Psalms
Chapter 30
1
1 2 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple. Of David.
2
I praise you, LORD, for you raised me up and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
3
3 O LORD, my God, I cried out to you and you healed me.
4
4 LORD, you brought me up from Sheol; you kept me from going down to the pit.
5
Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful; give thanks to God's holy name.
6
For divine anger lasts but a moment; divine favor lasts a lifetime. At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing.
7
5 Complacent, I once said, "I shall never be shaken."
8
LORD, when you showed me favor I stood like the mighty mountains. But when you hid your face I was struck with terror.
9
To you, LORD, I cried out; with the Lord I pleaded for mercy:
10
6 "What gain is there from my lifeblood, from my going down to the grave? Does dust give you thanks or declare your faithfulness?
11
Hear, O LORD, have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper."
12
You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.
13
With my whole being I sing endless praise to you. O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
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Footnotes

1 [Psalm 30] An individual thanksgiving in four parts: praise and thanks for deliverance and restoration (Psalm 30:2-4); an invitation to others to join in (Psalm 30:5-6); a flashback to the time before deliverance (Psalm 30:7-11); a return to praise and thanks (Psalm 30:12). Two sets of images recur: 1) going down, death, silence; 2) coming up, life, praising. God has delivered the psalmist from one state to the other.

2 [1] For the dedication of the temple: a later adaptation of the psalm to celebrate the purification of the temple in 164 B.C. during the Maccabean Revolt.

3 [3] Healed: for God as healer, see also Psalm 103:3; 107:20; Hosea 6:1; 7:1; 11:3; 14:5.

4 [4] Sheol ... pit: the shadowy underworld residence of the spirits of the dead, here a metaphor for near death.

5 [7] Complacent: untroubled existence is often seen as a source of temptation to forget God. Cf Deut 8:10-18; Hosea 13:6; Proverb 30:9.

6 [10] in the stillness of Sheol no one gives you praise; let me live and be among your worshipers. Cf Psalm 6:6; 88:11-13; 115:17; Isaiah 38:18.


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