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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms XXX].</TITLE>
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"This site is for those friends and family members who may or may not know Our Lord Jesus Christ, and if not, they may come to know Our Lord through His Prophets."> <meta name="author" content="Brian Duncalfe">
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC19029.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC19031.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM XXX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This is a psalm of thanksgiving for the great deliverances which God
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had wrought for David, penned upon occasion of the dedicating of his
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house of cedar, and sung in that pious solemnity, though there is not
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any thing in it that has particular reference to that occasion. Some
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collect from divers passages in the psalm itself that it was penned
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upon his recovery from a dangerous fit of sickness, which might happen
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to be about the time of the dedication of his house.
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I. He here praises God for the deliverances he had wrought for him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. He calls upon others to praise him too, and encourages them to
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trust in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:4,5">ver. 4, 5</A>.
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III. He blames himself for his former security,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>.
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IV. He recollects the prayers and complaints he had made in his
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distress,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:8-10">ver. 8-10</A>.
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With them he stirs up himself to be very thankful to God for the
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present comfortable change,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:11,12">ver. 11, 12</A>.
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In singing this psalm we ought to remember with thankfulness any like
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deliverances wrought for us, for which we must stir up our selves to
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praise him and by which we must be engaged to depend upon him.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps30_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Thanksgiving and Praise.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>A psalm <I>and</I> song <I>at</I> the dedication of the house of
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David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 I will extol thee, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; for thou hast lifted me up,
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and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
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2 O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
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3 O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou
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hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
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4 Sing unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at
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the remembrance of his holiness.
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5 For his anger <I>endureth but</I> a moment; in his favour <I>is</I>
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life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy <I>cometh</I> in the
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morning.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It was the laudable practice of the pious Jews, and, though not
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expressly appointed, yet allowed and accepted, when they had built a
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new house, to <I>dedicate it to God,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+20:5">Deut. xx. 5</A>.
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David did so when his house was built, and he took possession of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+5:11">2 Sam. v. 11</A>);
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for royal palaces do as much need God's protection, and are as much
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bound to be at his service, as ordinary houses. Note, The houses we
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dwell in should, at our first entrance upon them, be dedicated to God,
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as little sanctuaries. We must solemnly commit ourselves, our families,
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and all our family affairs, to God's guidance and care, must pray for
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his presence and blessing, must devote ourselves and all ours to his
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glory, and must resolve both that we put away iniquity far from our
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tabernacles and that we and our houses will serve the Lord both in the
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duties of family worship and in all instances of gospel obedience. Some
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conjecture that this psalm was sung at the re-dedication of David's
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house, after he had been driven out of it by Absalom, who had defiled
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it with his incest, and that it is a thanksgiving for the crushing of
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that dangerous rebellion. In these verses,</P>
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<P>
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I. David does himself give God thanks for the great deliverances he had
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wrought for him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>I will extol thee, O Lord!</I> I will exalt thy name, will praise
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thee as one high and lifted up, I will do what I can to advance the
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interest of thy kingdom among men. I will extol thee, for thou hast
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lifted me up, not only up out of the pit in which I was sinking, but up
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to the throne of Israel." He <I>raiseth up the poor out of the
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dust.</I> In consideration of the great things God has done to exalt
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us, both by his providence and by his grace, we are bound, in
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gratitude, to do all we can to extol his name, though the most we can
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do is but little. Three thing magnify David's deliverance:--
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1. That it was the defeat of his enemies. They were not suffered to
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triumph over him, as they would have done (though it is a barbarous
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thing) if he had died of this sickness or perished in this distress:
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see
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+41:11">Ps. xli. 11</A>.
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2. That it was an answer to his prayers
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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<I>I cried unto thee.</I> All the expressions of the sense we have of
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our troubles should be directed to God, and every cry be a cry to him;
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and giving way, in this manner, to our grief, will ease a burdened
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spirit. "<I>I cried to thee, and thou hast</I> not only heard me, but
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<I>healed me,</I> healed the distempered body, healed the disturbed and
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disquieted mind, healed the disordered distracted affairs of the
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kingdom." This is what God glories in, <I>I am the Lord that healeth
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thee</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+15:26">Exod. xv. 26</A>),
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and we must give him the glory of it.
