated in the following verses by the psalmist’s own example.

5. Night… morning—The original is very terse and beautiful. In the evening weeping shall lodge with us; in the morning rejoicing. So quickly does infinite Love hasten to our relief! “His anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life.”

Verse 6. In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.] Peace and prosperity had seduced the heart of David, and led him to suppose that his mountain-his dominion, stood so strong, that adversity could never affect him. He wished to know the physical and political strength of his kingdom; and, forgetting to depend upon God, he desired Joab to make a census of the people; which God punished in the manner related in 2 Samuel 24:1-17, and which he in this place appears to acknowledge.

Verses 6, 7. In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved — I thought myself past all danger of further changes. The word ywlv, shalvi, rendered prosperity, denotes peace and tranquillity, arising from an affluent, prosperous condition. When God had settled him quietly on the throne, he thought his troubles were over, and that he should enjoy uninterrupted happiness; that God had placed him secure from all dangers, as though he had taken refuge in an inaccessible mountain, that he had made his prosperity firm, and no more subject to alteration than a mountain is liable to be removed out of its place. By thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong — Thou hast firmly settled me in my kingdom, which he calls his mountain, 1st, Because kingdoms are usually called mountains in the prophetical writings, a mountain, by its height, being a very natural representation of a superior condition. 2d, With allusion to mount Zion, the fortress of which he had lately taken, which was properly his mountain, as he had fixed upon it for his dwelling, and had there built his royal palace. All this he regarded as the effect of God’s favour to him, and promised himself that his peace and happiness, for the future, would be as undisturbed and unshaken as mount Zion itself. Thou didst hide thy face — Displeased with my presumption, and the security I had fondly promised myself, thou didst withdraw thy favour, protection, and help; and I was troubled — My dream of uninterrupted tranquillity vanished; I was quickly brought into fresh troubles, difficulties, and dangers, and saw the vanity of all my carnal confidences. Dr. Chandler thinks he refers to the two invasions of the Philistines, which happened soon after they found he had been anointed king over Israel, 2 Samuel 5:17. But, perhaps, he speaks chiefly, if not only, of distress of mind arising from a sense of God’s withdrawing the light of his countenance, and showing that he was displeased with him. In this unexpected distress he cried unto the Lord, and in his supplication expressed himself as in the following verses.

6. In my prosperity I said—Here is stated the moral cause of the personal and national affliction complained of in the psalm. From a comparison of 2 Samuel 24:1-3 with 1 Chronicles 21:1-3, it is evident that a spirit of pride, and perhaps of foreign military conquest, actuated David in taking a census of the people, and hence it was done through his generals with a detachment of soldiers, and not, as on other occasions, through the priests; certain it is, that it was highly displeasing to God, and even to Joab and the people, and punishable as being a revolt from the true spirit of the theocracy. David himself afterwards acknowledged he had “sinned greatly,” and “done very foolishly.”

V. 7. Mountain-My kingdom: kingdoms are usually called mountains in prophetical writings.

Verse 7. Thou didst hide thy face] Thou didst show thyself displeased with me for my pride and forgetfulness of thee: and then I found how vainly I had trusted in an arm of flesh.

Verses 6, 7. In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved — I thought myself past all danger of further changes. The word ywlv, shalvi, rendered prosperity, denotes peace and tranquillity, arising from an affluent, prosperous condition. When God had settled him quietly on the throne, he thought his troubles were over, and that he should enjoy uninterrupted happiness; that God had placed him secure from all dangers, as though he had taken refuge in an inaccessible mountain, that he had made his prosperity firm, and no more subject to alteration than a mountain is liable to be removed out of its place. By thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong — Thou hast firmly settled me in my kingdom, which he calls his mountain, 1st, Because kingdoms are usually called mountains in the prophetical writings, a mountain, by its height, being a very natural representation of a superior condition. 2d, With allusion to mount Zion, the fortress of which he had lately taken, which was properly his mountain, as he had fixed upon it for his dwelling, and had there built his royal palace. All this he regarded as the effect of God’s favour to him, and promised himself that his peace and happiness, for the future, would be as undisturbed and unshaken as mount Zion itself. Thou didst hide thy face — Displeased with my presumption, and the security I had fondly promised myself, thou didst withdraw thy favour, protection, and help; and I was troubled — My dream of uninterrupted tranquillity vanished; I was quickly brought into fresh troubles, difficulties, and dangers, and saw the vanity of all my carnal confidences. Dr. Chandler thinks he refers to the two invasions of the Philistines, which happened soon after they found he had been anointed king over Israel, 2 Samuel 5:17. But, perhaps, he speaks chiefly, if not only, of distress of mind arising from a sense of God’s withdrawing the light of his countenance, and showing that he was displeased with him. In this unexpected distress he cried unto the Lord, and in his supplication expressed himself as in the following verses.

7. By thy favour thou hast made, etc.—The judgment of God upon the nation, in sweeping away 70,000 people in two days and threatening the king’s life, taught him that his mountain or government—Calvin: “solid support”—that on which he firmly trusted—was made strong only by divine favour, not by the multitude of his hosts nor his great skill in war. Thus when we listen not to milder methods, God by judgments teaches us our entire dependence on himself. In this verse David “contrasts his former self-confidence, in which he thought himself to be immovable, with the Godward trust he has now gained in the school of affliction.”—Delitzsch. Troubled—In the greatest trepidation, terror, and perplexity, as the word denotes. So weak are kings without the favour of God.

Verse 8. I cried to thee, O Lord] I found no help but in him against whom I had sinned. See his confession and prayer, 2 Samuel 24:17. Made supplication.] Continued to urge my suit; was instant in prayer.

