Psa 30:4-12 | Clarke | e4.org | Verse 4. 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?

‏ Psalms 30:4-12

Verse 4. 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?

Verse 5. 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 favour. 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 favour is soon obtained, and there are lives in that favour-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.

Verse 6. 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 2Sa 24:1-17, and which he in this place appears to acknowledge.

Verse 7. 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.

Verse 8. I cried to thee, O Lord] I found no help but in him against whom I had sinned. See his confession and prayer, 2Sa 24:17.

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

Verse 9. 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; Ps 30:10.

Verse 11. 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;" 2Sa 24:16.

Verse 12. To the end that my glory may sing] The word 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 honour 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 honour, 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.

ANALYSIS OF THE THIRTIETH PSALM

There are two parts in this Psalm:-

I. The giving of thanks for delivery from a great danger, Ps 30:1-3.

II. An exhortation to others to follow his example, and thus acknowledge God's merciful dealings with them, Ps 30:4-12.

I. He begins with thanksgiving: "I will extol thee, O Lord;" and adds the causes.

1. "Thou hast lifted me up," as one out of a deep dark pit.

2. "Thou hast not made my foes to triumph over me;" but rather turned their mirth into sadness.

3. "Thou hast healed me;"-both in body and mind.

4. "Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave;" restored me to life, when apparently condemned to death.

5. He earnestly sought these blessings: "O Lord my God, I cried unto thee," and thou didst for me all that I have mentioned.

II. After having given thanks, he calls on the saints to acknowledge and celebrate the goodness of God to him and to others: "Sing unto the Lord," &c. And to induce them to do this, he gives the instance in himself, that God was angry with him, but soon appeased.

1. He was angry, but his anger endured but a moment; but life, and a continuance of it, are from his favour.

2. And justly angry he was for his sin and carnal confidence: "In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved."

3. The effect of his anger was: "He hid his face, and I was troubled."

This is the example that he sets before the saints, that they be not secure when the world goes well with them; lest they have experience of God's displeasure, as he had.

Next he shows the means he used to avert God's wrath; and this he proposes as a pattern for all to follow in like cases.

1. He betook himself to prayer. 2. He sets down the form he used.

1. He that is ill sends for the physician-so did I. This was the fruit of my chastisement; I cried unto thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication.

2. And the form he used was this:-I earnestly pleaded with God thus: 1. "What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit?" 2. "Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?" 3. Can a dead man praise thee, or canst thou make good thy promises to the dead? 4. And he concluded with, "Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; O Lord, be thou my helper."

3. He shows the effect of his prayer: "Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing, thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness."

4. For what end God did this: "That my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever."

Now, O ye saints, 1. You see my case; 2. You see what course I took; 3. You see the effect; 4. You see the end why God was so good to me, that I should praise him. To you, who are in my state, I propose my example. Betake yourselves to God in your necessities; and, having obtained deliverance by earnest prayer and faith, remember to return praise to God for his ineffable goodness.