Psalms 30:1-7

Joy in the Morning

1

A psalm; a dedication song for the house. Davidic.

1 I will exalt You, Lord, because You have lifted me up and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me.

2 Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.

3 Lord, You brought me up from Sheol; You spared me from among those going down^[a] to the Pit.

4 Sing to the Lord, you His faithful ones, and praise His holy name.

5 For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor, a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning.

6 When I was secure, I said, "I will never be shaken."

7 Lord, when You showed Your favor, You made me stand like a strong mountain; when You hid Your face, I was terrified.

Psalms 30:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 30

\\<>\\. This is the first time that a psalm is called a song; some psalms are called by one name, some by another, and some by both, as here; and some are called hymns: to which distinction of them the apostle refers in Eph 5:19. A psalm was sung upon musical instruments, a song with the voice; it may be this psalm was sung both ways: the occasion of it was the dedication of David's house: the Targum interprets it of the house of the sanctuary, the temple; and so most of the Jewish commentators {i}; which might be called his house, because it was his intention to build it; his heart was set upon it, he provided materials for it, and gave his son Solomon the form of it, and a charge to build it; and, as is thought, composed this psalm to be sung, and which was sung by the Levites at the dedication of it: others, as Aben Ezra, are of opinion it was his own dwelling house, made of cedar, which he dedicated according to the law of Moses, with sacrifices and offerings, prayer and thanksgiving, \2Sa 5:11 7:2 De 20:5\; so Apollinarius calls it a new house David built; but since there is nothing in the whole psalm that agrees with the dedication, either of the temple, or of David's own private house, it seems better, with other interpreters, to understand it of the purging of David's house from the wickedness and incest of his son Absalom, upon his return to it, when the rebellion raised by him was extinguished; which might be reckoned a new dedication of it; see 2Sa 20:3; and to a deliverance from such troubles this psalm well agrees. Theodoret interprets it of the restoration of the human nature by Christ, through his resurrection from the dead. {i} Jarchi, Kimchi, & Abdendana.

Footnotes

• [a]. Some Hb mss, LXX, Theod, Orig, Syr; other Hb mss, Aq, Sym, Tg, Jer read from going down