Psalm 30, Weeping for a Night – Joy in the Morning!

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.

David did not build the temple, so if this psalm is by David, it presumably is for the dedication of his palace?  Or a dedication of the tabernacle/tent that housed the ark?

Psalm 30: 1-3, Spared from the grave

I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths 

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.

O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; 

you spared me from going down into the pit.

A David is ecstatic that he has been healed and is now victorious.  His victory could be a military/political victory (over his enemy, Saul?) or victory over a serious disease.  Regardless of the enemy, David's imagery suggests the pit/grave as a deep well from which God reached down and pulled him up.

Psalm 30: 4-5, Weeping then rejoicing

Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; 

praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime; 

weeping may remain for a night, 

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

There is some pain in following God, indeed there is pain in all of life.  Here Weeping arrives to stay the night but Rejoicing shows up in the morning, kicking Weeping out the door.

Psalm 30: 6-7, Stand firm

When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken."

O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; 

but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

A common refrain...

Psalm 30: 8-9, Will the dust praise You?

To you, O LORD, I called; 

to the Lord I cried for mercy:

"What gain is there in my destruction, 

in my going down into the pit? 

Will the dust praise you? 

Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

A common refrain of David's: I can't praise you from the grave!  Keep me alive so that I can praise you! (This seems a fairly blatant negotiation!  "Don't You need me alive to praise You?")

Psalm 30: 10-12, Wailing into dancing

Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; 

O LORD, be my help."

You turned my wailing into dancing; 

you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. 

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

David reviews God's mercy and goodness to him, how pain and despair gave way to joy and dancing.

Sackcloth is a sign of despair, a physical acting out of grief and despondency.  God has removed David's sackcloth and dressed him again, trading the sackcloth for the garment "joy".

There is an ABA envelope (chiasmus) to this passage:  "I praise You," "Don't let me fail!" "I praise You!"