> [[psalm-29|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-31|Next →]] --- # Psalm 30 ## Thanksgiving for Deliverance 1 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple. Of David. ^psalm-30-1 ### I 2 I praise you, LORD, for you raised me up ^psalm-30-2 and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. 3 O LORD, my God, ^psalm-30-3 I cried out to you for help and you healed me. 4 LORD, you brought my soul up from Sheol; ^psalm-30-4 you let me live, from going down to the pit. ### II 5 Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful; ^psalm-30-5 give thanks to his holy memory. 6 For his anger lasts but a moment; ^psalm-30-6 his favor a lifetime. At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing. ### III 7 Complacent, I once said, ^psalm-30-7 “I shall never be shaken.” 8 LORD, you showed me favor, ^psalm-30-8 established for me mountains of virtue. But when you hid your face I was struck with terror. 9 To you, LORD, I cried out; ^psalm-30-9 with the Lord I pleaded for mercy: 10 “What gain is there from my lifeblood, ^psalm-30-10 from my going down to the grave? Does dust give you thanks or declare your faithfulness? 11 Hear, O LORD, have mercy on me; ^psalm-30-11 LORD, be my helper.” ### IV 12 You changed my mourning into dancing; ^psalm-30-12 you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. 13 So that my glory may praise you ^psalm-30-13 and not be silent. O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks. \* (Psalm 30) An individual thanksgiving in four parts: praise and thanks for deliverance and restoration ([Ps 30:2] – [4]); an invitation to others to join in ([Ps 30:5] – [6]); a flashback to the time before deliverance ([Ps 30:7] – [11]); a return to praise and thanks ([Ps 30:12]). Two sets of images recur: 1) going down, death, silence; 2) coming up, life, praising. God has delivered the psalmist from one state to the other. \* (30:1) For the dedication of the Temple: a later adaptation of the Psalm to celebrate the purification of the Temple in 164 B.C. during the Maccabean Revolt. \* (30:3) Healed: for God as healer, see also [Ps 103:3]; [107:20]; [Hos 6:1]; [7:1]; [11:3]; [14:5]. \* (30:4) Sheol…pit: the shadowy underworld residence of the spirits of the dead, here a metaphor for near-death. \* (30:7) Complacent: untroubled existence is often seen as a source of temptation to forget God, cf. [Dt 8:10] – [18]; [[hosea-13|Hos 13]]:6; [Prv 30:9]. \* (30:10) In the stillness of Sheol no one gives you praise; let me live and be among your worshipers, cf. ([[psalm-06|Ps 6]]:6]; [88:11] – [13]; [115:17]; [Is 38:18]. a. (30:4) ([[psalm-28|Ps 28]]:1]; [Jon 2:7]. b. (30:8) [Ps 104:29]. c. (30:12) [Is 61:3]; [Jer 31:13]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[psalm-29|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-31|Next →]]