Psalms 30:7

7 Lord, in thy will; thou hast given virtue to my fairness. Thou turnedest away thy face from me; and I am made troubled. (Lord, by thy favour, thou hast protected me; yea, like a mountain stronghold. But then thou hast turned thy face away from me; and I was greatly troubled.)

Psalms 30:7 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 30:7

Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand
strong
The psalmist found himself mistaken, and acknowledges it; that as it was not owing to his own merit that he enjoyed the prosperity that he did, so neither was the continuance of it owing to his goodness, power, and strength, but to the free grace and favour of God; as the church of God is compared to a mountain, and the several individuals of believers are like to Mount Zion, so the soul of a child of God may be called his mountain, which is made strong by the Lord as to its state in Christ, being set on him, the Rock of ages, and sure foundation, where it is safe and secure; and as to its grace, whenever it is in any strong exercise, which is altogether owing to the favour of God, and continues as long as he pleases;

thou didst hide thy face, [and] I was troubled;
the Lord may hide his face from his people, and yet their state be safe; their mountain stands strong in that respect; yet this generally produces a change of frames; it gives trouble, and faith and hope become feeble and languid in their acts and exercises; this shows the changeableness of frames, that they are not to be depended upon; that they are entirely owing to the pleasure of God, and that rejoicing only should be in him: very likely some regard is had to the affair of Absalom's rebellion, which came unawares, unthought of, when David was in the greatest prosperity and security.

Psalms 30:7 In-Context

5 For ire is in his indignation; and life is in his will (For there is anger in his indignation; but there is life in his favour). Weeping shall dwell at eventide; and gladness at the morrowtide.
6 Forsooth I said in my plenty; I shall not be moved [into] without end. (But I said in the midst of my plenty, or of my abundance, I shall never be shaken, or defeated.)
7 Lord, in thy will; thou hast given virtue to my fairness. Thou turnedest away thy face from me; and I am made troubled. (Lord, by thy favour, thou hast protected me; yea, like a mountain stronghold. But then thou hast turned thy face away from me; and I was greatly troubled.)
8 Lord, I shall cry to thee; and I shall pray to my God. (Lord, I cried to thee; yea, I prayed to my God.)
9 What profit is in my blood; while I go down into corruption? Whether dust shall acknowledge to thee; either it shall tell thy truth? (And I said, What profit is there in my death; if I go down into the pit? Shall the dust then praise thee? or can it tell about thy truth?)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.