Psalms 30 commentary

The great things the Lord has done for us, both by his providence and by his grace, bind us in gratitude to do all we can to advance his kingdom among men, though the most we can do is but little. God's saints in heaven sing to him; why should not those on earth do the same? Not one of all God's perfections carries in it more terror to the wicked, or 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 at the remembrance of it. Our happiness is bound up in the Divine favour; if we have that, we have enough, whatever else we want; but as long as God's anger continues, so long the saints' weeping continues.

When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn to pray in the dark. The sanctified spirit, which returns to God, shall praise him, shall be still praising him; but the services of God's house cannot be performed by the dust; it cannot praise him; there is none of that device or working in the grave, for it is the land of silence. We ask aright for life, when we do so that we may live to praise him. In due time God delivered the psalmist out of his troubles. Our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when employed in praising God. He would persevere to the end in praise, hoping that he should shortly be where this would be the everlasting work. But let all beware of carnal security. Neither outward prosperity, nor inward peace, here, are sure and lasting. The Lord, in his favour, has fixed the believer's safety firm as the deep-rooted mountains, but he must expect to meet with temptations and afflictions. When we grow careless, we fall into sin, the Lord hides his face, our comforts droop, and troubles assail us.

PSALM 30.

David having been delivered from great danger, not only renders thanks to God apart by himself, but at the same time invites and exhorts all the pious to perform the same duty. He then confesses that he had flattered himself too confidently in his prosperity, and that his security had justly been chastised. In the third place, having briefly expressed his sorrow, he returns again to thanksgiving.

A psalm sung at the dedication of David’s house.

Interpreters doubt whether this psalm was composed by David, or by some of the prophets after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; for house means, in their opinion, the temple. But as the title expressly mentions David’s name, it is more probable that it is David’s private house which is here spoken of. Moreover, the supposition entertained by some, that when he was about to dedicate his palace, he was seized with heavy sickness, is founded upon no solid reason. We may rather conjecture from what is stated in sacred history, that as soon as he had built his royal palace, he dwelt in it quietly and at his ease. He said to the prophet Nathan, that he felt ashamed comfortably “to dwell within an house of cedar,” while “the ark of God dwelt under curtains,” (2 Samuel 7:2.) Besides, to restrict that to sickness which is here spoken generally concerning some kind of danger, is altogether groundless. It is more probable, that Absalom being dead, and his faction extinguished, and the fatal commotion which they had raised put down, David celebrated the divine favor toward him, as one who had returned from exile to his former station in his kingdom. For he mentions that he was chastised by God’s hand, because, exulting too much in his happy estate, and almost intoxicated with it, he falsely and foolishly promised himself entire freedom from adversity. Moreover, when he began to inherit the magnificent and royal palace, of which I have just spoken, his kingdom was yet scarcely restored to peace. It was not yet time, therefore, for forgetfulness of human frailty to creep upon him, which might provoke the wrath of God, and expose him to dangers which might bring him to the very verge of destruction. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to suppose, that in this psalm he celebrates God’s favor to him in restoring him to his former state. It was necessary again to dedicate his house, which had been defiled by the incestuous whoredoms of Absalom, and other wickednesses; and under this word seems to be denoted a double blessing, both his restoration to life and to his kingdom: as if he had said, that after settling the public affairs of his kingdom, he sung this song, and solemnly dedicated his house to God that he might live in his own family. But it must be briefly observed concerning this ceremony of the law, that as we are very slow and cold in thinking of God’s benefits, this exercise was enjoined upon his ancient people, that they might understand that there is no pure and lawful use of any thing without thanksgiving to God. As by offering the first-fruits to God, therefore, they acknowledged that they received the increase of the whole year from him, in like manner, by consecrating their houses to God, they declared that they were God’s tenants, confessing that they were strangers, and that it was he who lodged and gave them a habitation there. “Se recognoissans estrangers, et que c’estoit luy qui les y logeoit et leur bailloit demeurance.” — Fr. If a levy for war, therefore, took place, this was a just cause of exemption, when any one alleged that he had not yet dedicated his house. “Quand l’homme allegoit qu’il n’avoit encores dedid sa maison.” — Fr. Besides, they were at the same time admonished by this ceremony, that every one enjoyed his house aright and regularly, only when he so regulated it that it was as it were a sanctuary of God, and that true piety and the pure worship of God reigned in it. The types of the law have now ceased, but we must still keep to the doctrine of Paul, that whatever things God appoints for our use, are still “sanctified by the word of God and prayer,” (1 Timothy 4:4, 5.)

Psalm 30:1-3

1. I will extol thee, O Jehovah! for thou hast lifted me up, 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.” “דליתבי, Thou hast drawn me up as it were out of a dungeon.” — Rogers’ Book of Psalms. 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 “D’entre ceux que descendent.” — Fr. 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 רפא, 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.

Psalm 30:4-5

4. Sing unto Jehovah, O ye who are his meek ones! and acknowledge the memorial of his holiness. “Ou chantez afin qu’il soit memoire.” — Fr. marg. “Or sing, that he may be remembered.” 5. For his anger is only for a moment Literally, “There is but a moment in his anger;” and this is also the literal rendering of the Hebrew. but life “C’est, un long temps.” — Note, Fr. marg. “That is, a long time.” is in his favor; weeping will lodge in the evening, and rejoicing shall come in the morning.

PSALM 30

Psa 30:1-12. Literally, "A Psalm-Song"--a composition to be sung with musical instruments, or without them--or, "Song of the dedication," &c. specifying the particular character of the Psalm. Some suppose that of David should be connected with the name of the composition, and not with "house"; and refer for the occasion to the selection of a site for the temple (1Ch 21:26-30; 22:1). But "house" is never used absolutely for the temple, and "dedication" does not well apply to such an occasion. Though the phrase in the Hebrew, "dedication of the house of David," is an unusual form, yet it is equally unusual to disconnect the name of the author and the composition. As a "dedication of David's house" (as provided, De 20:5), the scope of the Psalm well corresponds with the state of repose and meditation on his past trials suited to such an occasion (2Sa 5:11; 7:2). For beginning with a celebration of God's delivering favor, in which he invites others to join, he relates his prayer in distress, and God's gracious and prompt answer.

1. lifted me up--as one is drawn from a well (Psa 40:2).

2. healed me--Affliction is often described as disease (Psa 6:2; 41:4; 107:20), and so relief by healing.

3. The terms describe extreme danger.

soul--or, "myself."

grave--literally, "hell," as in Psa 16:10.

hast kept me ... pit--quickened or revived me from the state of dying (compare Psa 28:1).

4. remembrance--the thing remembered or memorial.

holiness--as the sum of God's perfections (compare Psa 22:3), used as name (Ex 3:15; Psa 135:13).

5. Relatively, the longest experience of divine anger by the pious is momentary. These precious words have consoled millions.

6-7. What particular prosperity is meant we do not know; perhaps his accession to the throne. In his self-complacent elation he was checked by God's hiding His face (compare Psa 22:24; 27:9).

8-11. As in Psa 6:5; 88:10; Is 38:18, the appeal for mercy is based on the destruction of his agency in praising God here, which death would produce. The terms expressing relief are poetical, and not to be pressed, though "dancing" is the translation of a word which means a lute, whose cheerful notes are contrasted with mourning, or (Am 5:16) wailing.

12. Though "my" is supplied before "glory" it is better as in Psa 16:9, to receive it as used for tongue, the organ of praise. The ultimate end of God's mercies to us is our praise to Him.

I will extol thee - for thou hast lifted me up - I will lift thee up, for thou hast lifted me up. Thou hast made me blessed, and I will make thee glorious. Thou hast magnified me in thy mercy; and I will show forth thy praise, and speak good of thy name.

I have made some remarks on this Psalm in the Introduction.

In this Psalm we find seven different states of mind distinctly marked: -

1. It is implied, in the first verse, that David had been in great distress, and nearly overwhelmed by his enemies.

2. He extols God for having lifted him up, and having preserved him from the cruelty of his adversaries, Psa 30:1-3.

3. He is brought into great prosperity, trusts in what he had received, and forgets to depend wholly on the Lord, Psa 30:4-6.

4. The Lord hides his face from him, and he is brought into great distress, Psa 30:7.

5. He feels his loss, and makes earnest prayer and supplication, Psa 30:8-10.

6. He is restored to the Divine favor, and filled with joy, Psa 30:11.

7. He purposes to glory in God alone, and to trust in him for ever, Psa 30:12.

As it is impossible for any man to have passed through all these states at the same time; it is supposed that the Psalm, like many others of the same complexion, has been formed out of the memoranda of a diary. See this point illustrated in the Introduction.

Thou hast lifted me up - Out of the pit into which I had fallen: the vain curiosity, and want of trust in God, that induced me to number the people. Bishop Horsley translates, Because thou hast depressed me. I thank God for my humiliation and afflictions, because they have been the means of teaching me lessons of great profit and importance.

Thou hast healed me - Thou hast removed the plague from my people by which they were perishing in thousands before my eyes.

Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave - I and my people were both about to be cut off, but thou hast spared us in mercy, and given us a most glorious respite.

Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his - Ye priests, who wait upon him in his sanctuary, and whose business it is to offer prayers and sacrifices for the people, magnify him for the mercy he has now showed in staying this most destructive plague.

Give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness - "Be ye holy," saith the Lord, "for I am holy." He who can give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, is one who loves holiness; who hates sin; who longs to be saved from it; and takes encouragement at the recollection of God's holiness, as he sees in this the holy nature which he is to share, and the perfection which he is here to attain. But most who call themselves Christians hate the doctrine of holiness; never hear it inculcated without pain; and the principal part of their studies, and those of their pastors, is to find out with how little holiness they can rationally expect to enter into the kingdom of God. O fatal and soul-destroying delusion! How long will a holy God suffer such abominable doctrines to pollute his Church, and destroy the souls of men?

For his anger endureth but a moment - There is an elegant abruptness in these words in the Hebrew text. This is the literal translation: "For a moment in his anger. Lives in his favor. In the evening weeping may lodge: but in the morning exultation." So good is God, that he cannot delight in either the depression or ruin of his creatures. When he afflicts, it is for our advantage, that we may be partakers of his holiness, and be not condemned with the world. If he be angry with us, it is but for a moment; but when we have recourse to him, and seek his face, his favor is soon obtained, and there are lives in that favor - the life that now is, and the life that is to come. When weeping comes, it is only to lodge for the evening; but singing will surely come in the morning. This description of God's slowness to anger, and readiness to save, is given by a man long and deeply acquainted with God as his Judge and as his Father.

In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved - Peace and prosperity had seduced the heart of David, and led him to suppose that his mountain - his dominion, stood so strong, that adversity could never affect him. He wished to know the physical and political strength of his kingdom; and, forgetting to depend upon God, he desired Joab to make a census of the people; which God punished in the manner related in 2 Samuel 24, and which he in this place appears to acknowledge.

Thou didst hide thy face - Thou didst show thyself displeased with me for my pride and forgetfulness of thee: and then I found how vainly I had trusted in an arm of flesh.

I cried to thee, O Lord - I found no help but in him against whom I had sinned. See his confession and prayer, 2Sam 24:17 (note).

Made supplication - Continued to urge my suit; was instant in prayer.

What profit is there in my blood - My being cut off will not magnify thy mercy. Let not the sword, therefore, come against me. If spared and pardoned, I will declare thy truth; I will tell to all men what a merciful and gracious Lord I have found. Hear, therefore, O Lord; Psa 30:10.

Thou hast turned - my mourning into dancing - Rather into piping. I have not prayed in vain. Though I deserved to be cut off from the land of the living, yet thou hast spared me, and the remnant of my people. Thou hast taken away my sackcloth, the emblem of my distress and misery, and girded me with gladness, when thou didst say to the destroying angel, when he stood over Jerusalem ready to destroy it: "It is enough, stay now thy hand;" 2Sam 24:16.