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3. That it was the saving of his life; for he was brought to the last
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extremity, dropping into the grave, and ready <I>to go down into the
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pit,</I> and yet rescued and kept alive,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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The more imminent our dangers have been, the more eminent our
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deliverances have been, the more comfortable are they to ourselves and
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the more illustrious proofs of the power and goodness of God. A life
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from the dead ought to be spent in extolling the God of our life.</P>
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<P>
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II. He calls upon others to join with him in praise, not only for the
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particular favours God has bestowed upon him, but for the general
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tokens of his good-will to all his saints
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>Sing unto the Lord, O you saints of his!</I> All that are truly
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saints he owns for his. There is a remnant of such in this world, and
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from them it is expected that they sing unto him; for they are created
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and sanctified, made and made saints, that they may be to him for a
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name and a praise. His saints in heaven sing to him; why should not
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those on earth be doing the same work, as well as they can, in concert
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with them?
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1. They believe him to be a God of unspotted purity; and therefore let
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them sing to him; "Let them <I>give thanks at the remembrance of his
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holiness;</I> let them praise his holy name, for holiness is his
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memorial throughout all generations." God is a holy God; his holiness
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is his glory; that is the attribute which the holy angels, in their
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praises, fasten most upon,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:3,Re+4:8">Isa. vi. 3; Rev. iv. 8</A>.
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We ought to be much in the mention and remembrance of God's holiness.
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It is a matter of joy to the saints that God is a holy God; for then
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they hope he will make them holy, more holy. None of all God's
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perfections carries in it more terror to the wicked, nor more comfort
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to the godly, than his holiness. It is a good sign that we are in some
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measure partakers of his holiness if we can heartily rejoice and give
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thanks at the remembrance of it.
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2. They have experienced him to be a God gracious and merciful; and
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therefore let them sing to him.
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(1.) We have found his frowns very short. Though we have deserved that
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they should be everlasting, and that he should be angry with us till he
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had consumed us, and should never be reconciled, yet <I>his anger
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endureth but for a moment,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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When we offend him he is angry; but, as he is slow to anger and not
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soon provoked, so when he is angry, upon our repentance and humiliation
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his anger is soon turned away and he is willing to be at peace with us.
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If he hide his face from his own children, and suspend the wonted
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tokens of his favour, it is but <I>in a little wrath,</I> and <I>for a
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small moment;</I> but he will <I>gather them with everlasting
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kindness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:7,8">Isa. liv. 7, 8</A>.
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If <I>weeping endureth for a night,</I> and it be a wearisome night,
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yet as sure as the light of the morning returns after the darkness of
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the night, so sure will joy and comfort return in a short time, in due
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time, to the people of God; for the covenant of grace is as firm as the
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covenant of the day. This word has often been fulfilled to us in the
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letter. Weeping has endured for a night, but the grief has been soon
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over and the grievance gone. Observe, As long as God's anger continues
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so long the saints' weeping continues; but, if that be but for a
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moment, the affliction is but for a moment, and when the light of God's
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countenance is restored the affliction is easily pronounced light and
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momentary.
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(2.) We have found his smiles very sweet; <I>In his favour is life,</I>
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that is, all good. The return of his favour to an afflicted soul is as
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life from the dead; nothing can be more reviving. Our happiness is
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bound up in God's favour; if we have that, we have enough, whatever
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else we want. It is the life of the soul, it is spiritual life, the
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earnest of life eternal.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps30_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps30_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Prayer and Praise.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
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7 L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand
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strong: thou didst hide thy face, <I>and</I> I was troubled.
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8 I cried to thee, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; and unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> I made
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supplication.
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9 What profit <I>is there</I> in my blood, when I go down to the
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pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
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10 Hear, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and have mercy upon me: L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, be thou my
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helper.