8. I cried to thee—See his prayer, 1 Chronicles 21:17.

V. 9. Profit-What wilt thou gain by it? The dust-Shall they that are dead celebrate thy goodness in the land of the living? Or, shall my dust praise thee?

Verse 9. What profit is there in my blood] My being cut off will not magnify thy mercy. Let not the sword, therefore, come against me. If spared and pardoned, I will declare thy truth; I will tell to all men what a merciful and gracious Lord I have found. Hear, therefore, O Lord; Psalm 30:10.

Verse 9. What profit is there in my blood — In my violent, or immature death? What advantage will it be to thee, or thy cause and people, or to any of mankind? When I go down to the pit — When I die, and my body is laid in the grave; shall the dust praise thee? — The words, thus pointed, have a propriety and force which do not immediately appear in the common version. “The psalmist expostulates with God, that the suffering him to fall by the sword of the enemy,” or to be cut off in any other way in the beginning of his reign, “would be of no benefit to his people, nor to the cause of religion; as he would hereby be prevented from publicly celebrating the praises of God, and making those regulations in the solemnities of his worship, which he purposed to make, if God should spare his life and give him the victory.” — Chandler and Dodd.

9. What profit… in my blood—He now repeats (verses 8-10) the argument and urgency of his prayer while in affliction. “Blood” is to be taken in the sense of bloodshed, equal to violent death, as Genesis 37:26, 31, and elsewhere. What gain is there in my violent death, seeing that I confess and repent my wrong? To the pit—To the grave. Shall the dust praise thee— “Dust” is an intensive advance from “pit.” For the argument involved, see note on Psalm 6:5.

V. 11. Sackcloth-Given me occasion to put off that sackcloth, which they used to wear in times of mourning, Esther 4:1 Psalm 35:13 Isaiah 32:11 Joel 1:13. Girded-With joy, as with a garment, surrounding me on every side.

Verse 11. Thou hast turned-my mourning into dancing] Rather into piping. I have not prayed in vain. Though I deserved to be cut off from the land of the living, yet thou hast spared me, and the remnant of my people. Thou hast taken away my sackcloth, the emblem of my distress and misery, and girded me with gladness, when thou didst say to the destroying angel, when he stood over Jerusalem ready to destroy it: “It is enough, stay now thy hand;” 2 Samuel 24:16.

Verse 11. Thou hast turned for me, &c. — Having related his prayer, he now declares the gracious answer which God gave him. Thou hast put off my sackcloth — Hast given me occasion to put it off, alluding to the sackcloth which they used to wear in times of mourning, and with which possibly, in an humble compliance with the divine providence, David had clothed himself, in his distress; or, perhaps, he speaks figuratively, and only means that God had taken away his sorrow with the causes of it. And girded me with gladness — Either with garments of gladness, or rejoicing: or with joy, as with a garment, surrounding me on every side; as Psalm 18:32, for a similar reason he is said to be girded with strength.

11. Dancing—This is not to be taken literally. “Dancing, here, is poetical of joy, or shouts of joy—thanksgiving and songs.”—Hupfeld. See this usage in Jeremiah 31:4, 13; Lamentations 4:15. This sense is confirmed by the parallel word “gladness,” in next hemistich. The Hebrews, especially the women, sang responsively and danced upon great festive occasions, as in Exodus 15; Judges 5; 1 Samuel 18:6, 7; 2 Samuel 6:14, 16; but dancing was never permanently attached to their religious worship. See notes on Psalm 42:4; 149:3.

V. 12. My glory-My tongue.

Verse 12. To the end that my glory may sing] The word dwbk cabod, which we here translate glory, is sometimes taken to signify the liver. Here it is supposed to mean the tongue; why not the heart? But does not David mean, by his glory, the state of exaltation and honour to which God had raised him, and in which he had before too much trusted; forgetting that he held it in a state of dependence on God? Now he was disciplined into a better sentiment. My glory before had sung praise to myself; in it I had rested; on it I had presumed; and intoxicated with my success, I sent Joab to number the people. Now my glory shall be employed for another purpose; it shall give thanks to God, and never be silent. I shall confess to all the world that all the good, the greatness, the honour, the wealth, prosperity, and excellence I possess, came from God alone; and that I hold them on his mere good pleasure. It is so; therefore, “O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.”

The old Psalter translates and paraphrases the last verse thus:—That my joy syng til the, and I be noght stanged: Lord my God withouten ende I sal schryf til the. The dede and the sorrow of oure syn God turnes in til joy of remission; and scheres oway oure sekk-(drives away our distress) and umgyfs (surrounds) qwen we dye, with gladness. That oure joy syng til hym, that has gyfen us that joy; for we be no more stanged (stung) with conscience of syn: na drede of dede or of dome; bot withouten ende we sal loue (praise) him. Na tunge may telle na herte may thynk the mykelnes of joy that es in louing (praising) of hym in gast, and in sothfastnes, i.e., spirit and truth.

Verse 12. To the end that my glory — My soul, or rather, my tongue; for to the tongue both singing and silence most properly belong; may sing praise to thee — May bear testimony to thy truth and faithfulness, manifested in fulfilling thy promises, and may ascribe to thee the glory and praise due to thy infinite perfections.

Ver. 12. That my glory may sing praise to thee; that is, all the glory conferred on me, and on my kingdom. David would thus, not only dedicate his house, but his person, and all his wealth and glory to the Lord, and praise and magnify his name for ever.

12. My glory—Equal to my soul, as the most excellent part of man. See Genesis 49:6, and note on Psalm 16:9. The result of David’s prayer and of the divine dispensation to him is, that from his soul he may praise God, and “give thanks… for ever.”