For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness.

“In the preceding Psalm the prophet exhorted others to acts of thanksgiving; but here he himself gives thanks. The title: "A Psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of the house of David." As was said above, they are called "Psalms of a canticle" because first there was singing, and afterward the Psalm followed, as it were a Psalm following upon a canticle. But we read that David did not dedicate a house to God, because he was forbidden by the Lord through Nathan, 2 Kings 7. But here it is not called "the house of the Lord," but "of David." We read in 2 Kings 5 that after the death of Saul he took Jerusalem, and there made his house. And it is customary that when someone enters a house, he holds a solemnity. And it could be said that this Psalm was then sung by David himself, when he first entered that new house to dwell there. However, it is better understood as referring to the mystery of the house of David, that is, of Christ, who is the head and body of the Church. And this same thing is called a tabernacle. Above it was said, "for the completion of the tabernacle"; but here, "at the dedication of the house." The tabernacle belongs to those who are in warfare, and thus the present Church is called a tabernacle. Revelation 21: "Behold the tabernacle of God with men," etc. The house belongs to those who are at rest, and thus the Church awaits the rest of the homeland: Psalm 121: "We shall go into the house of the Lord." Each of these has its construction, which was in the ordaining of his incarnation, and its dedication, which was in the resurrection, when the body of Christ was clothed with the glory of immortality. Upon the body of Christ it is continually being built, and through the conversion of the faithful it will be dedicated, when it will be in glory. This Psalm is divided into two parts. In the first, he recalls in general the benefits for which he gives thanks. Second, in particular, at the place, "But I said." Concerning the first he does two things. First he gives thanks for his own benefits. Second he invites others to give thanks for the common benefits, at the place, "Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints." Concerning the first he does three things. First he sets down the act of thanksgiving. Second he recalls the benefits, at the place, "for thou hast upheld me." Third he explains, at the place, "O Lord my God." He says therefore, "Lord, I will extol thee," not by making thee higher, but by confessing and praising thy loftiness: Ecclesiasticus 43: "Blessing the Lord, extol him as much as you can." And he assigns two benefits on account of which he extols him: one on the part of God, and the other on the part of his enemies, and the second is the effect of the first. On the part of God, because "thou hast upheld me" into thy protection, when he chose him and protected him, as is found in 1 Kings 16, down to the end. Or, God upholds the just when he unites to himself those who cling to him through the union of charity. But he united the man Christ to himself by taking him up into a perfect unity: Psalm 3: "But thou, O Lord, art my protector," etc. On the part of his enemies: because, "thou hast not delighted..." For this is not a small thing, that enemies should rejoice over one, since they do not rejoice except over his evil, and no one desires evil except for one he hates: Ecclesiasticus 18: "If thou grant to thy soul its desires, it will make thee a joy to thy enemies." But it is certain that David did not become a joy to his enemies, because Saul did not attain his purpose regarding him. But concerning Christ it does not seem so: Matthew 27: "for they insulted him now crucified, saying, Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God," etc. Likewise, the wicked also insult just men, and rejoice over them: Job 30: "Young men in years deride me, now I am turned into their song, and am become a byword to them." But it must be said that if for an hour the Jews rejoiced over Christ, nevertheless not finally, for when Christ rose again his name prevailed all the more: Micah 7: "Rejoice not, thou my enemy, over me, because I am fallen; I shall arise." Then when he says, "O Lord my God," he shows how he was set free. And first from interior evils. Second from exterior ones, at the place, "Lord, thou hast brought." The interior evil is infirmity, whether bodily or spiritual. These two could be present in David and in us, but in Christ only the bodily, on account of his passibility; and therefore he says, "I cried," namely David: Psalm 119: "To the Lord, when I was in trouble, I cried." Likewise Christ cried out, even though inasmuch as he is God he is the hearer of prayer: Hebrews 5: "with a strong cry and tears," etc. There follows, "and thou hast healed me." He says this because David was healed from both infirmities; but