Psalms 30:1

PSALM 30

THANKSGIVING FOR DELIVERANCE FROM DEATH

There are no satisfactory reasons for rejecting the ancient inscription which identifies this psalm as "A Psalm of David." The further note in some versions that it is, "A Song at the Dedication of the House," also generally received as accurate, is the basis of several opinions regarding its meaning.

A summary of various views as to what is meant by the "Dedication of the House" is as follows:

It refers to the Temple of Zerubbabel in 165 B.C.[1] Some say it refers to the Temple of Solomon. Some think it means the house of David's palace, Others assign it to the purgation and re-dedication of David's house (palace) after Absalom left.

Calmet believed the psalm was written by David on the occasion of the dedication of the Threshing Floor of Araunah, after the awful plague that followed David's numbering of the people (2 Samuel 24:25; 1 Chronicles 21:26).

Adam Clarke discussed all of these opinions and then wrote, "All parts of this Psalm agree to Calmet's opinion so well, and to no other hypothesis, that I feel justified in basing my comment upon this understanding alone."[2]

Leupold also accepted the same understanding of the occasion for this psalm, pointing out that, "1 Chronicles 22:1 uses the identical words that appear in the heading of this Psalm, namely, `Here shall be the House.' We feel that this Psalm fits this historical situation as a glove fits the hand."[3]

There are a number of places in the psalm itself which correspond closely with the historical occasion; and we shall notice some of these in the comments below. The following paragraphs appear in the psalm.

(Psalms 30:1-3) Thanksgiving is offered for a great deliverance. (Psalms 30:4,5) The people are invited to join in the thanksgiving. (Psalms 30:6-7) David confesses his sin which was to blame for the catastrophe. (V:8-10) David's appeal to God and his earnest supplications. (Psalms 30:11-12) The sudden and complete relief, the burst of joy, and the pledge to praise God forever.

THANKSGIVING FOR A GREAT DELIVERANCE

Some think of a terrible illness into which David fell, but the more likely explanation is that David, feeling his own blame and guilt connected with the awful plague that destroyed 70,000 people in a single day, knowing that he certainly deserved to die and probably expecting his death momentarily, thanks the Lord, not for a delivery from illness, but for a deliverance "from death" as the heading states. (2 Samuel 24:15f).

Psalms 30:1-3

"I will extol thee, O Jehovah, for thou hast raised me up,

And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

O Jehovah my God,

I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol;

Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit."

There are five things for which David here thanks God: (1) God has raised him up, (2) has not allowed his foes to rejoice over him, (3) healed him, (4) brought up his soul from Sheol, (5) and kept him alive.

"Thou hast raised me up" (Psalms 30:1). The marginal reading here is "drawn me up"; and, "This is the word for pulling up a bucket from a well."[4] This appears to us as an expression more appropriate for an acute state of depression and fear than it would be for some kind of an illness.

"Thou hast healed me" (Psalms 30:2). "The word `healed' here is perhaps used metaphorically for the removal of mental sufferings. David's grief when he saw the suffering and death of so many of his people from the plague (for which he was to blame) seems to have prostrated him both in mind and in body."[5] "David was keenly aware of the danger that threatened him. Many were dying in Israel, and he knew himself to be the chief sinner that brought it about, thus feeling that his doom was as good as sealed."[6] It was David's sin of numbering the people that caused the plague.