Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 30:7

"Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face; I was troubled." — Psalms 30:7 (ASV)

Lord, by your favor you have made my mountain to stand strong - Margin: “settled strength for my mountain.” This refers, I understand, to his former state of mind: his confidence in what constituted his prosperity (as referred to in the previous verse), his feeling in that state that everything concerning him was safe, and his freedom from any fear of change. The word “mountain” seems to be used as signifying what he relied on for his security or strength, just as a mountain or inaccessible hills provided a refuge and security in times of danger.

See Psalms 18:1-2, Psalms 18:33; Psalms 27:5. It does not refer to Mount Moriah or Mount Zion, as some have supposed, because the passage relates to a former period of his life when he did not possess these. Instead, he speaks of himself as having, through the favor of God, established himself in a strong position—a position where he feared no enemy and no change, where he thought himself entirely secure—the state of “prosperity” to which he had referred in the previous verse. In that state, however, God showed him that there was no real security except in His favor: security not in what a person can draw around himself, but in the favor of God alone.

You did hide your face - That is, at the time when I was so confident, when I thought my mountain stood so strong, and I was so secure. Then I was shown how insecure and uncertain everything I relied on was, and how absolutely, after all I had done, I was dependent on God for safety. To “hide the face” is synonymous in the Scriptures with withdrawing favor or with displeasure. See the notes at Psalms 13:1. Compare to Psalms 104:29.

And I was troubled - I was confounded, perplexed, agitated, terrified. I was thrown into sudden fear, for all that I had so confidently relied on, all that I thought was so firm, was suddenly swept away. We do not know what this was in the psalmist’s case. It may have been the strength of his own fortifications; it may have been the number and discipline of his army; it may have been his own conscious power and skill as a warrior; it may have been his wealth; it may have been his bodily health—in reference to any of which he may have felt as if none of these things could fail. When that on which he so confidently relied was swept away, he was agitated, troubled, and anxious. The same thing may occur now, and often does occur, when people rely on their own strength, their health, or their wealth.

Suddenly, any of these may be swept away; suddenly, they are often swept away to teach such people—even good people—their dependence on God, and to show them how vain is every other refuge.