To the end that my glory may sing - The word כבוד cabod, which we here translate glory, is sometimes taken to signify the liver. Here it is supposed to mean the tongue; why not the heart? But does not David mean, by his glory, the state of exaltation and honor to which God had raised him, and in which he had before too much trusted; forgetting that he held it in a state of dependence on God? Now he was disciplined into a better sentiment. My glory before had sung praise to myself; in it I had rested; on it I had presumed; and intoxicated with my success, I sent Joab to number the people. Now my glory shall be employed for another purpose; it shall give thanks to God, and never be silent. I shall confess to all the world that all the good, the greatness, the honor, the wealth, prosperity, and excellence I possess, came from God alone, and that I hold them on his mere good pleasure. It is so; therefore, "O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever."

The old Psalter translates and paraphrases the last verse thus: - That my joy syng til the, and I be noght stanged: Lord my God withouten ende I sal schryf til the. The dede and the sorrow of oure syn God turnes in til joy of remission; and scheres oway oure sekk-(drives away our distress) and umgyfs (surrounds) qwen we dye, with gladness. That oure joy syng til hym, that has gyfen us that joy; for we be "no more stanged" (stung) with conscience of syn: na drede of dede or of dome; bot withouten ende we sal loue (praise) him. Na tunge may telle na herte may thynk the mykelnes of joy that es in louing (praising) of hym in gast, and in sothfastnes," i.e., spirit and truth.

Cometh - Speedily and in due season.

Mountain - My kingdom: kingdoms are usually called mountains in prophetical writings.

Profit - What wilt thou gain by it? The dust - Shall they that are dead celebrate thy goodness in the land of the living? Or, shall my dust praise thee?

Sackcloth - Given me occasion to put off that sackcloth, which they used to wear in times of mourning, Esth 4:1 Psal 35:13 Isa 32:11 Joel 1:13. Girded - With joy, as with a garment, surrounding me on every side.

My glory - My tongue.

1. I Will extol thee, O LORD, for thou hast lifted me up , and hast not made my foes to rejoyce over me .

Or, drawn up, to wit, out of the deep Pit, or Waters; to which great Dangers and Afflictions are frequently Compared.

Which they both desired, and Confidently expected an occasion to do.

2. O LORD my God, I cryed unto thee, and thou hast healed me .

(i. e.) Delivered me from the Fears and Troubles of my Mind, which are oft compared to Diseases, and from very dangerous Distempers of my Body.

3. O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave : thou hast kept me alive , that I should not go down to the pit .

My deliverance is a kind of Resurrection from the Grave, upon the very brink whereof I was.

This he adds to explain the former Phrase, which was Ambiguous.

(i. e.) into the Grave which is oft called, the Pit, as Psal. 28. 1. and 69. 15. and 88. 4. Isa. 38. 17.

Marginal references: Psal. 71. 20. & 86. 13.; Heb. H[illegible: 1+ letters]ll, so Gr.

4. Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness .

Or, at the mention, &c. When you call to mind, or when others Celebrate, as I do this day, the Holiness of God's Nature; which he Demonstrates by his Works▪ by his Faithfulness, Care, and Kindness towards his holy Ones.

Marginal references: Psal. 97. 12.; Or, to the Memorial.

5. For his anger endureth but a moment , in his favour is life : weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning .

Commonly the Afflictions which he sends upon his People are short; and last but for a few moments of their Lives.

Or, Life, (i. e.) Our whole Life, is in his Favour, (i. e.) He heapeth his Favours upon them, for the greatest part of their present Lives, and in the next Life which endures for ever; of which the Chalde[illegible: 1+ letters] Paraphrast, expounds this place. And indeed without the Consideration of eternal Life, the difference between the duration of the Afflictions, and of the Happiness of God's people, were neither so Evident nor Considerable, as David here makes it. Life is oft put for along and Happy time, as Psal. 34. 12. and 133. 3. Prov. 3. 2. and for an Eternal and immortal Duration, 2 Tim. 1. 10. Iam. 1. 12. And in Civil Affairs; Estates for Life are opposed to those that are but for a short time.

(i. e.) It comes speedily and in due season.

Marginal references: Heb. there is but a moment in his Anger.; Isa. 26. 20. & 54. 7, 8. 2 Cor. 4. 17.; Heb. in the Evening.; Heb. singing.

6. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved .

I thought my self past all Danger of further Changes, forgetting my own Frailty, and the uncertainty of all Worldly things.

Marginal references: Job. 29▪ 18.

7. LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong , thou didst hide thy face , and I was troubled .

Thou hast so firmly settled me in my Kingdom: which he calls his Mountain; Partly, because Kingdoms are usually called Mountains in Prophetical writings, as Psal. 46. 3, 4. Isa: 2. 2. Ier. 51. 25. Dan. 2. 34, 35. 44, 45, and Partly, with respect to Mount Sion, where he built his Royal Palace, the Dedication whereof is mentioned in the Title of the Psalm.

(i. e.) Withdraw thy Favour and Help.

I was quickly brought into such Distresses of Body, and Anxiety of Mind, that I saw the Vanity of all my Carnal Confidences.

Marginal references: Heb. settled strength for my Mountain.; Psal. 46. 4, 5. & 48. 1, 2, 3. & 87▪ 5.; Psal. 104. 29.

9. What profit is there in my blood , when I go down to the pit ? shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

To wit, unto thee, as the latter part of the Verse explains it. What wilt thou gain by it?

(i. e.) In my violent Death, as Blood is frequently used, as Gen. 37. 26. Numb. [illegible: 1+ letters]5. 33. Ios. 20. 3. 1 Sam. 25. 26. 33. Mat. 27. 6.

When I dye. See above, on v. 3. Shall they that are Dead, or gone down into the Dust, Celebrate thy Faithfulness and Goodness in the Land of the Living? Or, shall my Dust or Dead Corps praise thee? No Lord, shouldest thou cut me off in the beginning of my Reign, thy Name would lose the Praises, which many will return to thee for my Life, and be exposed to Reproaches, as if thou hadst not kept thy Word with me: and I should lose those Opportunities of praising thy Name, and serving my Generation, which I prize above my Life.

Marginal references: Psal. 6. 5. & 88. 11. & 115. 17.

11. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my saccloth , and girded me with gladness .

Having related his Prayer, he now declares the gracious Answer which God gave him.

(i. e.) Given me occasion to put off that Saccloth; which they used to wear in times of Mourning. See Esth. 4. 1. Psal. 35. 13. Isa 32. 11. Ioel, 1. 13.

Either, with Garments of Gladness, or Rejoycing: Or, with joy, as with a Garment surrounding me, on every side; as he is for the like Reason, said to be girded with strength, Psal. 18. 32.

Marginal references: Isa. 61. 3.

12. To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent; O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

My Soul: Or, rather my Tongue, to which both singing and silence most properly belong. See on Psal. 7. 5. and 16. 9.

Marginal references: That is, my Tongue, Or, my Soul.

Song of Thanksgiving after Recovery from Dangerous Sickness

The summons to praise God which is addressed to the angels above in Psa 29:1-11, is directed in Psa 30:1-12 to the pious here below. There is nothing against the adoption of the לדוד. Hitzig again in this instance finds all kinds of indications of Jeremiah’s hand; but the parallels in Jeremiah are echoes of the Psalms, and דלּיתני in Psa 30:2 does not need to be explained of a lowering into a tank or dungeon, it is a metaphorical expression for raising up out of the depths of affliction. Even Hezekiah’s song of thanksgiving in Isa 38 has grown out of the two closing strophes of this Psalm under the influence of an intimate acquaintance with the Book of Job. We are therefore warranted in supposing that it is David, who here, having in the midst of the stability of his power come to the verge of the grave, and now being roused from all carnal security, as one who has been rescued, praises the Lord, whom he has made his refuge, and calls upon all the pious to join with him in his song. The Psalm bears the inscription: A Song-Psalm at the Dedication of the House, by David. This has been referred to the dedication of the site of the future Temple, 2 Sam; 1Ch 21:1; but although the place of the future Temple together with the altar then erected on it, can be called בּית יהוה (1Ch 22:1), and might also at any rate be called absolutely הבּית (as הר הבית, the Temple hill); yet we know that David did not himself suffer (2Sa 24:17) from the pestilence, which followed as a punishment upon the numbering of the people which he instituted in his arrogant self-magnification. The Psalm, however, also does not contain anything that should point to a dedication of a sanctuary, whether Mount Moriah, or the tabernacle, 2Sa 6:17. It might more naturally be referred to the re-consecration of the palace, that was defiled by Absolom, after David’s return; but the Psalm mentions some imminent peril, the gracious averting of which does not consist in the turning away of bloodthirsty foes, but in recovery from some sickness that might have proved fatal. Thus then it must be the dedication of the citadel on Zion, the building of which was just completed. From 2Sa 5:12 we see that David regarded this building as a pledge of the stability and exaltation of his kingdom; and all that is needed in order to understand the Psalm is, with Aben-Ezra, Flaminius, Crusius, and Vaihinger, to infer from the Psalm itself, that David had been delayed by some severe illness from taking possession of the new building. The situation of Psa 16:1-11 is just like it. The regular official title אשׁר על־הבּית (majordomo) shows, that הבית, used thus absolutely, may denote the palace just as well as the Temple. The lxx which renders it τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ οἴκου (τοῦ) Δαυίδ, understands the palace, not the Temple. In the Jewish ritual, Psa 30:1-12 is certainly, as is even stated in the Tractate Sofrim xviii. §2, the Psalm for the feast of Chanucca, or Dedication, which refers to 1 Macc. 4:52ff.

Psa 30:1-3 (Hebrew_Bible_30:2-4) The Psalm begins like a hymn. The Piel דּלּה (from דּלה, Arab. dlâ, to hold anything long, loose and pendulous, whether upwards or downwards, conj. V Arab. tdllâ =, to dangle) signifies to lift or draw up, like a bucket (דּלי, Greek ἀντλίον, Latin tollo, tolleno in Festus). The poet himself says what that depth is into which he had sunk and out of which God had drawn him up without his enemies rejoicing over him (לי as in Psa 25:2), i.e., without allowing them the wished for joy at his destruction: he was brought down almost into Hades in consequence of some fatal sickness. חיּה (never: to call into being out of nothing) always means to restore to life that which has apparently or really succumbed to death, or to preserve anything living in life. With this is easily and satisfactorily joined the Kerî מיּרדי בור (without Makkeph in the correct text), ita ut non descenderem; the infinitive of ירד in this instance following the analogy of the strong verb is ירד, like יבשׁ, ישׁון, and with suffix jordi (like josdi, Job 38:4) or jaaredi, for here it is to be read thus, and not jordi (vid., on Psa 16:1; Psa 86:2).The Masora does not place the word under יו וחטפין קמציןאלין תיבותא יתירין ו (Introduction 28 b), as one would expect to find it if it were to be read mijordi, and proceeds on the assumption that mijārdi is infinitive like עמדך (read ‛amādcha) Oba 1:11, not participle (Ewald, S. 533).

The Chethîb מיורדי might also be the infinitive, written with Cholem plenum, as an infinitive Gen 32:20, and an imperative Num 23:8, is each pointed with Cholem instead of Kamtez chatuph; but it is probably intended to be read as a participle, מיּורדי: Thou hast revived me from those who sink away into the grave (Psa 28:1), or out of the state of such (cf. Psa 22:22) - a perfectly admissible and pregnant construction.