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11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast
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put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
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12 To the end that <I>my</I> glory may sing praise to thee, and not
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be silent. O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have, in these verses, an account of three several states that David
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was in successively, and of the workings of his heart towards God in
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each of those states--what he said and did, and how his heart stood
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affected; in the first of these we may see what we are too apt to be,
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and in the other two what we should be.</P>
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<P>
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I. He had long enjoyed prosperity, and then he grew secure and
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over-confident of the continuance of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>):
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"<I>In my prosperity,</I> when I was in health of body and God had
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<I>given me rest from all my enemies, I said I shall never be
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moved;</I> I never thought either of having my body distempered or my
|
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government disturbed, not had any apprehensions of danger upon any
|
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|
|
account." Such complete victories had he obtained over those that
|
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|
|
opposed him, and such a confirmed interest had he in the hearts of his
|
||
|
|
people, such a firmness of mind and such a strong constitution of body,
|
||
|
|
that he thought his prosperity fixed like a mountain; yet this he
|
||
|
|
ascribes, not to his own wisdom or fortitude, but to the divine
|
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|
|
goodness. <I>Thou, through thy favour, hast made my mountain to stand
|
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|
|
strong,</I>
|
||
|
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|
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|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
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|
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He does not look upon it as his <I>heaven</I> (as worldly people do,
|
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|
|
who make their prosperity their felicity), only his <I>mountain;</I> it
|
||
|
|
is earth still, only raised a little higher than the common level.
|
||
|
|
This he thought, by the favour of God, would be perpetuated to him,
|
||
|
|
imagining perhaps that, having had so many troubles in the beginning of
|
||
|
|
his days, he had had his whole share and should have none in his latter
|
||
|
|
end, or that God, who had given him such tokens of his favour, would
|
||
|
|
never frown upon him. Note,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. We are very apt to dream, when things are well with us, that they
|
||
|
|
will always be so, and never otherwise. <I>To-morrow shall be as this
|
||
|
|
day.</I> As if we should think, when the weather is once fair, that it
|
||
|
|
will be even fair; whereas nothing is more certain than that it will
|
||
|
|
change.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. When we see ourselves deceived in our expectations, it becomes us to
|
||
|
|
reflect, with shame, upon our security, as our folly, as David does
|
||
|
|
here, that we may be wiser another time and may rejoice in our
|
||
|
|
prosperity as though we rejoiced not, because the fashion of it passes
|
||
|
|
away.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
II. On a sudden he fell into trouble, and then he prayed to God, and
|
||
|
|
pleaded earnestly for relief and succour.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. His mountain was shaken and he with it; it proved, when he grew
|
||
|
|
secure, that he was least safe: "<I>Thou didst hide thy face and I was
|
||
|
|
troubled,</I> in mind, body, or estate." In every change of his
|
||
|
|
condition he still kept his eye upon God, and, as he ascribed his
|
||
|
|
prosperity to God's favour, so in his adversity he observed the hiding
|
||
|
|
of God's face, to be the cause of it. If God hide his face, a good man
|
||
|
|
is certainly troubled, though no other calamity befal him; when the sun
|
||
|
|
sets night certainly follows, and the moon and all the stars cannot
|
||
|
|
make day.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. When his mountain was shaken he lifted up his eyes above the hills.