Christ he healed from bodily passibility only. Consequently he says he was freed from exterior evils, "Lord, thou hast brought forth." And first from those that were imminent. Second from those from which he was preserved, at the place, "thou hast saved." He says therefore, "Lord, thou hast brought forth," etc.; this cannot be understood literally of David, because he had not been rescued from Hell when he composed this Psalm. It can be understood of him metaphorically, as though he had been freed from mortal danger. But literally it is understood of Christ, whose soul was brought forth from Hell by God: Psalm 15: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell." Likewise it applies to those who through Christ have been raised up: Zechariah 9: "But thou by the blood of thy testament hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water." Second he says he was preserved from mortal danger, when he adds, "thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit." Literally, the "pit" is taken for a hollow, for it was the custom of antiquity that men were buried in deep hollows: "thou hast saved me," he says, "from them that go down into the pit," as if to say, thou hast freed me from the dangers of death. But of Christ it is expounded best, because by the "pit" is understood eternal damnation; for although Christ descended into Hell, he did not descend there as unto damnation, but in order to free those who were in the pit; as if to say, thou hast granted me not to be made like those who go down into the pit: Psalm 87: "I am become as a man without help, free among the dead." Or, "into the pit," that is, into sin, for he was immune from sin. Then when he says, "Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints," etc., he first leads others to an act of thanksgiving. Second he recalls the benefits, at the place, "for wrath is in his indignation." Where he does two things: for first he shows who they are who owe thanks to God. Second, for what, at the place, "give praise." He says therefore, "sing." Behold how it is "a Psalm of a canticle." "Sing," I say, you saints, because Ecclesiasticus 15: "Praise is not beautiful in the mouth of a sinner"; Revelation 19: "Give praise to our God, all ye his saints." But concerning what? "Give praise," giving thanks, "to the remembrance of his holiness." In one way "remembrance" can be understood as meaning that God is mindful of us: Jeremiah 2: "I have remembered thee," etc. And he says, "of his holiness." And this can be understood in two ways: either because this remembrance arises from his holiness, that is, from his mercy and goodness — Leviticus 11: "Be ye holy, because I am holy" — or because he is mindful of us in order to sanctify us: Leviticus 20: "I am the Lord who sanctify you." In another way, "of remembrance," namely ours, because we call to mind the holiness of God, as if to say, give praise by calling to mind his holiness: Isaiah 63: "I will remember the tender mercies of the Lord." Second, when he says, "for wrath," he recalls the benefits shown to all. Where he does two things. First he sets forth these benefits, which pertain to God's clemency. Second he shows a sign of his clemency, at the place, "in the evening." He says therefore, "for wrath," etc. The mercy of God is not without justice; therefore he first sets down justice. Second, mercy: justice, when he says, "for wrath." Here "wrath" is taken for the effect of wrath, that is, for vengeance; but "indignation" is taken not for a stirring of anger in God, but for the justice of God, according to which he abhors the wicked man, for Wisdom 14: "the wicked man and his wickedness are alike hateful to God"; as if to say, "in his indignation," that is, in the justice of God judging sins in wrath, that is, in vengeance. Jerome, more plainly: "for his wrath is but for a moment," as if to say, if at any time he is angry with his own, this is for correction, for a brief time: Isaiah 54: "In a moment of indignation I hid," etc.; Ezekiel 18: "I desire not the death of the sinner that dieth." Jerome: "life in his good pleasure," as if to say, he punishes for a moment, and afterward becomes propitious again, and restores life: Job 5: "He striketh, and his hands heal." He shows a sign of his clemency and mercy according to the letter, when he adds, "in the evening it shall tarry," as if to say, in a short time the Lord leads from sorrow to consolation, for if someone is sad in the evening, in the morning he will be joyful. A threefold reason can be assigned why sadness is present in the evening, and joy in the morning. One is from the exterior disposition: because the evening is the beginning of darkness, which saddens, but the morning, of light, which gladdens; hence the blind, that they might rejoice, sing: Tobit 5: "What manner of joy shall be to me, who sit in darkness, and do not see the light of heaven?" Second, from an interior cause: morning is the hour of blood, in which man is disposed to joy; evening is the hour of melancholy, in which man is disposed to sadness. Third, from the nature of sleep: for sleep is the rest of animals, hence sadness is quieted through sleep. Mystically the letter is plain: because at the evening of the Lord's burial there was sadness, since the faithful still wept over the death of Christ. But at the morning, on account of the news of the resurrection, there was joy. If it be referred to the whole human race, then thus: "in the evening," that is, the sin of the first parent, there was sadness, because, as is found in Genesis 3, Adam sinned after midday, the sun already inclining toward its setting. And this weeping cannot be called brief, because even after the restoration of grace its remnants remain. But in the morning, that is, in Christ, there is joy. Or, in the evening, when spiritual light begins to fail in man, then in him is weeping; but when it shines forth again in him, then there is joy: Psalm 5: "In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see." "But I said in my abundance." Above he gave thanks for the divine benefits; here, however, he pursues the whole order of how he attained this. Where he does three things. First he sets down the process of his being set right. Second, his recourse to prayer, "to thee, O Lord, will I cry." Third he shows the hearing of his prayer, at the place, "the Lord heard." According to the Gloss, these first things are understood of Christ, and of any man whatsoever. And first let us explain how they are understood of any man: Ecclesiasticus 10: "Pride is the beginning of all sin." And therefore in the process of his being set right, first is set down the presumption of those who trust in themselves. Second, the falseness of the presumption, at the place, "Lord, in thy will." Third, the punishment of the presumption, at the place, "thou didst turn away thy face from me." He says therefore, "I said" — that is, I presumed in my heart — "in my abundance," of bodily prosperity: "I shall not be moved," that is, I shall not fail: Revelation 18: "I sit a queen," etc.; Ecclesiasticus 11: "In the day of good things be not unmindful," etc. Or "in abundance," of spiritual goods, as Adam was in Paradise: Ezekiel 28: "full of wisdom, perfect in beauty, in the delights." And in this abundance they say, "I shall not be moved." Against which it is said, 1 Corinthians 10: "he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall." He shows the falseness of the presumption when he says, "Lord, in thy will," etc. The beauty of man temporally is temporal prosperity; therefore it is compared to a flower: Isaiah 40: "All flesh is grass." But this beauty by its own nature does not have strength beyond measure, as is found in James 1: "As the flower of grass shall he pass away. For the sun rose with a burning heat, and parched the grass, and the flower thereof fell, and the beauty of the shape thereof perished: so also shall the rich man," etc. But whence does it have strength and firmness and constancy? Certainly, from the will of God. And therefore he said — but presumptuously — "I shall not be moved." But it is not so; rather, as long as it pleased thee, "thou didst grant strength to my beauty." Rightly "forever," because these things are eternal for the saints in the homeland; but here, according to his will. Likewise "beauty" can be taken for spiritual power: Proverbs, last chapter: "strength and beauty," etc. Here too, by its own nature, it is not strong, for "we have this beauty in earthen vessels," 2 Corinthians 4; Luke, last chapter: "sit ye in the city, till you be endued with power from on high." And therefore he says, "thou didst grant strength to my beauty," but "in thy will": Romans 9: "he hath mercy on whom he will." And this he proves by the effect: because "when thou didst turn away thy face," I perished. Now God is said to turn away his face from man, either so as not to see him, or so as not to be seen by him. But he sees all with a simple vision and knowledge, but some with a vision of mercy: Psalm 24: "Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me." Thou hast therefore turned away thy face from me, lest thou have mercy on me. And immediately, "I became troubled," either spiritually by falling into sin, or temporally into adversity. Or, "thou didst turn away thy face," so as not to be seen by me — and this seems to be the sense of Jerome's text. In whatever adversities, the strength of man is to have his eyes toward God: Psalm 76: "I remembered God, and was delighted." Thou didst turn away, therefore, that I should not see. "And I became troubled." But if it be expounded of Christ, then in this, "I said," not indeed presumptuously, but with certainty of knowledge, "in my abundance," that is, of virtues and graces: John 1: "we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only-begotten of the Father." "I shall not be moved" from the will of God: John 8: "I do always the things that please him." And this, because "thou didst grant strength to my beauty," namely of working miracles, and of resisting adversaries: Romans 1: "predestined the Son of God in power." And this is evident: because "when thou didst turn away thy face from me" — in the passion: Psalm 21: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me" — "I became troubled," not in reason, but in sensuality: John 12: "Now is my soul troubled." "To thee." Consequently he has recourse to prayer when he says, "to thee, O Lord, will I cry," etc. And first he sets down the prayer. Second he assigns the reason, at the place, "what profit." Third he shows the hearing of the prayer, at the place, "the Lord heard." Concerning the first he does two things, for first he prays for the removal of evil. Second, for the attaining of good, at the place, "and I will make supplication to my God." He says therefore, "to thee, O Lord, will I cry," so that "cry" is understood as the prayer that is made for the removal of evil — in Christ, of the passion; in the sinner, of sin; in man, of adversity. "And I will make supplication to my God." Supplication is on account of a good to be given: to Christ, namely, glory; to the sinner, grace; to the afflicted man, prosperity. Or, "cry" may be referred to the affliction of the heart, "supplication" to the persistence of prayer: James, last chapter: "the continual supplication of a just man availeth much." Then when he says, "what profit is there in the blood," he assigns the reason in two ways. And first in general. Second in particular, at the place, "shall dust confess to thee." He says therefore, "what profit"? If it be expounded of Christ, in the blood of Christ there was the greatest profit: Matthew 26: "shall be shed for many unto the remission of sins." But if he had not been quickly raised up again, but his resurrection had been delayed until the end of the world, there would have been no profit in it, or even if by then his body had been wholly corrupted. But did the passion suffice for salvation? Yes. But if this had not been — namely that he had not risen, and quickly — his divinity would not have been believed, and thus men would not have obtained the profit. In particular he shows it, saying, "shall dust confess to thee." "Dust" is spoken of in two ways. In one way "dust" is understood of sinners: Psalm 1: "like the dust which the wind driveth from the face of the earth." Through the death of Christ, sinners, who are dust, attained to two goods after the resurrection: namely, that they should confess their sins: Acts 2: "having heard these things, they were pricked in their heart," etc. And therefore he says, "shall dust confess to thee?" — namely the sinner — "if I go down into" the corruption of decay; as if to say, no. The other good is the confession of the truth of the faith; hence, "or shall it declare thy truth?" Or, will dust dissolved from the body now be the matter, so that through the apostles the peoples might confess the truth to thee, or the apostles themselves confess thy truth? If it be expounded of man, then thus: "shall it confess" — that is, if I die, I shall not be able to praise thee. Third, when he says, "the Lord heard," he shows the hearing of his prayer. And first the hearing is set down. Second, the manner of the hearing, at the place, "and had mercy." Third, the fruit, "that my glory may sing to thee." He says therefore, "the Lord heard," etc. He had said above, "I will cry"; but here he says he was heard, for "the Lord heard," because he did hear: Isaiah, the second-to-last chapter: "and it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will hear; while they are yet speaking, I will hear"; John 11: "Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me; and I knew that thou hearest me always." Then the manner is set down: "and hath had mercy on me." And first he shows the manner itself. Second he explains, at the place, "thou hast turned," etc. The Gloss says: "I will cry" against evils, and "I will make supplication" for goods, and in both I am heard. For as to the first, "he hath had mercy on me," by removing every evil of punishment. As to the second, "the Lord is become my helper." And that I attained the glory of immortality: Psalm 27: "my helper and my protector; in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again." He explains the manner, when he says, "thou hast turned." According as he speaks of Christ, he says two things. For first is shown the change from evils to good, as to interior things. Second, as to exterior things, at the place, "thou hast cut." Christ had mourning in himself at the time of his passion, for "my soul is sorrowful," etc., Matthew 26. And in his own, John 16: "for you shall lament and weep," etc. "Thou hast