Psalm 30: Joy Comes in the Morning

"I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 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." "Lifted me up" (dillitani) is the word for drawing a bucket up from a well.

"Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his… For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Weeping is pictured as a guest who lodges for the evening; joy arrives at dawn.

"And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved… thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O LORD… What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?"

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

A thanksgiving psalm

Psalm 30 follows the pattern of individual thanksgiving: praise, the story of distress and rescue told to others, an invitation to the community, and a vow of continued thanks. The speaker quotes his own earlier complacency and his own prayer: the psalm is a testimony.

Mourning to dancing

Sackcloth was worn in mourning and illness (2 Samuel 12:16; Isaiah 58:5). The reversal (sackcloth off, gladness on, mourning to dancing) is the language of public celebration after recovery.

Which "house"?

The title "a song at the dedication (hanukkat) of the house" fits oddly with a psalm about personal healing. Suggestions: the dedication of David's palace (2 Samuel 5:11), the first temple (1 Kings 8), the second temple (Ezra 6:16), or the rededication by the Maccabees in 164 BC (1 Maccabees 4:52–59), when the title would have been added. The post-Talmudic tractate Soferim assigns Psalm 30 to Hanukkah; it is recited daily in Jewish morning prayer. The title records the psalm's later use, which may differ from its origin.

Shall the dust praise thee?

Like Psalm 6:5 and 88:10–12, 30:9 assumes that the dead in Sheol do not praise God. The argument ("keep me alive so I can praise you") reflects an older Israelite view of the afterlife than later Jewish and Christian belief in resurrection.