|
||
|
|
Prayer is a salve for every sore; he made use of it accordingly. <I>Is
|
||
|
|
any afflicted?</I> Is any troubled? <I>Let him pray.</I> Though God hid
|
||
|
|
his face from him, yet he prayed. If God, in wisdom and justice, turn
|
||
|
|
from us, yet it will be in us the greatest folly and injustice
|
||
|
|
imaginable if we turn from him. No; let us learn to pray in the dark
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<I>I cried to thee, O Lord!</I> It seems God's withdrawings made his
|
||
|
|
prayers the more vehement. We are here told, for it seems he kept
|
||
|
|
account of it,</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(1.) What he pleaded,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
[1.] That God would be no gainer by his death: <I>What profit is there
|
||
|
|
in my blood?</I> implying that he would willingly die if he could
|
||
|
|
thereby do any real service to God or his country
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+2:17">Phil. ii. 17</A>),
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
but he saw not what good could be done by his dying in the bed of
|
||
|
|
sickness, as might be if he had died in the bed of honour. "Lord," says
|
||
|
|
he, "wilt thou sell one of thy own <I>people for nought and not
|
||
|
|
increase thy wealth by the price?</I>"
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+44"12">Ps. xliv. 12</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Nay
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
[2.] That, in his honour, God would seem to be a loser by his death:
|
||
|
|
<I>Shall the dust praise thee?</I> The sanctified spirit, which returns
|
||
|
|
to God, shall praise him, shall be still praising him; but the dust,
|
||
|
|
which returns to the earth, shall not praise him, nor declare his
|
||
|
|
truth. The services of God's house cannot be performed by the dust; it
|
||
|
|
cannot praise him; there is none of that device or working in the
|
||
|
|
grave, for it is the land of silence. The promises of God's covenant
|
||
|
|
cannot be performed to the dust. "Lord," says David, "if I die now,
|
||
|
|
what will become of the promise made to me? Who shall declare the truth
|
||
|
|
of that?" The best pleas in prayer are those that are taken from God's
|
||
|
|
honour; and then we ask aright for life when we have that in view, that
|
||
|
|
we may live and praise him.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(2.) What he prayed for,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
He prayed for mercy to pardon (<I>Have mercy upon me</I>), and for
|
||
|
|
grace to help in time of need--<I>Lord, be thou my helper.</I> On these
|
||
|
|
two errands we also may come boldly to the throne of grace,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+4:16">Heb. iv. 16</A>.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
III. In due time God delivered him out of his troubles and restored him
|
||
|
|
to his former prosperity. His prayers were answered and his <I>mourning
|
||
|
|
was turned into dancing,</I>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
God's anger now endured but for a moment, and David's weeping but for a
|
||
|
|
night. The sackcloth with which, in a humble compliance with the divine
|
||
|
|
Providence, he had clad himself, was loosed; his griefs were balanced;
|
||
|
|
his fears were silenced; his comforts returned; and he was girded with
|
||
|
|
gladness: joy was made his ornament, was made his strength, and seemed
|
||
|
|
to cleave to him, as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man. As
|
||
|
|
David's plunge into trouble from the height of prosperity, and then
|
||
|
|
when he least expected it, teaches us to rejoice as though we rejoiced
|
||
|
|
not, because we know not how near trouble may be, so his sudden return
|
||
|
|
to a prosperous condition teaches us to weep as though we wept not,
|
||
|
|
because we know not how soon the storm may become a calm and the
|
||
|
|
formidable blast may become a favourable gale. But what temper of mind
|
||
|
|
was he in upon this happy change of the face of his affairs? What does
|
||
|
|
he say now? He tells us,
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+30:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
1. His complaints were turned into praises. He looked upon it that God
|
||
|
|
girded him with gladness to the end that he might be the <I>sweet
|
||
|
|
psalmist of Israel</I>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+23:1">2 Sam. xxiii. 1</A>),
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
that his <I>glory might sing praise to God,</I> that is, his tongue
|
||
|
|
(for our tongue is our glory, and never more so than when it is
|
||
|
|
employed in praising God) or his soul, for that is our glory above the
|
||
|
|
beasts, that must be employed in blessing the Lord, and with that we
|
||
|
|
must make melody to him in singing psalms. Those that are kept from
|
||
|
|
being silent in the pit must not be silent in the land of the living,
|
||
|
|
but fervent, and constant, and public, in praising God.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
2. These praises were likely to be everlasting: <I>I will give thanks
|
||
|
|
unto thee for ever.</I> This bespeaks a gracious resolution that he
|
||
|
|
would persevere to the end in praising God and a gracious hope that he
|
||
|
|
should never want fresh matter for praise and that he should shortly be
|
||
|
|
where this would be the everlasting work. <I>Blessed are those that
|
||
|
|
dwell in God's house; they will be still praising him.</I> Thus must we
|
||
|
|
learn to accommodate ourselves to the various providences of God that
|
||
|
|
concern us, to want and to abound, to sing of mercy and judgment, and
|
||
|
|
to sing unto God for both.</P>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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