Psa 30:4-5 (Hebrew_Bible_30:5-6) Psa 30:4 call upon all the pious to praise this God, who after a short season of anger is at once and henceforth gracious. Instead of שׁם of Jahve, we find the expression זכר in this instance, as in Psa 97:12 after Exo 3:15. Jahve, by revealing Himself, renders Himself capable of being both named and remembered, and that in the most illustrious manner. The history of redemption is, as it were, an unfolding of the Name of Jahve and at the same time a setting up of a monument, an establishment of a memorial, and in fact the erection of a זכר קדשׁ; because all God’s self-attestations, whether in love or in wrath, flow from the sea of light of His holiness. When He manifests Himself to His won love prevails; and wrath is, in relation to them, only a vanishing moment: a moment passes in His anger, a (whole) life in His favour, i.e., the former endures only for a moment, the latter the whole life of a man. “Alles Ding währt seine Zeit, Gottes Lieb' in Ewigkeit.” All things last their season, God’s love to all eternity. The preposition בּ does not here, as in the beautiful parallel Isa 54:7., cf. Psa 60:10, denote the time and mode of that which takes place, but the state in which one spends the time. Psa 30:6 portrays the rapidity with which love takes back wrath (cf. Isa 17:14): in the evening weeping takes up its abode with us for the night, but in the morning another guest, viz., רנּה, appears, like a rescuing angel, before whom בּכי disappears. The predicate ילין etaci does not belong to Psa 30:6 as well (Hupfeld, Hitzig). The substantival clause: and in the morning joy = joy is present, depicts the unexpectedness and surprise of the help of Him who sends בכי and רנה.

Psa 30:6-7 (Hebrew_Bible_30:7-8) David now relates his experience in detail, beginning with the cause of the chastisement, which he has just undergone. In ואני אמרתּי (as in Psa 31:23; Psa 49:4) he contrasts his former self-confidence, in which (like the רשׁע, Psa 10:6) he thought himself to be immoveable, with the God-ward trust he has now gained in the school of affliction. Instead of confiding in the Giver, he trusted in the gift, as though it had been his own work. It is uncertain, - but it is all the same in the end, - whether שׁלוי is the inflected infinitive שלו of the verb שׁלי (which we adopt in our translation), or the inflected noun שׁלו (שׁלוּ) = שׁלו, after the form שׂחוּ, a swimming, Eze 47:5, = שׁלוה, Jer 22:21. The inevitable consequence of such carnal security, as it is more minutely described in Deu 8:11-18, is some humbling divine chastisement. This intimate connection is expressed by the perfects in Psa 30:8, which represent God’s pardon, God’s withdrawal of favour, which is brought about by his self-exaltation, and the surprise of his being undeceived, as synchronous. העמיד עז, to set up might is equivalent to: to give it as a lasting possession; cf. 2Ch 33:8, which passage is a varied, but not (as Riehm supposes) a corrupted, repetition of 2Ki 21:8. It is, therefore, unnecessary, as Hitzig does, to take ל as accusatival and עז as adverbial: in Thy favour hadst Thou made my mountain to stand firm. The mountain is Zion, which is strong by natural position and by the additions of art (2Sa 5:9); and this, as being the castle-hill, is the emblem of the kingdom of David: Jahve had strongly established his kingdom for David, when on account of his trust in himself He made him to feel how all that he was he was only by Him, and without Him he was nothing whatever. The form of the inflexion הררי, instead of הרי = harri, is defended by Gen 14:6 and Jer 17:3 (where it is הררי as if from הרר). The reading להדרי (lxx, Syr.), i.e., to my kingly dignity is a happy substitution; whereas the reading of the Targum להררי, “placed (me) on firm mountains,” at once refutes itself by the necessity for supplying “me.”

Psa 30:8-10 (Hebrew_Bible_30:9-11) Nevertheless he who is thus chastened prayed fervently. The futures in Psa 30:9, standing as they do in the full flow of the narration, have the force of imperfects, of “the present in the past” as the Arabian grammarians call it. From the question “What profit is there (the usual expression for τίὄφελος, quid lucri) in my blood?”, it is not to be inferred that David was in danger of death by the hand of a foe; for ותרפאני in Psa 30:3 teaches us very different, “what profit would there be in my blood?” is therefore equivalent to (cf. Job 16:18) what advantage would there be in Thy slaying me before my time? On the contrary God would rob Himself of the praise, which the living one would render to Him, and would so gladly render. His request that his life may be prolonged was not, therefore, for the sake of worldly possessions and enjoyment, but for the glory of God. He feared death as being the end of the praise of God. For beyond the grave there will be no more psalms sung, Psa 6:6. In the Old Testament, Hades was as yet unvanquished, Heaven was not yet opened. In Heaven are the בני אלים, but as yet no blessed בני אדם.

Psa 30:11-12 (Hebrew_Bible_30:12-13) In order to express the immediate sequence of the fulfilling of the prayer upon the prayer itself, the otherwise (e.g., Psa 32:5) usual ו of conjunction is omitted; on הפכתּ וגו cf. the echoes in Jer 31:13; Lam 5:15. According to our interpretation of the relation of the Psalm to the events of the time, there is as little reason for thinking of 2Sa 6:14 in connection with מחול, as of 1Ch 21:16 in connection with שׂקּי. In place of the garment of penitence and mourning (cf. מחגרת שׂק, Isa 3:24) slung round the body (perhaps fastened only with a cord) came a girding up (אזּר, synon. חגר Psa 65:13, whence אזור, חגרה) with joy. The designed result of such a speedy and radical change in his affliction, after it had had the salutary effect of humbling him, was the praise of Jahve: in order that my glory (כּבוד for כּבודי = נפשׁי, as in Psa 7:6; Psa 16:9; Psa 108:2) may sing Thy praises without ceasing (ידּם fut. Kal). And the praise of Jahve for ever is moreover his resolve, just as he vows, and at the same time carries it out, in this Psalm.

Thanksgiving and Praise.

1 I will extol thee, O Lord ; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3 O Lord , thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 4 Sing unto the Lord , O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

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, Deut. xx. 5. David did so when his house was built, and he took possession of it (2 Sam. v. 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. xli. 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 (Exod. xv. 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. vi. 3; Rev. iv. 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. liv. 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.

Prayer and Praise.

6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 7 Lord , by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. 8 I cried to thee, O Lord ; and unto the Lord I made supplication. 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10 Hear, O Lord , and have mercy upon me: Lord , be thou my helper. 11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

We have, in these verses, an account of three several states that David was in successively, and of the workings of his heart towards God in each of those states—what he said and did, and how his heart stood affected; in the first of these we may see what we are too apt to be, and in the other two what we should be.

I. He had long enjoyed prosperity, and then he grew secure and over-confident of the continuance of it (v. 6, 7): "In my prosperity, when I was in health of body and God had given me rest from all my enemies, I said I shall never be moved; I never thought either of having my body distempered or my government disturbed, not had any apprehensions of danger upon any account." Such complete victories had he obtained over those that opposed him, and such a confirmed interest had he in the hearts of his people, such a firmness of mind and such a strong constitution of body, that he thought his prosperity fixed like a mountain; yet this he ascribes, not to his own wisdom or fortitude, but to the divine goodness. Thou, through thy favour, hast made my mountain to stand strong, v. 7. He does not look upon it as his heaven (as worldly people do, who make their prosperity their felicity), only his mountain; it is earth still, only raised a little higher than the common level. This he thought, by the favour of God, would be perpetuated to him, imagining perhaps that, having had so many troubles in the beginning of his days, he had had his whole share and should have none in his latter end, or that God, who had given him such tokens of his favour, would never frown upon him. Note, 1. We are very apt to dream, when things are well with us, that they will always be so, and never otherwise. To-morrow shall be as this day. As if we should think, when the weather is once fair, that it will be ever fair; whereas nothing is more certain than that it will change. 2. When we see ourselves deceived in our expectations, it becomes us to reflect, with shame, upon our security, as our folly, as David does here, that we may be wiser another time and may rejoice in our prosperity as though we rejoiced not, because the fashion of it passes away.

II. On a sudden he fell into trouble, and then he prayed to God, and pleaded earnestly for relief and succour.

1. His mountain was shaken and he with it; it proved, when he grew secure, that he was least safe: "Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled, in mind, body, or estate." In every change of his condition he still kept his eye upon God, and, as he ascribed his prosperity to God's favour, so in his adversity he observed the hiding of God's face, to be the cause of it. If God hide his face, a good man is certainly troubled, though no other calamity befal him; when the sun sets night certainly follows, and the moon and all the stars cannot make day.

2. When his mountain was shaken he lifted up his eyes above the hills. Prayer is a salve for every sore; he made use of it accordingly. Is any afflicted? Is any troubled? Let him pray. Though God hid his face from him, yet he prayed. If God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, yet it will be in us the greatest folly and injustice imaginable if we turn from him. No; let us learn to pray in the dark (v. 8): I cried to thee, O Lord! It seems God's withdrawings made his prayers the more vehement. We are here told, for it seems he kept account of it,

(1.) What he pleaded, v. 9. [1.] That God would be no gainer by his death: What profit is there in my blood? implying that he would willingly die if he could thereby do any real service to God or his country (Phil. ii. 17), but he saw not what good could be done by his dying in the bed of sickness, as might be if he had died in the bed of honour. "Lord," says he, "wilt thou sell one of thy own people for nought and not increase thy wealth by the price?" Ps. xliv. 12. Nay [2.] That, in his honour, God would seem to be a loser by his death: Shall the dust praise thee? The sanctified spirit, which returns to God, shall praise him, shall be still praising him; but the dust, which returns to the earth, shall not praise him, nor declare his truth. The services of God's house cannot be performed by the dust; it cannot praise him; there is none of that device or working in the grave, for it is the land of silence. The promises of God's covenant cannot be performed to the dust. "Lord," says David, "if I die now, what will become of the promise made to me? Who shall declare the truth of that?" The best pleas in prayer are those that are taken from God's honour; and then we ask aright for life when we have that in view, that we may live and praise him.

(2.) What he prayed for, v. 10. He prayed for mercy to pardon (Have mercy upon me), and for grace to help in time of need—Lord, be thou my helper. On these two errands we also may come boldly to the throne of grace, Heb. iv. 16.

III. In due time God delivered him out of his troubles and restored him to his former prosperity. His prayers were answered and his mourning was turned into dancing, v. 11. God's anger now endured but for a moment, and David's weeping but for a night. The sackcloth with which, in a humble compliance with the divine Providence, he had clad himself, was loosed; his griefs were balanced; his fears were silenced; his comforts returned; and he was girded with gladness: joy was made his ornament, was made his strength, and seemed to cleave to him, as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man. As David's plunge into trouble from the height of prosperity, and then when he least expected it, teaches us to rejoice as though we rejoiced not, because we know not how near trouble may be, so his sudden return to a prosperous condition teaches us to weep as though we wept not, because we know not how soon the storm may become a calm and the formidable blast may become a favourable gale. But what temper of mind was he in upon this happy change of the face of his affairs? What does he say now? He tells us, v. 12. 1. His complaints were turned into praises. He looked upon it that God girded him with gladness to the end that he might be the sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Sam. xxiii. 1), that his glory might sing praise to God, that is, his tongue (for our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is employed in praising God) or his soul, for that is our glory above the beasts, that must be employed in blessing the Lord, and with that we must make melody to him in singing psalms. Those that are kept from being silent in the pit must not be silent in the land of the living, but fervent, and constant, and public, in praising God. 2. These praises were likely to be everlasting: I will give thanks unto thee for ever. This bespeaks a gracious resolution that he would persevere to the end in praising God and a gracious hope that he should never want fresh matter for praise and that he should shortly be where this would be the everlasting work. Blessed are those that dwell in God's house; they will be still praising him. Thus must we learn to accommodate ourselves to the various providences of God that concern us, to want and to abound, to sing of mercy and judgment, and to sing unto God for both.

PSAL. XXX.

APsalme, a song of the dedication of the house of David. I will exalt thee Iehovah, for thou hast drawne up me, and hast not made my enemies to rejoyce at mee. Iehovah my God, I cried out unto thee, and thou healedst me. Iehovah, thou hast brought up my soule from hell, thou hast kept me alive from them that goe downe the pit. Sing Psalme to Iehovah, yee his gracious Saints, and confesse yee to the remembrance of his holinesse. For a moment is in his anger, life in his favourable acceptation; in the evening lodgeth weeping, and at the morning shouting joy. And I, I said in my safe quietnesse, I shall not bee moved for ever. Iehovah, in thy favourable acceptation thou hast setled strength to my mountain: thou didst hide thy face, I was suddenly troubled. Vnto thee Iehovah I called, and unto Iehovah supplicated for grace. What profit is in my bloud, when I goe downe unto corruption? shall dust confesse thee? shall it shew forth thy truth? Heare thou Iehovah, and be gracious to me; Iehovah, be thou an helper to me. Thou hast turned my mourning to a dance to me: thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and hast girded me with joy. That my glory may sing Psalme to thee, and not be silenced: Iehovah my God, I will confesse thee for ever.

Annotations. DEdication] or initiation, which is, when a new thing is first imployed and put to that use for which it was made. It is applied to houses, as here, and Deut. 20. 5. to altars, as Num. 7. 84, 88. to walls, as Nehem. 12. 27. to images, as Dan 3. 2. and to men, and then it meaneth instruction, or training up, as Prov. 22. 6. Gen. 14. 14. It is recorded by the Hebrewes, that when the Israelites brought their baskets of first-fruits into the Sanctuary, according to the Law in Dent. 26. and came thither in companies, as their manner was, they sang by the way the 122. Psalme, and when they came to the Sanctuary, with every man his basket on his shoulder, they sang the 150. Psalme; and when they were come into the court-yard, the Levites said this 30. Psalme, I will exalt thee, &c. Maimony in Misn. tom. 3. in Biccurim (or Treat. of First-fruits) chap. 4. sect. 17. And the Chaldee expoundeth this title, For the dedication of the house of the Sanctuary an Hymne of David. Vers. 2. hast drawne up me] as out of a pit of waters; for this word is used for drawing of waters, Exod. 2. 16, 17. waters signifying troubles. at me] or over me, for my ruine. Or, my enemies to me, that is, my utter enemies, as Psal. 27. 2. Vers. 3. healedst me] that is, helpedst me out of trouble: So Psal 41. 5. and 60. 4. Hos. 7. 1. 2 Chron. 7. 14. my soule from hell] me, or my life from the perill and state of death. So Psal. 86. 13. Ionas meant the same, when he said, thou hast brought out my life from the pit, Ion. 2. 6. Of hell, See Psal. 16. 10. them that goe downe] that is, which die, that I should not be among them: The Hebrew also hath another reading, that I should not goe downe the pit. The meaning is the same. Vers. 5. to the remembrance] or for it, that is, that his holinesse may be had in remembrance, as Isa. 26. 17. So Psal. 97. 12. Vers. 6. a moment] or little while. For Gods anger towards his, and their affliction, is short and moment any, as Isa. 54. 7, 8. 2 Cor. 4. 17. life] or lives, meaning a blessing and the continuance of it, as Psal. 133. 3. and 21. 5. Life is here opposed to a moment. So yeares of life, meane many good yeares, Prov. 3. 2. and the Chaldee here for life, saith life eternall. lodgeth] that is, abideth: or he (meaning God) causeth weeping to lodge, as if it should be an abiding guest. So another Prophet saith, At even tide loe there is trouble, but afore the morning it is gone, Isa. 17. 14. The Chaldee here translateth the latter part thus, in the morning he raiseth up with song. Vers. 7. in my safe quietnesse] or tranquillitie. Gods children have so great infirmities, that in prosperity they are too secure, (as David sheweth here, and Iob, in chap. 29. 18, 19, 20.) and in adversitie they are too fearefull, as David elsewhere doth confesse, Psal. 31. 23. and 116. 11. Vers. 8. setled] or made stand, that is, reared up, constituted and stablished sure. So this phrase importeth, Psal. 107. 25. and 31. 9. to my mountaine] that is, mount Sion, where Davids house or court was: or, figuratively, he meaneth his kingdome, as Isa. 2. 2. Dan. 2. 35, 44. See Psal. 65. 7. thy face] thy favourable countenance; the Chaldee calleth it Shecinah, the divine Majestie of God. Vers. 10. what profit] what gaine (or use) will there be in my bloud; which here may meane his violent death, as in Psal. 72. 14. unto corruption] the grave, or place where the body rotteth. See Psal. 16. 10. shall dust] that is, my body when it is turned to dust. The Chaldeesaith, they that lie in the dust. See the like in Psal. 6. 6. and 88. 11. and 115. 17. Isa. 38. 18. Vers. 12. to a dance] which is a signe of joy, Ier. 31. 4, 13. therefore the Greeke turneth it here, joy. The contrary is in Lam. 5. 15. where their dance is turned into mourning. loosed my sacke] or, done off my sackcloth; which was wont to be worne in time of sorrow, Esth. 4. 1. Ion. 3. 6. Psal. 35. 13. Vers. 13. my glory] so the Greeke putteth to the word my; by glory, meaning the tongue or soule: See Psal. 16. 9. But the Chaldee translateth, That the glorious ones of the world may praise thee. silenced] or made silent, which is, when men are cut off by death, as Psal. 31. 18.

PSAL. XXX.

A Pſalm and ſong] i.e. An holy hymn, firſt framed in meeter; then ſung with mens voices.

At the dedication of the houſe of David] Either when it was new built, 2 Sam. 5.11. confer Deut. 20.5. Neb. 12.27. ſaying as He once, Jamq, meos dedotibi, Princeps, jure Penates, Tu mibi jus dederas, poſſe vocare meos.

God ſo loveth his people, that their walls are ever in his ſight, Ifa. 49.16. they ſhould therefore have holineſſe to the Lord written upon them, Zach. 14. ſanctified they ſhould be by the word and prayer, 1 Tim. 4.5. Or else, after he had defiled it by his Adultery, with Bathſbeba, and Abſolom had much more defiled it by his abominable inceſt and other villanies, See 2 Sam. 20.3.

Verſ. I. I will extoll thee O Lord, for thou haſt lifted mee up] De puteo peccati canoſo, ſaith Kimchi, out of the miry pit of fin; or out of the ditch of deadly danger, ſay others. Therefore I will extol thee, that is, I will have high and honourable conceptions of thee. I will alſo do mine utmoft, both by words and deeds, that thou mayeſt be acknowledged by others to bee as thou art, the great and mighty Monarch of the whole World.

And haſt not made my foes to rejoyce over mee] Befides all former victories, Abſolom and Sheba were lately ſlain.

Verſ. 2. I cryed unto thee] In ſome great ſickneſſe, ſay ſome, that befell him about the time that he built his houſe of Cedar, 2 Sam. 5. that he might not be overjoyed, and take a ſurfeit: Or rather, when by my ſons rifing up againſt mee, I was likely to have loſt my ſtate and Kingdome.

Andt hou haſt healed mee] That is, helped mee, as Jon. 2.6. thou haſt reſtored and re-eſtabliſhed mee in my Kingdome. Kimchi ſenſeth it thus, Thou haſt delivered my ſoul from Hell, though in this World thou haſt grievouſly afflicted my body.

Verſ. 3. O Lord thou haſt brought up, &c.] Here he ſaith the ſame again as before; the better to ſet forth the greatneffe of the benefit, and ſo to excite himſelf to due thankfullneſſe. The uttermoſt extremity of a calamity is to be acknowledged, after wee are delivered out of it, Iſa. 38.10.

Thou haſt kept mee alive] Thou haſt reſcued mee from inſtant death; and this I look upon as a reſurrection from the dead.

Verſ. 4. Sing unto the Lord] Here he calleth in help to praiſe God, as holding himſelf too weak to do it a lone. Publication of Gods praiſes ſhould be ſeconded by provocation of others to do the like. David thought one mouth too little to do it.

O yee Saints of his] Or,Chafid. Plus, Benignus. O yee his mercifull ones, that having partaken of his mercy, are ready to impart the ſame to others; and not to pull up that bridge before them, that your ſelves have once gone over.

At the Remembrance (or memorial) of his holineſſe] That is, at his Tabernacle, ſay ſome; that his holineffe, his grace and goodneffe may be alwaies had in remembrance, ſay others; and that which he doth for us be carefully kept upon record.

Verſ. 5. For his anger endureth but a moment] Though it laſts all a mans life; for what's that to eternity? Junctumeſt quod vivimus & puncto minus. But it ſoon repenteth the Lord concerning his ſervants; whom, out of love diſpleaſed, hee correcteth for a ſhort braid, Ifa. 54.7, 8.2 Cor. 14.17. Iſa. 26.20. Heb. 10.37. Tantillum, tantillum, adbuc puſillum. Bear up therefore, faint not, fret not.

Flebile principium melior fortuna ſequetur.

If our ſorrowes be long, they are light; if ſharper the ſhorter. The ſharp North Eaſt-wind never laſteth three dayes; nothing violent is permanent.

In his favour is life] Vita in voluntate, elſe wee ſhould dye in our ſins; but his favour never faileth. Kimchi here noteth that of thoſe thirteen attributes of God, Exod. 34.7. twelve are mercy, and one only is anger. Joſeph for his thirteen years of ſervitude and impriſonment, had fourſcore years freedome and preferment. Davids perſecution by Saul was but a moment to his following happineffe when once he came to the Kingdome.

Weeping may endure for a night] Diſeafes and aches are worſt toward night. At even-tide loe there is trouble; but afore morning it is gone, Iſa. 17.14 mourning laſterfi but till morning, and then departeth; as did Lots two Angels. The morning of the Reſurrection howſoever, ſhall put a period to all our miſeries; and make a plentifull amends.

But joy commeth in the morning] Heb. Singing; flebilibus modis modus adbibebitur. God turneth his peoples ſighing into ſinging, their muſing into muſick, tears into triumph, wringing of hands into dapping of hands for joy, &c. And as there is a viciſſitude of nights and dayes; ſo of croſſes and mercies to Gods people, whiles they are in this vale of miſery, and valley of tears. God checkereth his providences (ſaith One) white and black; hee ſpeckleth his work, as is ſet forth by thoſe ſpeckled horſes among the Myrtle-trees, Zach. 1.8. Mercies and Croſſes are interwoven. This World is called a valley of tears, or as ſome render it, of Mulberrytrees, Pſal. 84.6. Betwixt them both, they may make up an emblem of the Saints condition here. Tears are moiſt; Mulberries grow in dry places. Gods people have their interchanges of joyes and ſorrows, whilſt here. See in this and the following verſes the circle God goes in with them. David was afflicted and delivered, in this verſe; In the next hee grew wanton. Then he is troubled again, Verſ. 7. cryeth again, 8, 9. God turneth his mourning into mirth again, 11, 12.

Verſ. 6. And in my proſperity I ſaid] Or, In my tranquillity; then it was that he was overgrown with ſecurity; as was alſo Job, chap 29.18, 19, 20. See the Note there; and Job 9.18. How many have burnt their wings about Jobs candle? chap. 29.3. ſaith One; Oh the hazzard of honour [illegible: 1 letter] dammage of dignity! how ſoon are wee broken upon the ſoft pillow of eaſe a Lunaticks, when the Moon is declining and in the wain, are ſober enough; but when full, more wild and exorbitant. Flies fettle upon the ſweeteſt perſumes when cold; ſo do ſin and Satans temptations on the beſt hearts, when diſſolved and diſ-ſpirited by proſperity; Watch therefore.Niobe apud Ovid. Major ſum quam cui poffi fortuna nocare. Adam in Paradiſe was overcome; when Job on the dung-hill was a Conqueror.

I ſhall never bee moved] Exceſſere metum mea jam bona. David by miſreckoning of a point, miſt the haven, and had almoſt run upon the Rocks. How apt are the holieſt to bee proud and ſecure? even as worms and waſps eat the ſweeteſt apples and fruits. What reaſonhad David to promiſe himſelf more than ever God promiſed him, immunity from the Croffe? Did he think (as Dionyſius afterwards did,Aelian. [illegible: 1 letter] var hiſt. lib. 2. but was clearly confuted ſoon after) that his Kingdome, and with it proſperity. was tyed unto him with cords of Adamant? what though he ſat quietly now at Jeruſalem, 2 Sam. 11.1. free from fear of enemies? and could find time to look and luſt after his neighbours wife, would this alwaies hold, thought he? and could not God ſet up his own darling Abſolom, to put him to trouble? No; David ſaid in his proſperity, Non vacillabo. I ſhall never be moved; and why?

Verſ. 7. Lord, by thy favour thou haſt made my mountain, &c.] Yea, but there is no mountain ſo ſtrong that may not bee moved, if not removed with an Earthquake. Is it not as eaſie with God to blaſt an Oak, as trample a muſhrome? And what though God in his favour had ſeeled ſtrength to Davids mountain? what though he had conſtituted and eſtabliſhed it ſure as Mount-Zion (for there was Davids arx, & aularegia) which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever? Pſal. 125.1. yet by a turn of his countenance only, God can ſoon diſ-ſweeten all his injoyments, and plunge him into a deplorable condition.

Thou didſt hide thy face and[illegible: 2 letters] was troubled] i. e. Thou didſt ſuſpend the actuall influence and communication of thy grace (the Chaldea calleth it Sheahinab the divine prefence) and I was all-amort. The life of ſome creatures conſiſteth in the E[illegible: 2 letters] ſo doth that of the Saints in the light of Gods countenance. And [illegible: 1 letter]sun an Eclipſe of the Sun there is a drooping in the whole frame of nature ſo when God hideth his face, the good ſoul laboureth and languiſheth. And as none look at the Sun but when it is in the eclipſe; ſo neither prize wee Gods loving countenance, till we have loſt it.

Verſ. 8. I [illegible: 1 span], O Lord, &c.] For why? I felt my ſelf [illegible: 1 span] while that I was deſerted, in a kind of Hell above-ground. Hac tentatio initium aliquod & guſtus fuit illorum inenarr abilium dolorum quos impii ſentiunt in omni aternitate. David felt himſelf now in the ſuburbs of Hell, as it were; and doth therefore ſet up as loud a cry after God, as once Micah did after his mawmets, Judg. 18. and farre greater cauſe he had.

And to the Lord I made ſupplication] He knew that the ſame hand alone muſt cure him that had wounded him; neither was Gods favour recoverable, but by humble confeſſion, and hearty prayer. Some think to glide away their groans with games, and their cares with cards; to bury their terrours and themſelves in wine and ſleep. They run to their muſick with Saul, to building of Cities with Cain, when caſt out of Gods preſence, &c. ſed haret lateri lethalis arundo; but as the wounded Deer that hath the deadly arrow ſticking in his ſide, well he may frisk up and down for a time, but ſtill he bleedeth, and will ere long fall down dead: ſo it is with ſuch as feek not comfort in God alone, as make not ſupplication to Him for Him; as return not to God who hath ſmitten them, nor ſeek the Lord of Hoaſts, Iſa. 9.13.

Verſ. 9. What profit is there in my blood, &c?] i.e. In my life, ſay ſome, q. d. To what purpoſe have I lived, ſith Religion is not yet ſettled? In my death (ſay others,Diolat. and better) a violent death eſpecially, and out of thy favour? Now all beleevers have ever abhorred ſuch a kind of death, before they were reconciled to God, and had a true feeling of his grace.

Shall the duſt praiſe thee, &c?] See Pſal. 6.6. with the Note.

Verſ. 10. Hear O Lord, and have mercy upon me] When faith hath once ſaid to God what it hath to fay, it will wait for a good anſwer, relying on his mercy, and expecting relief from the Lord, as here David doth; looking in the mean whiles, through the anger of his corrections, to the ſweetneffe of his loving countenance; as by a Rain-bow we ſee the beautifull image of the Suns light, in the midſt of a dark and wateriſh cloud.

Verſ. 11. Thou haſt turned from mee my mourning, &c.] Suſtuliſti luctum, & latitiam attuliſti. See the Note on verſ. 5.

Ver. 12. To the end that my glory may ſing praiſe to thee] i.e. That my tongue, oyled from an heart enlarged, may exalt thee according to my bounden duty, and thine abundant deſert. A good tongue that watcheth all opportunities to glorifie God, and edifie others, is certainly a mans great glory; but an evill tongue is his foul ſhame. Baſil expoundeth glory by [non-Latin text not transcribed] the ſpirit or ſoul. The Chaldee Paraphraſt, Laudabunt to honor abiles mundi, The glorious ones of the World ſhall praiſe thee.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever] Epiphonematica & pathetica concluſio, Davidi ex ſummis calamitatibus erepto familiaris. He concludeth as he began, ingaging his heart to everlaſting thankfullneſſe; and therein becoming a worthy pattern to all poſterity.

I will extol thee. I will have high and honourable conceptions of thee, and give them utterance in my best music. Others may forget thee, murmur at thee, despise thee, blaspheme thee, but "I will extol thee, "for I have been favoured above all others. I will extol thy name, thy character, thine attributes, thy mercy to me, thy great forbearance to my people; but, especially will I speak well of thyself; "I will extol thee, "O Jehovah; this shall be my cheerful and constant employ. For thou hast lifted me up. Here is an antithesis, "I will exalt thee, for thou hast exalted me." I would render according to the benefits received. The Psalmist's praise was reasonable. He had a reason to give for the praise that was in his heart. He had been drawn up like a prisoner from a dungeon, like Joseph out of the pit, and therefore he loved his deliverer. Grace has uplifted us from the pit of hell, from the ditch of sin, from the Slough of Despond, from the bed of sickness, from the bondage of doubts and fears: have we no song to offer for all this? How high has our Lord lifted us? Lifted us up into the children's place, to be adopted into the family; lifted us up into union with Christ, "to sit together with him in heavenly places." Lift high the name of our God, for he has lifted us up above the stars. And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. This was the judgment which David most feared out of the three evils; he said, let me fall into the hand of the Lord, and not into the hand of man. Terrible indeed were our lot if we were delivered over to the will of our enemies. Blessed be the Lord, we have been preserved from so dire a fate. The devil and all our spiritual enemies have not been permitted to rejoice over us; for we have been saved from the fowler's snare. Our evil companions, who prophesied that we should go back to our old sins, are disappointed. Those who watched for our halting, and would fain say, "Aha! Aha! So would we have it!" have watched in vain until now. O happy they whom the Lord keeps so consistent in character that the lynx eyes of the world can see no real fault in them. Is this our case? let us ascribe all the glory to him who has sustained us in our integrity.

O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. David sent up prayers for himself and for his people when visited with the pestilence. He went at once to head quarters, and not roundabout to fallible means. God is the best physician, even for our bodily infirmities. We do very wickedly and foolishly when we forget God. It was a sin in Asa that he trusted to physicians and not to God. If we must have a physician, let it be so, but still let us go to our God first of all; and, above all, remember that there can be no power to heal in medicine of itself; the healing energy must flow from the divine hand. If our watch is out of order, we take it to the watchmaker; if our body or soul be in an evil plight, let us resort to him who created them, and has unfailing skill to put them in right condition. As for our spiritual diseases, nothing can heal these evils but the touch of the Lord Christ: if we do but touch the hem of his garment, we shall be made whole, while if we embrace all other physicians in our arms, they can do us no service. "O Lord my God." Observe the covenant name which faith uses —"my God." Thrice happy is he who can claim the Lord himself to be his portion. Note how David's faith ascends the scale; he sang "O Lord" in the first verse, but it is "O Lord my God, "in the second. Heavenly heart music is an ascending thing, like the pillars of smoke which rose from the altar of incense. I cried unto thee. I could hardly pray, but I cried; I poured out my soul as a little child pours out its desires. I cried to my God: I knew to whom to cry; I did not cry to my friends, or to any arm of flesh. Hence the sure and satisfactory result —Thou hast healed me. I know it. I am sure of it. I have the evidence of spiritual health within me now: glory be to thy name! Every humble suppliant with God who seeks release from the disease of sin, shall speed as well as the Psalmists did, but those who will not so much as seek a cure, need not wonder if their wounds putrefy and their soul dies.

O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave. Mark, it is not "I hope so; "but it is, "Thou hast; thou hast; thou hast" —three times over. David is quite sure, beyond a doubt, that God has done great things for him, whereof he is exceeding glad. He had descended to the brink of the sepulchre, and yet was restored to tell of the forbearance of God; nor was this all, he owned that nothing but grace had kept him from the lowest hell, and this made him doubly thankful. To be spared from the grave is much; to be delivered from the pit is more; hence there is growing cause for praise, since both deliverances are alone traceable to the glorious right hand of the Lord, who is the only preserver of life, and the only Redeemer of our souls from hell.

Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his. "Join my song; assist me to express my gratitude." He felt that he could not praise God enough himself, and therefore he would enlist the hearts of others. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his. David would not fill his choir with reprobates, but with sanctified persons, who could sing from their hearts. He calls to you, ye people of God, because ye are saints: and if sinners are wickedly silent, let your holiness constrain you to sing. You are his saints —chosen, blood bought, called, and set apart for God; sanctified on purpose that you should offer the daily sacrifice of praise. Abound ye in this heavenly duty. Sing unto the Lord. It is a pleasing exercise; it is a profitable engagement. Do not need to be stirred up so often to so pleasant a service. And give thanks. Let your songs be grateful songs, in which the Lord's mercies shall live again in joyful remembrance. The very remembrance of the past should tune our harps, even if present joys be lacking. At the remembrance of his holiness. Holiness is an attribute which inspires the deepest awe, and demands a reverent mind; but still give thanks at the remembrance of it. "Holy, holy, holy!" is the song of seraphim and cherubim; let us join it —not dolefully, as though we trembled at the holiness of God, but cheerfully, as humbly rejoicing in it.

For his anger endureth but a moment. David here alludes to those dispensations of God's providence which are the chastisement ordered in his paternal government towards his erring children, such as the plague which fell upon Jerusalem for David's sins; these are but short judgments, and they are removed as soon as real penitence sues for pardon and presents the great and acceptable sacrifice. What a mercy is this, for if the Lord's wrath smoked for a long season, flesh would utterly fail before him. God puts up his rod with great readiness as soon as its work is done; he is slow to anger and swift to end it. If his temporary and fatherly anger be so severe that it has need be short, what must be the terror of eternal wrath exercised by the Judge towards his adversaries? In his favour is life. As soon as the Lord looked favourably upon David, the city lived, and the king's heart lived too. We die like withered flowers when the Lord frowns, but his sweet smile revives us as the dews refresh the field. His favour not only sweetens and cheers life, but it is life itself, the very essence of life. Who would know life, let him seek the favour of the Lord. Weeping may endure for a night; but nights are not for ever. Even in the dreary winter the day star lights his lamp. It seems fit that in our nights the dews of grief should fall. When the Bridegroom's absence makes it dark within, it is meet that the widowed soul should pine for a renewed sight of the Well beloved. But joy cometh in the morning. When the Sun of Righteousness comes, we wipe our eyes, and joy chases out intruding sorrow. Who would not be joyful that knows Jesus? The first beams of the morning brings us comfort when Jesus is the day dawn, and all believers know it to be so. Mourning only lasts to morning: when the night is gone the gloom shall vanish. This is adduced as a reason for saintly singing, and forcible reason it is; short nights and merry days call for the psaltery and harp.

In my prosperity. When all his foes were quiet, and his rebellious son dead and buried, then was the time of peril. Many a vessel founders in a calm. No temptation is so bad as tranquillity. I said, I shall never be moved. Ah! David, you said more than was wise to say, or even to think, for God has founded the world upon the floods, to show us what a poor, mutable, moveable, inconstant world it is. Unhappy he who builds upon it! He builds himself a dungeon for his hopes. Instead of conceiving that we shall never be moved, we ought to remember that we shall very soon be removed altogether. Nothing is abiding beneath the moon. Because I happen to be prosperous today, I must not fancy that I shall be in my high estate tomorrow. As in a wheel, the uppermost spokes descend to the bottom in due course, so it is with mortal conditions. There is a constant revolution: many who are in the dust today shall be highly elevated tomorrow; while those who are now aloft shall soon grind the earth. Prosperity had evidently turned the psalmist's head, or he would not have been so self confident. He stood by grace, and yet forgot himself, and so met with a fall. Reader, is there not much of the same proud stuff in all our hearts? let us beware lest the fumes of intoxicating success get into our brains and make fools of us also.

Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong. He ascribed his prosperity to the Lord's favour —so far good, it is well to own the hand of the Lord in all our stability and wealth. But observe that the good in a good man is not unmingled good, for this was alloyed with carnal security. His state he compares to a mountain, a molehill would have been nearer —we never think too little of ourselves. He boasted that his mountain stood strong, and yet he had before, in Psalm 29, spoken of Sirion and Lebanon as moving like young unicorns. Was David's state more firm than Lebanon? Ah, vain conceit, too common to us all! How soon the bubble bursts when God's people get conceit into their heads, and fancy that they are to enjoy immutability beneath the stars, and constancy upon this whirling orb. How touchingly and teachingly God corrected his servant's mistake: Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. There was no need to come to blows, a hidden face was enough. This proves, first, that David was a genuine saint, for no hiding of God's face on earth would trouble a sinner; and, secondly, that the joy of the saint is dependent upon the presence of his Lord. No mountain, however firm, can yield us rest when our communion with God is broken, and his face is concealed. However, in such a case, it is well to be troubled. The next best thing to basking in the light of God's countenance, is to be thoroughly unhappy when that bliss is denied us.

"Lord, let me weep for nought for sin!

And after none but thee!

And then I would —O that I might,

A constant weeper be!"

I cried to thee, O Lord. Prayer is the unfailing resource of God's people. If they are driven to their wit's end, they may still go to the mercyseat. When an earthquake makes our mountain tremble, the throne of grace still stands firm, and we may come to it. Let us never forget to pray, and let us never doubt the success of prayer. The hand which wounds can heal: let us turn to him who smites us, and he will be entreated of us. Prayer is better solace than Cain's building a city, or Saul's seeking for music. Mirth and carnal amusements are a sorry prescription for a mind distracted and despairing: prayer will succeed where all else fails.

In this verse we learn the form and method of David's prayer. It was an argument with God, an urging of reasons, a pleading of his cause. It was not a statement of doctrinal opinions, nor a narration of experience, much less a sly hit at other people under pretence of praying to God, although all these things and worse have been substituted for holy supplication at certain prayer meetings. He wrestled with the angel of the covenant with vehement pleadings, and therefore he prevailed. Head and heart, judgment and affections, memory and intellect were all at work to spread the case aright before the Lord of love. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Wilt thou not lose a songster from thy choir, and one who loves to magnify thee? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? Will there not be one witness the less to thy faithfulness and veracity? Spare, then, thy poor unworthy one for thine own name sake!

Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me. A short and comprehensive petition, available at all seasons, let us use it full often. It is the publican's prayer; be it ours. If God hears prayer, it is a great act of mercy; our petitions do not merit a reply. Lord, be thou my helper. Another compact, expressive, ever fitting prayer. It is suitable to hundreds of the cases of the Lord's people; it is well becoming in the minister when he is going to preach, to the sufferer upon the bed of pain, to the toiler in the field of service, to the believer under temptation, to the man of God under adversity; when God helps, difficulties vanish. He is the help of his people, a very present help in trouble. The two brief petitions of this verse are commended as ejaculations to believers full of business, denied to those longer seasons of devotion which are the rare privilege of those whose days are spent in retirement.

Observe the contrast, God takes away the mourning of his people; and what does he give them instead of it? Quiet and peace? Aye, and a great deal more than that. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing. He makes their hearts to dance at the sound of his name. He takes off their sackcloth. That is good. What a delight to be rid of the habiliments of woe! But what then? He clothes us. And how? With some common dress? Nay, but with that royal vestment which is the array of glorified spirits in heaven. Thou hast girded me with gladness. This is better than to wear garments of silk or cloth of gold, bedight with embroidery and bespangled with gems. Many a poor man wears this heavenly apparel wrapped around his heart, though fustian and corduroy are his only outward garb; and such a man needs not envy the emperor in all his pomp. Glory be to thee, O God, if, by a sense of full forgiveness and present justification, thou hast enriched my spiritual nature, and filled me with all the fulness of God.

To the end —namely, with this view and intent —that my glory —that is, my tongue or my soul —may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. It would be a shameful crime, if, after receiving God's mercies, we should forget to praise him. God would not have our tongues lie idle while so many themes for gratitude are spread on every hand. He would have no dumb children in the house. They are all to sing in heaven, and therefore they should all sing on earth. Let us sing with the poet:

"I would begin the music here,

And so my soul should rise:

Oh for some heavenly notes to bear

My passions to the skies."

O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

"I will praise him in life; I will praise him in death;

I will praise him as long as he lendeth me breath;

And say when the death dew lays cold on my brow,

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, it is now."

Title. "A Psalm and Song, "etc. It is thought that when these two words of Psalm and Song are both put in the title of a Psalm, it is meant that the sound of instruments was to be joined with the voice when they were sung in the Temple, and that the voice went before when it is said Song and Psalm, and did come after when it is said Psalm and Song. John Diodati.

Title. At the dedication of it. (tybh tknx) The original word (Knx) signifies initiari, egkainizein, rei novae primam usurpationem. So Cocceius, to initiate, or the first use that is made of anything. It was common, when any person had finished a house and entered into it, to celebrate it with great rejoicing, and keep a festival, to which his friends are invited, and to perform some religious ceremonies, to secure the protection of heaven. Thus, when the second temple was finished, the Priests and Levites, and the rest of the captivity, kept the dedication of the house of God with joy, and offered numerous sacrifices. Ezr 6:16. We read in the New Testament Joh 10:22, of the feast of the dedication appointed by Judas Maccabaeus, in memory of the purification and restoration of the temple of Jerusalem, after it had been defiled and almost laid in ruins by Antiochus Epiphanes; and celebrated annually, to the time of its destruction by Titus, by solemn sacrifices, music, songs, and hymns, to the praises of God, and feasts, and everything that could give the people pleasure, for eight days successively. Josephus Ant. 1:7. Judas ordained, that "the days of the dedication should be kept in their season, from year to year, with mirth and gladness." 1 Mac 4:59. And that this was customary, even amongst private persons, to keep a kind of religious festival, upon their first entrance into a new house, appears from the order of God De 20:5, that no person who had built a new house should be forced into the army, "if he had not dedicated the house, "i.e., taken possession of it according to the usual ceremonies practised on such occasions; a custom this that hath more or less prevailed amongst all nations. Thus the Romans dedicated their temples, their theatres, their statues, and their palaces and houses. Suet. Octav. c. 43. p 13; c. 31. p 9. Samuel Chandler.

Title. The present Psalm is the only one that is called a shir, or song, in the first book of the Psalms, i.e., Psalms 1-41. The word (ryv) shir is found in the titles of Psalms 45, 46, 48, 65, 68, 75, 83, 87, 88, 92, 108, 120, 134. Psalm 18 is entitled, "a shirah (or song) of deliverance from his enemies, "and the present shir may be coupled with it. Christopher Wordsworth.

Title. As by offering the first fruits to God they acknowledged that they received the increase of the whole year from him, in like manner, by consecrating their houses to God, they declared that they were God's tenants, confessing that they were strangers, and that it was he who lodged and gave them a habitation there. If a levy for war, therefore, took place, this was a just cause of exemption, when any one alleged that he had not yet dedicated his house. Besides, they were at the same time admonished by this ceremony, that every one enjoyed his house aright and regularly, only when he so regulated it that it was as it were a sanctuary of God, and that true piety and the pure worship of God reigned in it. The types of the law have now ceased, but we must still keep to the doctrine of Paul, that whatsoever things God appoints for our use, are still "sanctified by the word of God and prayer." 1 Ti 4:4-5. John Calvin.

Whole Psalm. Calmet supposes it to have been made by David on the dedication of the place which he built on the threshing floor of the Araunah, after the grievous plague which had so nearly desolated the kingdom. 2Sa 24:25 1Ch 21:26. All the parts of the Psalm agree to this: and they agree to this so well, and to no other hypothesis, that I feel myself justified in modelling the comment on this principle alone. Adam Clarke.

Whole Psalm. In the following verses I have endeavoured to give the spirit of the Psalm, and to preserve the frequent antitheses.

I will exalt thee, Lord of hosts,

For thou'st exalted me;

Since thou hast silenced Satan's boasts,

I will therefore boast in thee.

My sins had brought me near the grave,

The grave of black despair;

I looked, but there was none to save,

Till I looked up in prayer.

In answer to my piteous cries,

From hell's dark brink I am brought:

My Jesus saw me from the skies,

And swift salvation wrought.

All through the night I wept full sore,

But morning brought relief;

That hand, which broke my bones before,

Then broke my bonds of grief.

My mourning he to dancing turns,

For sackcloth joy he gives,

A moment, Lord, thine anger burns,

But long thy favour lives.

Sing with me then, ye favoured men,

Who long have known his grace;

With thanks recall the seasons when

Ye also sought his face. —C. H. S.

I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up. I will lift thee up, for thou hast lifted me up. Adam Clarke.

Thou hast lifted me up. (yntyld) The verb is used, in its original meaning, to denote the reciprocating motion of the buckets of a well, one descending as the other rises, and vice versa; and is here applied with admirable propriety, to point out the various reciprocations and changes of David's fortunes, as described in this Psalm, as to prosperity and adversity; and particularly that gracious reverse of his afflicted condition which he now celebrates, God having raised him up to great honour and prosperity; for having built his palace, he "perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake." 2Sa 5:12. Samuel Chandler.

Thou hast healed me. (wnakdt) The verb is used, either for the healing of bodily disorders Ps 103:3, or to denote the happy alteration of any person's affairs, either in private or public life, by the removal of any kind of distress, personal or national. Ps 107:20 Isa 19:22. So in the place before us: "Thou hast healed me, "means, Thou hast brought me out of my distresses, hast restored my health, and rendered me safe and prosperous. Under Saul, he was frequently in the most imminent danger of his life, out of which God wonderfully brought him, which he strongly expresses by saying, "Thou hast brought up my soul from Hades: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit." I thought myself lost, and that nothing could prevent my destruction, and we can scarce help looking on the deliverance thou hast vouchsafed me otherwise than as a kind of restoration from the dead: Thou hast revived me, or recovered me to life, from amongst those who go down to the pit; according to the literal rendering of the latter clause. Samuel Chandler.

Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his. If it were to sing of another thing, I should require the whole quire of God's creatures to join in the singing; but now that it is to sing of God's "holiness, "what should profane voices do in the concert? None but "saints, "are fit to sing of "holiness, "and specially of God's holiness; but most specially with songs of holiness. Sir Richard Baker.

Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his. As God requires outward and inward worship, so a spiritual frame for inward worship may be forwarded by the outward composure. Gazing drowsiness hinders the activity of the soul, but the contrary temper furthers and helps it. Singing calls up the soul into such a posture, and doth, as it were, awaken it: it is a lively rousing up of the heart. Singing God's praise is a work of the most meditation of any we perform in public. It keeps the heart longest upon the thing spoken. Prayer and hearing pass quick from one sentence to another; this sticks long upon it. Meditation must follow after hearing the word, and praying with the minister —for new sentences, still succeeding, give not liberty, in the instant, well to muse and consider upon what is spoken; but in this you pray and meditate. God hath so ordered this duty, that, while we are employed in it, we feed and chew the cud together. "Higgaion, "or "Meditation, "is set upon some passages of the Psalms, as Ps 9:16. The same may be writ up the whole duty, and all parts of it; namely, "Meditation." Set before you one in the posture to sing to the best advantage: eyes lifted to heaven, denote his desire that his heart may be there too; he hath before him a line or verse of prayer, mourning, praise, mention of God's works; how fairly now may his heart spread itself in meditation on the thing, while he is singing it over! Our singing is measured in deliberate time not more for music than meditation. He that seeks not, finds not, this advantage in singing Psalms —hath not yet learned what it means. John Lightfoot, 1675.

His anger. Seeing God is often angry with his own servants, what cause have those of you who fear him, to bless him that he is not angry with you, and that you do not feel his displeasure! He sets up others as his mark against which he shoots his arrows; you hear others groaning for his departure, and yet your hearts are not saddened as theirs are; your eyes can look up toward heaven with hope, whilst theirs are clouded with a veil of sorrow; he speaks roughly to them, but comfortable words to you; he seems to set himself against them as his enemies, whilst he deals with you as a loving friend; you see a reviving smile on his face and they can discern nothing there but one continued and dreadful frown. O admire, and for ever wonder at the sovereign, distinguishing grace of God. Are you that are at ease better than many of his people that are now thrown into a fiery furnace? Have you less dross than they? Have they sinned, think you, at a higher rate than you have ever done? He is angry with them for their lukewarmness, for their backsliding; and have your hearts always burned with love? Have your feet always kept his way and not declined? Have you never wandered? Have you never turned aside to the right hand or to the left? Surely you have; and therefore, what a mercy is it, that he is not angry with you as well as with them...Do not presume for all this; for though he is not angry yet with you, he may be so. This was the fault of David: "In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved; "but it immediately follows, "Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." The sun shines now upon you, the candle of the Lord does refresh your tabernacle; but you may meet with many storms, and clouds, and darkness before you come to your journey's end. The disciples were once greatly pleased with the glory of the transfiguration; and during the delightful interview between Christ, and Moses, and Elias, they thought themselves as in heaven; but a cloud came and obscured the preceding glory, and then the poor men were afraid. It is true the anger of God endured but for a moment; but even that moment is very sad, and terrible beyond expression. Weeping endureth for a night; but it may be a very bitter and doleful night for all this. It is a night like that of the Egyptians: when they arose they saw all their firstborn slain, and there was a hideous universal cry and mourning throughout all the land. So this night of the anger of the Lord may destroy all our comforts, and make the firstborn of our strength, the confidence and pleasure of our hopes to give up the ghost. Timothy Rogers.

In his favour is life. Let us see wherein the weight of the blessing and cursing of sheep and goats doth lie. Is it not the gift of eternal life that is our happiness in heaven; but as David saith, "in his favour is life." If a damned soul should be admitted to the fruition of all the pleasures of eternal life without the favour of God, heaven would be hell to him. It is not the dark and horrid house of woe that maketh a soul miserable in hell, but God's displeasure, ite maledicti. If an elect soul should be cast thither, and retain the favour of God, hell would be an heaven to him, and his joy could not all the devils in hell take from him; his night would be turned into day. Edward Marbury.

As an apprentice holds out in hard labour and (it may be) bad usage for seven years together or more, and in all that time is serviceable to his master without any murmuring or repining, because he sees that the time wears away, and that his bondage will not last always, but he shall be set at large and made a freeman in the conclusion: thus should everyone that groaneth under the burden of any cross or affliction whatsoever, bridle his affections, possess his soul in patience, and cease from all murmuring and repining whatsoever, considering well with himself, that the rod of the wicked shall not always rest upon the lot of the righteous; that weeping may abide at evening, but joy cometh in the morning; and that troubles will have an end, and not continue for ever. John Spencer.

How often have we experienced the literal truth of that verse, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning! How heavily does any trouble weigh on us at night! Our wearied nerve and brain seem unable to bear up under the pressure. Our pulse throbs, and the fevered restless body refuses to help in the work of endurance. Miserable and helpless we feel; and passionately weep under the force of the unresisted attack. At last sleep comes. Trouble, temptation, whatever it be that strives to overcome us, takes the one step too far which overleaps its mark, and by sheer force drives our poor humanity beyond the present reach of further trial. After such a night of struggle, and the heavy sleep of exhaustion, we awake with a vague sense of trouble. Our thoughts gather, and we wonder over our own violence, as the memory of it returns upon us. What was it that seemed so hopeless —so dark? Why were we so helpless and despairing? Things do not look so now —sad indeed still, but endurable —hard, but no longer impossible —bad enough perhaps, but we despair no more. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And so, when life with its struggles and toils and sins, bringing us perpetual conflict, ends at last in the fierce struggle of death, then God "giveth his beloved sleep." They sleep in Jesus, and awake to the joy of a morning which shall know no wane —the morning of joy. The Sun of Righteousness is beaming on them. Light is now on all their ways. And they can only wonder when they recall the despair and darkness, and toil, and violence of their earthly life, and say, as they have often said on earth, "Weeping has endured only for the night, and now it is morning, and joy has come!" And our sorrows, our doubts, our difficulties, our long looks forward, with despair of enduring strength for so long a night of trial —Where are they? Shall we not feel as is so beautifully described in the words of one of our hymns —

"When in our Father's happy land

We meet our own once more,

Then we shall scarcely understand

Why we have wept before." —Mary B. M. Duncan, 1825-1865.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Their mourning shall last but till morning. God will turn their winter's night into a summer's day, their sighing into singing, their grief into gladness, their mourning into music, their bitter into sweet, their wilderness into a paradise. The life of a Christian is filled up with interchanges of sickness and health, weakness and strength, want and wealth, disgrace and honour, crosses, and comforts, miseries and mercies, joys and sorrows, mirth and mourning; all honey would harm us, all wormwood would undo us; a composition of both is the best way in the world to keep our souls in a healthy constitution. It is best and most for the health of the soul that the south wind of mercy, and the north wind of adversity, do both blow upon it; and though every wind that blows shall blow good to the saints, yet certainly their sins die most, and their graces thrive best, when they are under the drying, nipping north wind of calamity, as well as under the warm, cherishing south wind of mercy and prosperity. Thomas Brooks.

Joy cometh in the morning. The godly man's joy cometh in the morning, when the wicked man's goeth; for to him "the morning is even as the shadow of death." Job 24:17. He is not only afraid of reproof and punishment, but he grieves and suffers sufficiently, though nobody should know of his actions, for the impair and loss, and misspence of his strength and his time and his money. Zachary Bogan.

In the second half of the verse weeping is personified, and represented by the figure of a wanderer, who leaves in the morning the lodging, into which he had entered the preceding evening. After him another guest arrives, namely, joy. E. W. Hengstenberg.

The princely prophet says plainly, heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. As the two angels that came to Lot lodged with him for a night, and when they had dispatched their errand, went away in the morning; so afflictions, which are the angels or the messengers of God. God sendeth afflictions to do an errand unto us; to tell us we forget God, we forget ourselves, we are too proud, too self conceited, and such like; and when they have said as they were bid, then presently they are gone. Thomas Playfere.

Verses 5-10. When a man's heart is set upon the creatures, there being thorns in them all, therefore if he will grasp too much of them, or too hard, he shall find it. God's children are trained up so to it, that God will not let them go away with a sin; if they be too adulterously affected, they shall find a cross in such a thing. You may observe this in the thirtieth Psalm; there you may see the circle God goes in with his children. David has many afflictions, as appeareth by the fifth verse: I cried, and then God returned to me, and joy came. What did David then? "I said, I shall never be moved:" his heart grew wanton, but God would not let him go away so: "God turned away his face and I was troubled." At the seventh verse he is, you see, in trouble again: well, David cries again, at the eighth and tenth verses, and then God turned his mourning into joy again. And this is to be his dealing you shall find in all the Scriptures; but because we find his dealing set so close together in this Psalm, therefore I name it. John Preston, D.D. (1587-1628), in "The Golden Scepter held forth to the Humble."

In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Our entering upon a special service for God, or receiving a special favour from God, are two solemn seasons, which Satan makes use of for temptation...We are apt to get proud, careless, and confident, after or upon such employments and favours; even as men are apt to sleep or surfeit upon a full meal, or to forget themselves when they are advanced to honour. Job's great peace and plenty made him, as he confesseth, so confident, that he concluded he should "die in his nest." Job 29:18. David enjoying the favour of God in a more than ordinary measure, though he was more acquainted with vicissitudes and changes than most of men, grows secure in his apprehension that he "should never be moved; "but he acknowledgeth his mistake, and leaves it upon record as an experience necessary for others to take warning by, that when he became warm under the beams of God's countenance, then he was apt to fall into security; and this it seems was usual with him in all such cases —when he was most secure he was nearest some trouble or disquiet. "Thou didst hide thy face" —and then to be sure the devil will show him his —"and I was troubled." Enjoyments beget confidence; confidence brings forth carelessness; carelessness makes God withdraw, and gives opportunity to Satan to work unseen. And thus, as armies after victory growing secure, are oft surprised; so are we oft after our spiritual advancements thrown down. Richard Gilpin.

In my prosperity. (ywlvg) The word denotes peace and tranquillity, arising from an affluent prosperous condition. When God had settled him quietly on the throne, he thought all his troubles were over, and that he should enjoy uninterrupted happiness; and that God"had made his mountain so strong, as that it should never be moved; "i.e., placed him as secure from all danger as though he had taken refuge upon an inaccessible mountain; or made his prosperity firm, and subject to no more alteration, than a mountain is liable to be removed out of its place; or, raised him to an eminent degree of honour and prosperity; a mountain, by its height, being a very natural representation of a very superior condition, remarkable for power, affluence, and dignity. He had taken the fortress of Mount Sion, which was properly his mountain, as he had fixed on it for his dwelling. It was strong by nature, and rendered almost impregnable by the fortifications he had added to it. This he regarded as the effect of God's favour to him, and promised himself that his peace and happiness for the future should be as undisturbed and unshaken as Mount Sion itself. Samuel Chandler.

In my prosperity. Prosperity is more pleasant than profitable to us. Though in show it look like a fair summer, yet it is indeed a wasting winter, and spendeth all the fruit we have reaped in the harvest of sanctified affliction. We are never in greater danger than in the sunshine of prosperity. To be always indulged of God, and never to taste of trouble, is rather a token of God's neglect than of his tender love. William Struther.

It is rare to receive much of this world, and not as the prodigal to go afar off; it is hard to keep close to God in prosperity, when we have much of this world to live upon and content ourselves with; to live upon God, and make him our content and stay, as if we had no other life nor livelihood but in him; we are very apt in such a case to contract a carnal frame, let go our hold of God, discustom ourselves to the exercise of faith, abate and estrange our affections from God. See how it was with David: "I said, I shall never be moved, thou hast made my mountain so strong." I solaced myself on these outward accommodations, as if I needed no other support, strength, or content, and there were no fear of a change; no care now to make God my constant joy and stay, and reckon upon God only for my portion, and that I must follow him with a cross, and be conformed to my Saviour, in being crucified to the world. What comes of this? Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled; namely, because he had too much indulged a life of sense. Children that are held up by their nurses' hand, and mind not to feel their feet and ground when the nurses let them go, they fall, as if they had no feet or ground to stand upon. Or thus: we are like children, who, playing in the golden sunshine, and following their sport, stray so far from their father's house, that night coming upon them ere they are aware, they are as it were lost, and full of fears, not knowing how to recover home. The world steals away our hearts from God, gives so few opportunities for the exercise of the life of faith, and such advantages to a life of sense, wears off the sense of our dependence on God, and need thereof, so that when we are put to it by affliction, we are ready to miscarry ere we can recover our weapon or hold. Faith is our cordial Ps 27:13; now if it be not at hand (as in health, when we have no need of it, it use to be) we may faint ere we recover the use of it. Elias Pledger's Sermon in "The Morning Exercises," 1677.

Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. What soul can be deserted and not be afflicted? Certainly his absence cannot but be lamented with greatest grief, whose presence the soul prizes above all earthly joy; when the evidence of salvation is obscured, the light of God's countenance darkened, the comforts of the Spirit detained, then the heavens appear not so clear, the promises taste not so sweet, the ordinances prove not so lively, yea, the clouds which hang over the soul gather blackness, doubts arise, fears overflow, terrors increase, troubles enlarge, and the soul becomes languishingly afflicted, even with all variety of disquietments. Robert Mossom.

Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. A believer puts on the sackcloth of contrition, for having put off the garment of perfection. As the sugar loaf is dissolved, and weeps itself way, when dipped in wine; so do our hearts melt under a sense of divine love. William Secker.

(last clause). No verse can more plainly teach us that glorious and comforting truth on which the medieval writers especially love to dwell, that it is the looking, or not looking, of God upon his creature, that forms the happiness or the misery of that creature; that those secret springs of joy which sometimes seem to rise up of themselves, and with which a stranger intermeddleth not, are nothing but God's direct and immediate looking on us; while the sorrow for which we cannot assign any especial cause —call it melancholy, or low spirits, or by whatever other name —is nothing but his turning away his face from us. John Mason Neale.

(last clause). Is spiritual desertion and the hiding of God's face matter of affliction, and casting down to believers? Yes, yes; it quails their hearts, nothing can comfort them. Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. Outward afflictions do but break the skin, this touches the quick; they like rain fall only upon the tiles, this soaks into the house; but Christ brings to believers substantial matter of consolation against the troubles of desertion; he himself was deserted of God for a time, that they might not be deserted for ever. John Flavel.

(last clause). If God be thy portion, then there is no loss in all the world that lies so hard and so heavy upon thee as the loss of thy God. There is no loss under heaven that doth so affect and afflict a man that hath God for his portion, as the loss of his God. David met with many a loss, but no loss made so sad and so great a breach upon his spirit as the loss of the face of God, the loss of the favour of God: "In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." The Hebrew word (lhn) bahal signifies to be greatly troubled, to be sorely terrified, as you may see in that 1Sa 28:21. "And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled." Here is the same Hebrew word bahal. Saul was so terrified, affrighted, and disanimated with the dreadful news that the devil in Samuel's likeness told him, that his very vital spirits so failed him, that he fell into a deadly swoon. And it was even so with David upon God's hiding of his face. David was like a withered flower that had lost its sap, life, and vigour, when God had wrapped himself up in a cloud. The life of some creatures lieth in the light and warmth of the sun; and so doth the life of the saints lie in the light and warmth of God's countenance. And, as in an eclipse of the sun, there is a drooping in the whole frame of nature, so when God hides his face, gracious souls cannot but droop and languish, and bow down themselves before him. Many insensible creatures, some by opening and shutting, as marigolds and tulips, others by bowing and inclining the head, as the solsequy (the early name of the sunflower) and mallow flowers, are so sensible of the presence and absence of the sun, that there seems to be such a sympathy between the sun and them, that if the sun be gone or clouded, they wrap up themselves or hang down their heads, as being unwilling to be seen by any eye but his that fills them: and just thus it was with David when God had his face in a cloud. Thomas Brooks.

I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. Bernard, under a fiction, proposes a fable well worthy of our beholding: therein the kings of Babylon and Jerusalem, signifying the state of the world and the church, always warring together; in which encounter, at length it fell out, that one of the soldiers of Jerusalem was fled to the castle of Justice. Siege laid to the castle, and a multitude of enemies entrenched round about it, Fear gave over all hope, but Prudence ministered her comfort. "Does thou not know, "saith she, "that our king is the King of glory; the Lord strong and mighty, even the Lord mighty in battle? Let us therefore despatch a messenger that may inform him of our necessities." Fear replies, "But who is able to break through? Darkness is upon the face of the earth, and our walls are begirt with a watchful troop of armed men, and we, utterly inexpert in the way into so far a country." Whereupon Justice is consulted. "Be of good cheer, "saith Justice, "I have a messenger of especial trust, well known to the king and his court, Prayer by name, who knoweth to address herself by ways unknown in the stillest silence of the night, till she cometh to the secrets and chamber of the King himself." Forthwith she goeth, and findeth the gates shut, knocketh again, "Open, ye gates of righteousness, and be ye opened, ye everlasting doors, that I may come in and tell the King of Jerusalem how our case standeth." Doubtless the trustiest and most effectual messenger we have to send is Prayer. If we send up merits, the stars in heaven will disdain it, that we which dwell at the footstool of God dare to presume so far, when the purest creatures in heaven are impure in his sight. If we send up fear and distrustfulness, the length of the way will tire them out. They are as heavy and lumpish as gads of iron; they will sink to the ground before they come half way to the throne of salvation. If we send up blasphemies and curses, all the creatures betwixt heaven and earth will band themselves against us. The sun and the moon will rain down blood; the fire, hot burning coals; the air, thunderbolts upon our heads. Prayer, I say again, is the surest ambassador; which neither the tediousness of the way, nor difficulties of the passage, can hinder from her purpose; quick of speed, faithful for trustiness, happy for success, able to mount above the eagles of the sky, into the heaven of heavens, and as a chariot of fire bearing us aloft into the presence of God to seek his assistance. John King.

What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Implying that he would willingly die, if he could thereby do any real service to God, or his country. Php 2:17. But he saw not what good could be done by his dying in the bed of sickness, as might be if he had died in the bed of honour. Lord, saith he, wilt thou sell one of "thine own people for nought, and not increase thy wealth by the price?" Ps 44:12. Matthew Henry.

What profit is there in my blood, etc. The little gain that the Lord would have by denying his people in the mercies they request, may also be used as a plea in prayer. David begs his own life of God, using this plea, What profit is there in my blood? So did the captive church plead Ps 44:12; "Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price." So then, poor saints of God when they come and tell the Lord in their prayers that indeed he may condemn, or confound, or cut or cast them off; he may continue to frown upon them; he may deny such and such requests of theirs, for such and such just causes in them; but what will he gain thereby? He may gain many praises, etc., by hearing them, and helping them; but what good will it do him to see them oppressed by the enemies of their souls? or what delight would it be to him to see them sighing and sinking, and fainting under sad pressures, etc.? this is an allowed and a very successful kind of pleading. Thomas Cobbet.

Shall the dust praise thee? Can any number be sufficient to praise thee? Can there ever be mouths enough to declare thy truth? And may not I make one —a sinful one I know —but yet one in the number, if thou be pleased to spare me from descending into the pit? Sir Richard Baker.

Prayer that is likely to prevail with God must be argumentative. God loves to have us plead with him and overcome him with arguments in prayer. Thomas Watson.

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. This might be true of David, delivered from his calamity; it was true of Christ, arising from the tomb, to die no more; it is true of the penitent, exchanging his sackcloth for the garments of salvation; and it will be verified in all us, at the last day, when we shall put off the dishonours of the grave, to shine in glory everlasting. George Horne.

Thou hast turned. I do so like the ups and downs in the Psalms. Adelaide Newton.

Thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. I say with the apostle, "Overcome evil with good, " sorrow with joy. Joy is the true remedy for sorrow. It never had, never could have any other. We must always give the soul that weeps reason to rejoice; all other consolation is utterly useless. Alexander Rodolph Vinet, D.D., 1797-1847.

Thou hast girded me with gladness. My "sackcloth" was but a loose garment about me, which might easily be put off at pleasure, but my "gladness" is girt about me, to be fast and sure, and cannot leave me though it would; at least none shall be able to take it from me. Sir Richard Baker.

Even as the Chaldeans formerly measured their natural day differently from the Israelites; they put the day first and the night after; but the Israelites, on the contrary, according to the order that was observed in the creation; for in the beginning darkness was upon the face of the deep, and of every one of the six days it is said, "The evening and the morning were the first day, "etc. So the times of the world and of the church are differently disposed; for the world begins hers by the day of temporal prosperity, and finishes it by a night of darkness and anguish that is eternal; but the church, on the contrary, begins hers by the night of adversity, which she suffers for awhile, and ends them by a day of consolation which she shall have for ever. The prophet in this Psalm begins with the anger of God, but ends with his favour: as of old, when they entered into the tabernacle they did at first see unpleasant things, as the knives of the sacrifices, the blood of victims, the fire that burned upon the altar, which consumed the offerings; but when they passed a little further there was the holy place, the candlestick of gold, the shewbread, and the altar of gold on which they offered perfumes; and in fine, there was the holy of holies, and the ark of the covenant, and the mercyseat and the cherubims which was called the face of God. Timothy Rogers.

I will give thanks. What is praise? The rent we owe to God; and the larger the farm the greater the rent should be. G. S. Bowes, 1863.

Title. House dedication, and how to arrange it.

Whole Psalm. In this ode we may see the workings of David's mind before, and under, and after, the affliction. 1. Before the affliction: Ps 30:6.

2. Under the affliction: Ps 30:7-10.

3. After the affliction: Ps 30:11-12. —William Jay.

(first clause). God and his people exalting each other.

(second clause). The happiness of being preserved so as not to be the scorn of our enemies.

The disappointment of the devil.

The sick man, the physician, the night bell, the medicine, and the cure; or, a covenant God, a sick saint, a crying heart, a healing hand.

Upbringing and preservation, two choice mercies; made the more illustrious by two terrible evils, grave, and pit; traced immediately to the Lord, thou hast.

Song, a sacred service; saints especially called to it; divine holiness, a choice subject for it; Memory, an admirable aid in it.

The anger of God in relation to his people.

The night of weeping, and the morning of joy.

Life in God's favour.

The transient nature of the believer's trouble, and the permanence of his joy.

The peculiar dangers of prosperity.

Verses 6-12. David's prosperity had lulled him into a state of undue security; God sent him this affliction to rouse him from it. The successive frames of his mind are here clearly marked; and must successively be considered as they are here presented to our view. 1. His carnal security.

2. His spiritual dereliction.

3. His fervent prayers.

4. His speedy recovery.

5. His grateful acknowledgments. —Charles Simeon.

(first clause). Carnal security; its causes, dangers, and cures.

(last clause). The gracious bemoanings of a soul in spiritual darkness.

, in connection with verse 3 prayer the universal remedy.

(first clause). Arguments with God for continued life and renewed favour.

(last clause). The resurrection, a time in which the dust shall praise God, and declare his truth.

Two gems of prayer; short, but full and needful.

Lord, be thou my helper. I see many fall; I shall fall too except thou hold me up. I am weak; I am exposed to temptation. My heart is deceitful. My enemies are strong. I cannot trust in man; I dare not trust in myself. The grace I have received will not keep me without thee. Lord, be thou my helper. In every duty; in every conflict; in every trial; in every effort to promote the Lord's cause; in every season of prosperity; in every hour we live, this short and inspired prayer is suitable. May it flow from our hearts, be often on our lips, and be answered in our experience. For if the Lord help us, there is no duty which we cannot perform; there is no foe which we cannot overcome; there is no difficulty which we cannot surmount. James Smith's Daily Remembrancer.

Transformations. Sudden; complete; divine, thou; personal, "for me; "gracious.

Holy dancing: open up the metaphor.

The believer's change of raiment: illustrate by life of Mordecai or Joseph; mention all the garbs the believer is made to wear, as a mourner, a beggar, a criminal, &c.

Our glory, and its relation to God's glory.

The end of gracious dispensations.

Silence —when sinful.

(last clause). The believer's vow and the time for making it. See the whole Psalm.