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Psalms 30

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Praise for God's Rescue from Death 1–5

1
I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. ​
2
O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. ​
3
O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ​
4
Sing praise unto Jehovah, O ye saints of his, And give thanks to his holy memorial name.
5
For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy cometh in the morning. ​

The Danger of Prosperity and Pride 6–7

6
As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. ​
7
Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled. ​

The Plea for Life and Mercy 8–10

8
I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication:
9
What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? ​
10
Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy upon me: Jehovah, be thou my helper.

Mourning Turned into Dancing 11–12

11
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; ​
12
To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 30

Verse 1

thou hast lifted me up — Dalah, to draw up, the verb for lowering a bucket and drawing water; it is used of Moses drawing water for the flock (Ex 2:16, 19) and of counsel 'like deep water' (Prov 20:5). The one drawn up is brought out of the grave in v.3. 'Dedication' is chanukkah, used of the altar (Num 7:84; 2 Chr 7:9) and of the wall (Neh 12:27).

Verse 2

I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me — Shava', to cry out for help, answered by rapha, to heal. Hezekiah's case is similar: 'I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee' (2 Kin 20:5). The prayer 'O LORD, heal me' stands in Ps 6:2, and the praise 'who healeth all thy diseases' in Ps 103:3.

Verse 3

brought up my soul from the grave — 'Brought up' is alah, as in 'he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up' (1 Sam 2:6); 'grave' is sheol. 'Kept me alive' is chayah, to make live. 'The pit' here is bor; v.9 uses a different word, shachath. Ps 86:13 has 'thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell'; Ps 16:10, 'thou wilt not leave my soul in hell'.

Verse 5

in his favour is life — Ratson, good pleasure, the word of 'by thy favour' in v.7. 'Moment' is rega, as in 'for a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee' (Isa 54:7). 'Endure for a night' is literally 'lodge' (lun), an overnight guest, and 'joy' (rinnah) arrives with the morning. Ps 126:5 sets the same word after tears.

Verse 6

I shall never be moved — 'Prosperity' is shalvah, ease and security. 'Never' is le'olam, the same word as 'for ever' in v.12. The words are those of the righteous elsewhere, 'I shall not be moved' (Ps 16:8), but there the LORD is 'always before me'; v.7 supplies what this speech lacked, 'by thy favour'.

Verse 7

thou hast made my mountain to stand strong — The standing is the LORD's doing, 'by thy favour' (ratson, v.5). 'Hide thy face' is satar, to conceal: 'Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled' (Ps 104:29); the same word 'troubled' (bahal) is used there. Ps 143:7 prays the opposite: 'hide not thy face from me'.

Verse 9

Shall the dust praise thee? — Shachath, the pit, and aphar, the dust of the dead. The dead do not give the praise that he promises: 'The dead praise not the LORD' (Ps 115:17); 'the grave cannot praise thee… they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth' (Isa 38:18). 'Praise' is yadah, the verb of 'give thanks' in vv.4 and 12.

Verse 11

turned for me my mourning into dancing — Machol, a dance, the 'dances of them that make merry' promised in Jer 31:4. 'Put off' is literally 'opened' (pathach): the sackcloth is loosed. 'Girded' is azar, to belt on, as gladness is worn; Isa 61:3 speaks of 'the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness'.

Verse 12

that my glory may sing praise — 'Glory' is kabod, here the speaker's own inward self that sings, as in 'Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp' (Ps 57:8) and 'my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth' (Ps 16:9). 'For ever' (le'olam) is the word of v.6, 'I shall never be moved': what he once said of his security he now says of his thanks.