Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me ,.... By lifting up the light of his countenance again upon him; by manifesting and applying his pardoning grace to him, and by delivering him out of all his afflictions; Lord, be thou my helper ; in this time of trouble; for he knew that vain was the help of man; and he was entirely in the right to betake himself to the Lord, who was able to help him, when none else could. read more
Verse 10 10.Hear, O Jehovah! In this clause the Psalmist softens and corrects his former complaint; for it would have been absurd to expostulate with God like one who despaired of safety, and to leave off in this fretful temper. Having asked, therefore, with tears, what profit God would derive from his death, he encourages himself to a more unconstrained manner of prayer, and, conceiving new hope, calls upon God for mercy and help. He puts God’s favor, however, in the first place, from whom... read more
The title ascribes the psalm to David; and it is generally allowed to possess internal evidence of Davidic authorship. Ewald calls it "a model hymn of thanksgiving, composed in the best age of Hebrew poetry, for recitation in the temple." The particular occasion on which it was written is declared in the title to have been "the dedication of the house," by which (if David was the author) it is impossible to understand anything but the dedication of the altar (with its precinct) on the... read more
A public thanksgiving an recovery from sickness. This psalm has a remarkable title, "A Psalm or Song at the dedication of the house of David." What house is referred to we have no means of knowing, nor is there any very manifest relation between the contents of the psalm and the dedication of any house whatsoever. £ We can scarcely read the psalm carefully without gathering therefrom that the writer had had a dangerous illness, from which he was not expecting to recover. But his life was... read more
God's chastening hand. It is written, "No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" ( Hebrews 12:11 ). This psalm teaches how we may reap much good from the chastening of sickness. I. The first thing is to ACKNOWLEDGE GOD 'S HAND . The heathen may be in doubt; they may question whether it is "a chance' or the doing of God when great evil comes ( ... read more
The changes and consolations of life. I. THE CHANGES OF LIFE . Health may give place to sickness, prosperity to adversity, joy to sorrow. To-day we may be lifted up and rejoicing in God's favour, to-morrow we may be cast down and in trouble because God is hiding his face from us. There are two things to be guarded against. First , presumption ( Psalms 30:6 ); next, despair. Come what will, we must cling to God ( Psalms 30:9 , Psalms 30:10 ). II. THE ... read more
Now begins the expanded account of the deliverance in respect of which the thanksgiving is offered. And first, with regard to the offence that had drawn down the Divine chastisement; it was an offence of the lips, springing from an evil temper in the heart. read more
Vain confidence. "And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved," etc. Three stages here represented in the life of a good man. I. WORLDLY PROSPERITY A SECURITY . "In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." 1 . We say this in youth. All our castles in the air, we think, are built upon mountains. We think we can become anything and achieve anything we please. 2 . We say this before we know our sinfulness. The ways of the world harden our hearts about our... read more
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my Helper (comp. Psalms 54:4 ; Hebrews 13:6 ). Here the psalmist's prayer, uttered in his distress, ends, and he proceeds to declare the result. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 30:6-12
We have, in these verses, an account of three several states that David was in successively, and of the workings of his heart towards God in each of those states?what he said and did, and how his heart stood affected; in the first of these we may see what we are too apt to be, and in the other two what we should be. I. He had long enjoyed prosperity, and then he grew secure and over-confident of the continuance of it (Ps. 30:6, 7): ?In my prosperity, when I was in health of body and God had... read more