John Gill Commentary Psalms 30

I will extol you, O Lord
Or "lift you up on high" ^F11 . The Lord is high in his name, he is the most High; and in his nature, there is none besides him, nor like unto him; and in place, he dwells in the high and holy place; he is above all, angels and men; he is above all gods; he is the King of kings, and Lord of lords; he cannot be higher than he is: to extol him, therefore, is to declare him to be what he is; to exalt him in high praises of him, which the psalmist determined to do, for the following reasons;

for you have lifted me up ;
or "drawn me up", or "out" ^F12 ; from the pit of nature; the low estate of unregeneracy; the pit wherein is no water: the horrible pit, the mire and clay of sin and misery, in which all men, while unconverted, are; and out of which they cannot lift themselves, being without strength, yes, dead in sin: this is God's work; he takes out of this pit, he draws out of it by his efficacious grace; he raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill; and this is an instance of his grace and mercy, and requires a new song of praise: or this may regard some great fall by sin, from which he was restored, through the grace and power of God; or deliverance from great troubles, compared to waters, out of which he was drawn, (Psalms 18:16) ; and was lifted up above his enemies; and agrees very well with his being brought to his palace and throne again, upon the defeat of Absalom;

and have not made my foes to rejoice over me ;
as Satan does over unregenerate sinners, when he possesses their hearts, and keeps the house and goods in peace; and as the men of the world do over fallen saints, when forsaken by the Lord, and afflicted by him, and are under the frowns of his providence; but the conspirators against David were not suffered to succeed and rejoice over him, which they otherwise would have done; and for this he praises the Lord.

FOOTNOTES:

• F11: (Kmmwda) "superexaltabo te", Cocceius; "elevabo te", Michaelis.
• F12: (ygylr) "me sursum extraxisti", Cocceius; so Michaelis; "thou hast drawn me up", Ainsworth.

O Lord my God, I cried unto thee
In the time of his distress and trouble; and whither should he go but unto his covenant God and Father?

and thou hast healed me :
either of some bodily disease that attended him; for the Lord is the physician of the body, as well as of the soul; and that either immediately, or by giving a blessing to means used; and the glory of such a mercy should be given to him.

Or else of soul diseases, which are natural and hereditary, epidemical, nauseous, mortal, and incurable, but by the grace of God and blood of Christ; and the healing: of them either respects the pardon of them at first conversion; for healing diseases, and forgiving iniquities, signify one and the same thing; or else fresh discoveries and applications of pardoning grace, after falls into sin, which are an healing backslidings, and restoring comforts; and this is God's work; none can heal but himself, and he does it effectually, universally, and freely, and which calls for thankfulness, (Psalms 103:1–3) ;

Or this may be understood in a civil sense, of restoring him to his house, his throne and kingdom, and the peace of it.

O Lord, you have brought up my soul from the grave
When his life being in danger, was near to it (Job 33:22Job 33:28); otherwise the soul dies not, nor does it lie and sleep in the grave; or "you have brought up my soul from hell" ^F13; that is, delivered him from those horrors of conscience and terrors of mind, by reason of sin, which were as hell itself to him; see (Psalms 116:3) (Jonah 2:4);

you have kept me alive :
preserved his corporeal life when in danger, and maintained his spiritual life; and quickened him by his word, under all his afflictions, and kept him from utter and black despair;

that I should not go down to the pit ;
either of the grave or hell. There is in this clause a "Keri" and a "Cetib"; a marginal reading, and a textual writing: according to the latter it is, "from them that go down to the pit"; which some versions ^F14 follow; that is, you have preserved me from going along with them, and being where and as they are: our version follows the former; the sense is the same.

FOOTNOTES:

• F13: (lwav Nm) "ab inferno", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.
• F14: So Sept. V. L. Pagninus, Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis, Ainsworth.

Sing unto the Lord, O you saints of his
Such to whom he has been gracious and merciful, and has blessed with pardoning grace, and justifying righteousness, adoption, and a right to eternal life; and who are holy godly persons; in whose hearts principles of grace and holiness are formed; and who are kind and bountiful to others: all which the word ^F15 here used signifies: and these are the Lord's; they are set apart for him, and they are sanctified by him; and therefore should sing his praises, both vocally, and with melody in their hearts;

and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness ;
which is essential to him, and in which he is glorious; and which appears in all his ways and works of providence and grace, and both in the redemption and sanctification of his people; and besides this, there is the holiness of Christ, which is imputed to his saints, and the sanctification of the Spirit, which is wrought in them; and at the remembrance of each of these it highly becomes them to give thanks to the Lord, since hereby they are made meet to be partakers of his kingdom and glory.

FOOTNOTES:

• F15: (wydyoh) "quos ipse benignitate prosequitur", Junius & Tremellius; so Tigurine version.

For his anger [endureth but] a moment
Anger is not properly in God, he being a simple, uncompounded, immovable, and unchangeable being; nor is it ever towards his people in reality, unless anger is distinguished from wrath, and is considered as consistent with his everlasting and invariable love to them; but only in their apprehension, he doing those things which in some respects are similar to those which men do when they are angry; he turns away from them and hides his face, he chides, chastises, and afflicts, and then they conclude he is angry; and when he returns again and takes off his hand, manifests his pardoning love, and comforts them, then they understand it that his anger is turned away from them; for in this improper sense of it, and as his children conceive of it, it is but for a moment, or a very short time: he forsakes them but for a moment, and their light afflictions endure no longer, (Isaiah 54:7Isaiah 54:8) (2 Corinthians 4:17) ;

in his favour [is] life ;
by which is meant his free love and favour in Christ towards his people; and designs either the duration of it, that it lives and always is, even when he seems to be angry, and that it lasts as long as life does, yea, to all eternity; neither death nor life can separate from it; or the object of it, God delighting not in the death but the life of a sinner; or rather the effects of it, it is what makes the present life to be properly life, and really comfortable; without it men may be said rather to be dead than to live, notwithstanding all enjoyments; and therefore it is better than life, abstracted from it, (Psalms 63:3) ; it quickens the soul in a spiritual sense, and makes grace lively; it invigorates faith, encourages hope, and makes love to abound, and it issues in eternal life;

weeping may endure for a night ;
the allusion is to the time when afflictions are usually most heavy and pressing upon persons, when they most feel them, or, however, are free from diversion, and at leisure to bemoan themselves; and may point at the season of weeping, and cause of it, the night of affliction, or of darkness and desertion, and denotes the short continuance of it; weeping is here represented as a person, and as a lodger, for the word may be rendered "lodge" ^F16 ; but then it is as a wayfaring man, who continues but for a night; see (Isaiah 17:14) ;

but joy [cometh] in the morning ;
alluding to the time when all nature is fresh and gay, when man rises cheerful from his rest, darkness removes, light breaks forth, and the sun rises and sheds its beams, and everything looks pleasant and delightful; moreover, the mercies of God are new every morning, which cause joy, and call for thankfulness; and especially it is a time of joy after weeping and darkness, when the sun of righteousness arises with healing in his wings; as it will be to perfection in the resurrection morn, when the dead in Christ will rise first, and be like to him, and reign with him for evermore.

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: (Nyly) "diversetur", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "lodgeth", Ainsworth.