A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.

1I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
         And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

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

3O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;
         You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.

4Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,
         And give thanks to His holy name.

5For His anger is but for a moment,
         His favor is for a lifetime;
         Weeping may last for the night,
         But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

6Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
         “I will never be moved.”

7O LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
         You hid Your face, I was dismayed.

8To You, O LORD, I called,
         And to the Lord I made supplication:

9“What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit?
         Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?

10“Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me;
         O LORD, be my helper.”

11You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
         You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,

12That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
         O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David. I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
A psalm by David sung at the dedication of the temple. I will honor you highly, O LORD, because you have pulled me out of the pit and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

King James Bible
<and Song at the dedication of the house of David.>> I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
A psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of David's house. I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.

Darby Bible Translation
{A Psalm of David: dedication-song of the house.} I will extol thee, Jehovah; for thou hast delivered me, and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me.

English Revised Version
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House; a Psalm of David. I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast raised me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

Webster's Bible Translation
A Psalm and Song, at the dedication of the house of David. I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

World English Bible
I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.

Young's Literal Translation
A Psalm. -- A song of the dedication of the house of David. I exalt Thee, O Jehovah, For Thou hast drawn me up, and hast not let mine enemies rejoice over me.

Cross References

2 Samuel 5:11 Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees and carpenters and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.

Psalm 3:3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

Psalm 25:2 O my God, in You I trust, Do not let me be ashamed; Do not let my enemies exult over me.

Psalm 35:19 Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously.

Psalm 35:24 Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness, And do not let them rejoice over me.

Psalm 66:17 I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue.

Psalm 118:28 You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You.

Psalm 145:1 A Psalm of Praise, of David. I will extol You, my God, O King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

PSALM 30

This is a psalm of thanksgiving for the great deliverances which God had wrought for David, penned upon occasion of the dedicating of his house of cedar, and sung in that pious solemnity, though there is not any thing in it that has particular reference to that occasion. Some collect from divers passages in the psalm itself that it was penned upon his recovery from a dangerous fit of sickness, which might happen to be about the time of the dedication of his house. I. He here praises God for the deliverances he had wrought for him (v. 1-3). II. He calls upon others to praise him too, and encourages them to trust in him (v. 4, 5). III. He blames himself for his former security (v. 6, 7). IV. He recollects the prayers and complaints he had made in his distress (v. 8-10). With them he stirs up himself to be very thankful to God for the present comfortable change (v. 11, 12). In singing this psalm we ought to remember with thankfulness any like deliverances wrought for us, for which we must stir up our selves to praise him and by which we must be engaged to depend upon him.

A psalm and song at the dedication of the house of David.

Verses 1-5

It was the laudable practice of the pious Jews, and, though not expressly appointed, yet allowed and accepted, when they had built a new house, to dedicate it to God, Deu. 20:5. David did so when his house was built, and he took possession of it (2 Sa. 5:11); for royal palaces do as much need God's protection, and are as much bound to be at his service, as ordinary houses. Note, The houses we dwell in should, at our first entrance upon them, be dedicated to God, as little sanctuaries. We must solemnly commit ourselves, our families, and all our family affairs, to God's guidance and care, must pray for his presence and blessing, must devote ourselves and all ours to his glory, and must resolve both that we put away iniquity far from our tabernacles and that we and our houses will serve the Lord both in the duties of family worship and in all instances of gospel obedience. Some conjecture that this psalm was sung at the re-dedication of David's house, after he had been driven out of it by Absalom, who had defiled it with his incest, and that it is a thanksgiving for the crushing of that dangerous rebellion. In these verses,

I. David does himself give God thanks for the great deliverances he had wrought for him (v. 1): "I will extol thee, O Lord! I will exalt thy name, will praise thee as one high and lifted up, I will do what I can to advance the interest of thy kingdom among men. I will extol thee, for thou hast lifted me up, not only up out of the pit in which I was sinking, but up to the throne of Israel." He raiseth up the poor out of the dust. In consideration of the great things God has done to exalt us, both by his providence and by his grace, we are bound, in gratitude, to do all we can to extol his name, though the most we can do is but little. Three thing magnify David's deliverance:-1. That it was the defeat of his enemies. They were not suffered to triumph over him, as they would have done (though it is a barbarous thing) if he had died of this sickness or perished in this distress: see Ps. 41:11. 2. That it was an answer to his prayers (v. 2): I cried unto thee. All the expressions of the sense we have of our troubles should be directed to God, and every cry be a cry to him; and giving way, in this manner, to our grief, will ease a burdened spirit. "I cried to thee, and thou hast not only heard me, but healed me, healed the distempered body, healed the disturbed and disquieted mind, healed the disordered distracted affairs of the kingdom." This is what God glories in, I am the Lord that healeth thee (Ex. 15:26), and we must give him the glory of it. 3. That it was the saving of his life; for he was brought to the last extremity, dropping into the grave, and ready to go down into the pit, and yet rescued and kept alive, v. 3. The more imminent our dangers have been, the more eminent our deliverances have been, the more comfortable are they to ourselves and the more illustrious proofs of the power and goodness of God. A life from the dead ought to be spent in extolling the God of our life.