turned" this mourning, he says, "into joy" of the resurrection. As to himself: Psalm 20: "In thy strength, O Lord, the king shall joy," namely Christ. As to his own: for "the disciples were glad, when they saw the Lord," John 20. Second is shown the change made from evils to goods as to exterior things: because, "thou hast cut." Sackcloth is a rough garment, and is placed upon the loins in time of sorrow, and is made of the hair of goats. Thus sackcloth is the flesh of Christ, according as it has the likeness of sinful flesh. For goats and kids signify sinners, because they were offered for sins, as is found in the Gloss. "Thou hast cut my sackcloth" — that is, thou didst permit it to be torn by the nails and the spear — and thou didst restore to me immortality; and therefore he says, "thou hast girded me." Or, of any just man whatsoever can be understood the mourning changed into joy: John 16: "your sorrow shall be turned into joy"; Tobit 3: "after lamentation and weeping, thou pourest in exultation." Then when he says, "that my glory may sing," the fruit of the hearing of his prayer is set down. Now the fruit is the glory of God; and that it may redound to the glory of God can be understood in two ways: either of the glory of the resurrection of Christ, or of the glory of the saints; hence he says, "my glory" — given to me in the resurrection, or to be given to the saints in the homeland — "may sing to thee," that is, may be my praise to thee: John 17: "that thy Son may glorify thee"; and that this may be forever; hence he says, "O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever": Psalm 83: "Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they shall praise thee for ever and ever."”

“We have, in these verses, an account of three several states that David was in successively, and of the workings of his heart towards God in each of those states - what he said and did, and how his heart stood affected; in the first of these we may see what we are too apt to be, and in the other two what we should be. I. He had long enjoyed prosperity, and then he grew secure and over-confident of the continuance of it (Psa 30:6, Psa 30:7): "In my prosperity, when I was in health of body and God had given me rest from all my enemies, I said I shall never be moved; I never thought either of having my body distempered or my government disturbed, not had any apprehensions of danger upon any account." Such complete victories had he obtained over those that 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 goodness. Thou, through thy favour, hast made my mountain to stand strong, Psa 30:7. He does not look upon it as his heaven (as worldly people do, who make their prosperity their felicity), only his mountain; 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. Tomorrow shall be as this day. 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. II. On a sudden he fell into trouble, and then he prayed to God, and pleaded earnestly for relief and succour. 1. His mountain was shaken and he with it; it proved, when he grew secure, that he was least safe: "Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled, 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. 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. Is any afflicted? Is any troubled? Let him pray. 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 (Psa 30:8): I cried to thee, O Lord! It seems God's withdrawings made his prayers the more vehement. We are here told, for it seems he kept account of it, (1.) What he pleaded, Psa 30:9. [1.] That God would be no gainer by his death: What profit is there in my blood? implying that he would willingly die if he could thereby do any real service to God or his country (Phi 2:17), 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 people for nought and not increase thy wealth by the price?" Psa 44:12. Nay [2.] That, in his honour, God would seem to be a loser by his death: Shall the dust praise thee? 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. (2.) What he prayed for, Psa 30:10. He prayed for mercy to pardon (Have mercy upon me), and for grace to help in time of need - Lord, be thou my helper. On these two errands we also may come boldly to the throne of grace, Heb 4:16. III. In due time God delivered him out of his troubles and restored him to his former prosperity. His prayers were answered and his mourning was turned into dancing, Psa 30:11. 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, Psa 30:12. 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 sweet psalmist of Israel (Sa2 23:1), that his glory might sing praise to God, 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 will give thanks unto thee for ever. 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. Blessed are those that dwell in God's house; they will be still praising him. 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.”

“And in my prosperity,.... Either outward prosperity, when he was settled in his kingdom, and as acknowledged king by all the tribes of Israel, and had gotten the victory over all his enemies, and was at rest from them round about; or inward and spiritual prosperity, having a spiritual appetite for the word, being in the lively exercise of grace, growing in it, and in the knowledge of Christ; favoured with communion with God, having flesh discoveries of pardoning grace and mercy, corruptions being subdued, the inward man renewed with spiritual strength, and more fruitful in every good word and work. This being the case, I said, I shall never be moved; so in outward prosperity men are apt to sing a requiem to themselves, and fancy it will always be thus with them, be in health of body, and enjoying the affluence of temporal things, and so put away the evil day in one sense and another from them; and even good men themselves are subject to this infirmity, Job 29:18; and who also, when in comfortable frames of soul, and in prosperous circumstances in spiritual things, are ready to conclude if will always be thus with them, or better. Indeed they can never be moved as to their state and condition with respect to God; not from his heart, where they are set as a seal; nor out of the arms of Christ, and covenant of grace; nor out of the family of God; nor from a state of justification and grace; but they may be moved as to the exercise of grace and discharge of duty, in which they vary; and especially when they are self-confident, and depend upon their own strength for the performance of these things, and for a continuance in such frames, which seems to have been David's case; and therefore he corrects himself, and his sense of things, in Psa 30:7.”

“Wrath, which is a short fury. (Menochius) (Isaias liv. 7.) — Hebrew, “momentary is his indignation;” or rather, “from his indignation comes destruction,” roga, as the Septuagint constantly (Haydock) agree, Job xx. 5., and Isaias xxviii. 12., &c. (Calmet) — “The miseries which are inflicted, are in consequence of his indignation.” (Prin. dis. Berthier)— We are not miserable unless we have deserved it. (St. Augustine) — Even in chastising, God considers our welfare. (Worthington) — He takes no pleasure in our torments, but delights to crown us with life and happiness. (Haydock) — Eternal joys are the fruits of the short sorrows of this world, (Berthier) which is represented as one night or evening. (Haydock) — A few moments ago Jerusalem expected nothing but destruction. Thus the apostles grieved till Christ rose again; (Calmet) and the life of the just is a constant vicissitude of sorrow and of comfort. (Worthington)”

“(Heb.: 30:7-8) David now relates his experience in detail, beginning with the cause of the chastisement, which he has just undergone. In ואני אמרתּי (as in Psa 31:23; Psa 49:4) he contrasts his former self-confidence, in which (like the רשׁע, Psa 10:6) he thought himself to be immoveable, with the God-ward trust he has now gained in the school of affliction. Instead of confiding in the Giver, he trusted in the gift, as though it had been his own work. It is uncertain, - but it is all the same in the end, - whether שׁלוי is the inflected infinitive שלו of the verb שׁלי (which we adopt in our translation), or the inflected noun שׁלו (שׁלוּ) = שׁלו, after the form שׂחוּ, a swimming, Eze 47:5, = שׁלוה, Jer 22:21. The inevitable consequence of such carnal security, as it is more minutely described in Deu 8:11-18, is some humbling divine chastisement. This intimate connection is expressed by the perfects in Psa 30:8, which represent God's pardon, God's withdrawal of favour, which is brought about by his self-exaltation, and the surprise of his being undeceived, as synchronous. העמיד עז, to set up might is equivalent to: to give it as a lasting possession; cf. Ch2 33:8, which passage is a varied, but not (as Riehm supposes) a corrupted, repetition of Kg2 21:8. It is, therefore, unnecessary, as Hitzig does, to take ל as accusatival and עז as adverbial: in Thy favour hadst Thou made my mountain to stand firm. The mountain is Zion, which is strong by natural position and by the additions of art (Sa2 5:9); and this, as being the castle-hill, is the emblem of the kingdom of David: Jahve had strongly established his kingdom for David, when on account of his trust in himself He made him to feel how all that he was he was only by Him, and without Him he was nothing whatever. The form of the inflexion הררי, instead of הרי = harri, is defended by Gen 14:6 and Jer 17:3 (where it is הררי as if from הרר). The reading להדרי (lxx, Syr.), i.e., to my kingly dignity is a happy substitution; whereas the reading of the Targum להררי, "placed (me) on firm mountains," at once refutes itself by the necessity for supplying "me."”