Psalm 30 Study Notes

Ps 30 title If Of David means “authored by David,” then a dedication song for the house might have been added later to indicate how this psalm was used by the nation of Israel. This is a good possibility since psalms composed by individuals within a specific historical setting were later used by the community during worship or for special occasions.

30:1-2 Lifted . . . up is from a Hebrew word (dlh) that is most often used to describe drawing water from a well (Ex 2:16,19; Pr 20:5). Though enemies are not always the immediate cause of the psalmist’s affliction, they aggravate the suffering, adding insult to injury (41:5,11). This seems to be the case here since the problem was more likely sickness, as indicated by the word healed in v. 2.

30:3 Sheol in many instances is a synonym for death. To be near Sheol is to be close to death (88:3), so being brought . . . up from Sheol or spared from the Pit is equivalent to being rescued from death (28:1; 88:4).

30:4-5 The personal experience of the individual becomes a lesson to be learned by the community. It is the individual’s responsibility to communicate to the community what the Lord has done (see note at 22:22-24). The lesson is that times of suffering pale in comparison to the Lord’s deliverance (30:5). On the connection between God’s anger and human suffering, see note at 6:1.

30:6-7 These verses recall the time before the affliction in order to point out a likely reason for the suffering, which is the need for humility. Before God allowed the psalmist to suffer, he was so secure that he felt he could never be shaken. The security apparently became a source of overconfidence even though it was the Lord who showed his favor and made him like a strong mountain (5:12). In other words, the blessing of God gave him a false sense of security. The suffering began when the Lord hid his face (see note at 13:1-2).

30:8 Verse 8 introduces the words of his cry found in vv. 9-10.

30:9-10 The psalmist seeks to motivate God to act on behalf of his people by emphasizing the loss of praise and testimony for the Lord if the sufferer were to die (6:5; 88:10-12). This may seem bold, but it demonstrates a key element in Israel’s purpose—to be a testimony for the Lord to the nations by proclaiming his truth (Dt 4:6-8; see note at Ps 18:49).

30:11-12 Lament is parallel with sackcloth, the clothing used to represent a time of mourning (Gn 37:34; Est 4:3; Ezk 27:31). Dancing and being clothed . . . with gladness are also related ideas showing the dramatic change after the Lord delivered the psalmist from death. The purpose of the deliverance is praise and testimony. This demonstrates the change in perspective from the false sense of security to a renewed sense of purpose in keeping with the reason God had called out his people from among the nations (30:9).