II. He calls upon others to join with him in praise, not only for the particular favours God has bestowed upon him, but for the general tokens of his good-will to all his saints (v. 4): Sing unto the Lord, O you saints of his! All that are truly saints he owns for his. There is a remnant of such in this world, and from them it is expected that they sing unto him; for they are created and sanctified, made and made saints, that they may be to him for a name and a praise. His saints in heaven sing to him; why should not those on earth be doing the same work, as well as they can, in concert with them? 1. They believe him to be a God of unspotted purity; and therefore let them sing to him; "Let them give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness; let them praise his holy name, for holiness is his memorial throughout all generations." God is a holy God; his holiness is his glory; that is the attribute which the holy angels, in their praises, fasten most upon, Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8. We ought to be much in the mention and remembrance of God's holiness. It is a matter of joy to the saints that God is a holy God; for then they hope he will make them holy, more holy. None of all God's perfections carries in it more terror to the wicked, nor more comfort to the godly, than his holiness. It is a good sign that we are in some measure partakers of his holiness if we can heartily rejoice and give thanks at the remembrance of it. 2. They have experienced him to be a God gracious and merciful; and therefore let them sing to him. (1.) We have found his frowns very short. Though we have deserved that they should be everlasting, and that he should be angry with us till he had consumed us, and should never be reconciled, yet his anger endureth but for a moment, v. 5. When we offend him he is angry; but, as he is slow to anger and not soon provoked, so when he is angry, upon our repentance and humiliation his anger is soon turned away and he is willing to be at peace with us. If he hide his face from his own children, and suspend the wonted tokens of his favour, it is but in a little wrath, and for a small moment; but he will gather them with everlasting kindness, Isa. 54:7, 8. If weeping endureth for a night, and it be a wearisome night, yet as sure as the light of the morning returns after the darkness of the night, so sure will joy and comfort return in a short time, in due time, to the people of God; for the covenant of grace is as firm as the covenant of the day. This word has often been fulfilled to us in the letter. Weeping has endured for a night, but the grief has been soon over and the grievance gone. Observe, As long as God's anger continues so long the saints' weeping continues; but, if that be but for a moment, the affliction is but for a moment, and when the light of God's countenance is restored the affliction is easily pronounced light and momentary. (2.) We have found his smiles very sweet; In his favour is life, that is, all good. The return of his favour to an afflicted soul is as life from the dead; nothing can be more reviving. Our happiness is bound up in God's favour; if we have that, we have enough, whatever else we want. It is the life of the soul, it is spiritual life, the earnest of life eternal.

Calvin's Commentary

1. I will extol thee, O Jehovah! for thou hast lifted me up, [622] and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 2. O Jehovah my God! I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me. 3. O Jehovah! thou hast brought up my soul from the grave; thou hast quickened me from among those who go down [623] into the pit.

1. I will extol thee, O Jehovah! As David had been brought, as it were, from the grave to the life-giving air, he promises to extol the name of God. It is God who lifts us up with his own hand when we have been plunged into a profound gulf; and therefore it is our duty, on our part, to sing his praises with our tongues. By the foes who, he says, obtained no matter of rejoicing over him, we may understand both domestic and foreign enemies. Although wicked and evil disposed persons flattered him with servile adulation, they at the same time cherished secret hatred against him, and were ready to insult him as soon as an opportunity should occur. In the second verse, he concludes that he was preserved by the favor of God, alleging in proof of this, that when he was at the very point of death he directed his supplications to God alone, and that he immediately felt that he had not done so in vain. When God hears our prayers, it is a proof which enables us to conclude with certainty that he is the author of our salvation, and of the deliverance which we obtain. As the Hebrew word rph', rapha, signifies to heal, interpreters have been led, from this consideration, to restrict it to sickness. But as it is certain, that it sometimes signifies to restore, or to set up again, and is moreover applied to an altar or a house when they are said to be repaired or rebuilt, it may properly enough mean here any deliverance. The life of man is in danger in many other ways than merely from disease; and we know that it is a form of speech which occurs every where in the Psalms, to say that David was restored to life whenever the Lord delivered him from any grievous and extreme danger. For the sake of amplification, accordingly, he immediately adds, Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave He reckoned that he could not sufficiently express in words the magnitude of the favor which God had conferred upon him, unless he compared the darkness of that period to a grave and pit, into which he had been forced to throw himself hastily, to protect his life by hiding, until the flame of insurrection was quenched. As one restored to life, therefore, he proclaims that he had been marvellously delivered from present death, as if he had been restored to life after he had been dead. And assuredly, it appears from sacred history, how completely he was overwhelmed with despair on every side.

Footnotes:

[622] Ainsworth reads, "Thou hast drawn up me," which he explains to mean, "drawn as out of a pit of waters;" "for," says he, "this word is used for drawing of waters,' Exodus 2:16; waters signifying troubles." "dlytvy, Thou hast drawn me up as it were out of a dungeon." -- Rogers' Book of Psalms.

[623] "D'entre ceux que descendent." -- Fr.

Links

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Bible Browser

Faith
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Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

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Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Trouble. --Ps. xxx.
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Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

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Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Whether Divination by Drawing Lots is Unlawful?
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Joseph Cullen Ayer Jr., Ph.D.—A Source Book for Ancient Church History

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John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Appendix 2 Extracts from the Babylon Talmud
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Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament