Psalms — Chapter 30

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1A Psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple. Of David. I will exalt You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up and have not allowed my foes to rejoice over me.

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

3O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol; You spared me from descending into the Pit.

4Sing to the LORD, O you His saints, and praise His holy name.

5For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.

6In prosperity I said, “I will never be shaken.”

7O LORD, You favored me; You made my mountain stand strong. When You hid Your face, I was dismayed.

8To You, O LORD, I called, and I begged my Lord for mercy:

9“What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?

10Hear me, O LORD, and have mercy; O LORD, be my helper.”

11You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12that my heart may sing Your praises and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks forever.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.

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

10Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

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

12To 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.

1I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

2O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

3O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4Sing praise unto Jehovah, O ye saints of his, And give thanks to his holy memorial [name].

5For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy [cometh] in the morning.

6As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.

7Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled.

8I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication:

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

10Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy upon me: Jehovah, be thou my helper.

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

12To the end that [my] glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. Psalm 31 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple; by David. I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up and did not allow my enemies to gloat over me.

2O Lord my God, I cried out to you and you healed me.

3O Lord, you pulled me up from Sheol; you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.

4Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers of his; give thanks to his holy name.

5For his anger lasts only a brief moment, and his good favor restores one’s life. One may experience sorrow during the night, but joy arrives in the morning.

6In my self-confidence I said, “I will never be shaken.”

7O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure. Then you rejected me and I was terrified.

8To you, O Lord, I cried out; I begged the Lord for mercy:

9“What profit is there in taking my life, in my descending into the Pit? Can the dust of the grave praise you? Can it declare your loyalty?

10Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me. O Lord, deliver me.”

11Then you turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.

12So now my heart will sing to you and not be silent; O Lord my God, I will always give thanks to you.

1I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.

2Yahweh my God, I cried to you, and you have healed me.

3Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4Sing praise to Yahweh, you saints of his. Give thanks to his holy name.

5For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

6As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”

7You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong; but when you hid your face, I was troubled.

8I cried to you, Yahweh. I made supplication to the Lord:

9“What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? Shall it declare your truth?

10Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me. Yahweh, be my helper.”

11You have turned my mourning into dancing for me. You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness,

12To the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent. Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Summary
Authorship & Background
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

A thanksgiving psalm composed for the dedication of David's house. He praises God for lifting him up and healing him after crying out for help, restoring him from the brink of death (vv. 1-3), and calls on the faithful to sing praise, since God's anger is brief but his favor lasts a lifetime, turning weeping into joy (vv. 4-5). David recalls a time of complacency when he thought he would never be shaken, until God hid his face and he was dismayed (vv. 6-7). He describes pleading with God, reasoning that the dead cannot praise him, so his mourning was needed to be turned into dancing (vv. 8-11). The psalm closes with his resolve to give thanks to the LORD forever for this reversal (v. 12).

Authorship & Background

Author: Multiple authors — primarily David (73 psalms attributed), plus Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Heman (1), Ethan (1), and anonymous. The Psalter was compiled over approximately 1000 years and served as Israel's hymnal and prayer book. The book is divided into five 'books' (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), paralleling the five books of Moses.
Classification: Individual Thanksgiving
Attributed Author: David — "A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David"
Key Themes: Healing and restoration, mourning turned to dancing, the brevity of God's anger vs. the permanence of His favor, complacency shattered, joy in the morning
Historical Context: The superscription connects this to "the dedication of the house" — possibly David's palace (2 Sam 5:11) or more likely used later for the temple dedication. It describes recovery from a near-death experience (severe illness or mortal danger). David confesses complacency in prosperity (v.6: "I shall never be moved") that was shattered when God "hid his face" (v.7). This humbling drove David back to desperate prayer, which God answered with healing and restoration. The psalm's great contribution is v.5: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" — one of the Bible's most beloved promises.
Thou Hast Lifted Me Up (vv.1-3): I will extol thee, O LORD, for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. The verb lifted is the one used of drawing a bucket from a well, which fits what follows, O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave. The illness or danger is not described, only its depth and the fact that it is over.
Joy Cometh in the Morning (vv.4-5): Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Then the two verses the psalm is remembered for, and they are a comparison of durations, for his anger endureth but a moment, in his favour is life, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Nothing in the psalm claims the night is short. It claims the morning comes.
I Shall Never Be Moved (vv.6-7): And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. The singer quotes his own complacency, which is a rare thing for a psalm to do, and identifies what had actually been holding him up, LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong. Then the withdrawal in half a verse, thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
What Profit Is There in My Blood (vv.8-10): I cried to thee, O LORD, and unto the LORD I made supplication. The argument used is the same one Psalm 6 and Isaiah 38 use and it is put as a question about usefulness, what profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit, shall the dust praise thee, shall it declare thy truth. The case for being kept alive is that a dead worshipper is no use to anybody.
Thou Hast Turned My Mourning into Dancing (vv.11-12): Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing, thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. The change is described as a change of clothes, which makes it public rather than internal. And the purpose clause at the end answers the question of verse 9 directly, to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Psalm 30 | Mourning into Dancing | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Psalm 30 - Remembering the Greatness of God at a Great Event
David Guzik

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Joy Comes in the Morning (v.5) — David promises that weeping only endures for a night, not forever. Whatever night you are currently in, are you holding onto the promise that morning will come?
  • The Danger of Complacent Prosperity (v.6) — David admits he once assumed he would never be shaken, a confidence that crisis later exposed as misplaced. Does your sense of security rest on your own stability, or on God's continued favor?
  • God Hides His Face to Restore Dependence (v.7) — When God's felt presence withdrew, David was driven back to desperate prayer. Have you noticed seasons where God's apparent distance actually pulled you closer to Him?
  • Mourning Genuinely Turned to Dancing (v.11) — David does not just move past his mourning, it is transformed into dancing. Can you trust God to turn your current sorrow into something entirely different, not just help you endure it?
  • Rescued So You Would Praise Without Ceasing (v.12) — David says the purpose of his deliverance is that his soul would sing to God and not be silent. Is your response to what God has done for you an ongoing, vocal praise, or has it faded into silence?