Psalms 30

Ps 30 This individual thanksgiving psalm opens in praise to the Lord for his salvation (30:1-3), then contrasts God’s favor with his anger (30:4-7), and ends with a transformation from mourning to dancing (30:8-12).30:title Perhaps David wrote this psalm in advance for the dedication of the Temple, making his own experience representative of the nation’s.30:1-3 The psalmist praises God for his triumph over adversity, which he likens to salvation from the grave.30:1 I will exalt you is a call to lift up the Lord’s name in praise and thanksgiving (34:3; 81:1; 99:5, 9; 107:32; 118:28; 145:1; see Exod 15:1; Isa 25:1). • you rescued me: God pulled the psalmist from death (Ps 30:3). • In his justice and care, God refused to let the psalmist’s enemies triumph (see 26:9; 27:12; 28:3; 31:8).

30:4 The godly should celebrate the Lord’s acts of rescue with song and praise (33:21; 97:12; 103:1; 105:3; 145:21).

30:6-7 Nothing can stop me now! The psalmist confesses his presumptuous attitude (cp. 32:3-4). • secure as a mountain: In the psalms, this phrase creates a powerful image of stability and of God’s control (see 11:1; 18:7; 36:6; 46:2; 72:3; 76:4; 83:14; 97:5; 114:4, 6; 125:2). • I was shattered: The absence of God’s favor destroys the security of the proud (cp. 104:27-30).

30:8-12 The psalmist faced death (also in 30:1-3)—perhaps literally, perhaps figuratively. But when he turned to the Lord, the Lord rescued him and turned his mourning into joyful dancing. Only God’s favor can permanently and powerfully overcome human failure and the depths of despair.