King James Version
Psalms 30
12 verses with commentary
Joy Comes with the Morning
A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.</strong> Psalm 30's superscription identifies it as "A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David," linking it to dedication of David's palace (2 Samuel 5:11) or possibly temple dedication (though temple was built by Solomon). Regardless of historical specifics, the psalm celebr...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Thou hast lifted me up.**—The Hebrew word seems to mean to *dangle, *and therefore may be used either of *letting down *or *drawing up. *The cognate noun means *bucket *It is used in Exodus 2:19, literally of drawing water from a well; in Proverbs 20:5, metaphorically of counsel. Here it is clearly metaphorical of *restoration from sickness, *and does not refer to the incident in Jeremiah’s ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
Chapter Outline
Job's honour is turned into contempt.(1-14)
Job a burden to himself.(15-31)
**Verses 1-14**
Job contrasts his present condition with his former honour and authority. What little cause have men to be ambitious or proud of that which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! We should not be cast down if we are despised, revile...
Read full commentary →O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
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KJV Study Commentary
The testimony 'O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me' describes answered prayer. Crying to God produced healing—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. Reformed theology emphasizes that all healing is divine—God is the ultimate physician (Ex. 15:26). Medical means are secondary; God's sovereignty governs health and sickness. This verse models testimony—recounting God's speci...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
Chapter Outline
Job's honour is turned into contempt.(1-14)
Job a burden to himself.(15-31)
**Verses 1-14**
Job contrasts his present condition with his former honour and authority. What little cause have men to be ambitious or proud of that which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! We should not be cast down if we are despised, revile...
Read full commentary →O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
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KJV Study Commentary
The declaration 'O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit' describes deliverance from death. Whether literal physical rescue or spiritual salvation from sin's consequences, God intervened. Reformed theology sees salvation from eternal death ultimately—Christ descended to the grave and rose, bringing believers with Him (Eph. ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Grave.**—*Sheôl *(See Note to Psalm 6:5.)
**That I should not go down to the pit.**—This follows a reading which is considered by modern scholars ungrammatical. The ordinary reading, rightly kept by the LXX. and Vulg., means *from these going down to the pit, i.e., *from the dead. (Comp. Psalm 28:1.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
Chapter Outline
Job's honour is turned into contempt.(1-14)
Job a burden to himself.(15-31)
**Verses 1-14**
Job contrasts his present condition with his former honour and authority. What little cause have men to be ambitious or proud of that which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! We should not be cast down if we are despised, revile...
Read full commentary →Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. at: or, to the memorial
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.</strong> Having expressed personal thanksgiving (v.1-3), David broadens the call to corporate worship, inviting God's saints to join praise. This verse transitions from individual testimony to communal celebration, demonstrating how personal deliverance should inspire collective worship.<br><br>"Sin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Sing unto . . .**—Better, *Play to Jehovah, ye saints of his. *(See Note, Psalm 16:10.)
**And give thanks.**—Better, *and sing praises to his holy name. *(See margin.) Possibly Exodus 3:15 was in the poet’s mind. (Comp. Psalm 97:12.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
Chapter Outline
Job's honour is turned into contempt.(1-14)
Job a burden to himself.(15-31)
**Verses 1-14**
Job contrasts his present condition with his former honour and authority. What little cause have men to be ambitious or proud of that which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! We should not be cast down if we are despised, revile...
Read full commentary →For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. his anger: Heb. there is but a moment in his anger for a night: Heb. in the evening joy: Heb. singing
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.</strong> This verse offers one of Scripture's most comforting contrasts—temporary suffering versus enduring blessing. David grounds his call to worship (v.4) in theological reality about God's character, providing both explanation for past suffering and hope for future...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **For his anger.**—Literally,
“For a moment (is) in his anger,
Life in his favour;
In the evening comes to lodge weeping,
But at morning a shout of joy.”
Some supply *comes to lodge *with the last clause, but the image is complete and finer without. It is thoroughly Oriental. Sorrow is the wayfarer who comes to the tent for a night’s lodging, but the metaphor of his taking his leave in the mor...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
Chapter Outline
Job's honour is turned into contempt.(1-14)
Job a burden to himself.(15-31)
**Verses 1-14**
Job contrasts his present condition with his former honour and authority. What little cause have men to be ambitious or proud of that which may be so easily lost, and what little confidence is to be put in it! We should not be cast down if we are despised, revile...
Read full commentary →And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
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KJV Study Commentary
The confession 'And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved' acknowledges past presumption. Prosperity bred false security—forgetting dependence on God. This warns against assuming favorable circumstances will continue without divine preservation. Reformed theology emphasizes total dependence—even in prosperity, believers rely on God's sustaining grace. Comfort can lead to spiritual compla...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **And in.**—Better, *But as for me, in, *&c. The pronoun is emphatic. The mental struggle through which the psalmist had won his way to this sublime faith is now told in the most vivid manner, the very soliloquy being recalled.
**Prosperity.**—Better, *security.*
**I shall never** **be moved.**—Better, *I shall never waver.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19-38. The marvels in heaven. "What is the way (to the place wherein) light dwelleth?" The origin of light and darkness. In Ge 1:3-5, 14-18, "light" is created distinct from, and previous to, light-emitting bodies, the luminaries of heaven.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-12**
When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn...
Read full commentary →LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. made: Heb. settled strength for my mountain
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KJV Study Commentary
The testimony 'LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled' describes both God's establishing grace and disciplining withdrawal. Divine favor creates stability ('mountain stands strong'); divine disfavor creates crisis ('hid face... troubled'). Reformed theology sees sanctifying discipline—God sometimes withdraws felt presence to tea...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Lord, by thy favour**—*i.e.*, *and all the while thou *(not my own strength) *hadst made me secure. *The margin gives the literal rendering, but the reading varies between the text “to my mountain,” “to my honour” (LXX., Vulg., and Syriac), and “on mountains,” the last involving the supply of the pronoun “me.” The sense, however, is the same, and is obvious. The mountain of strength, perhaps...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
39. At Job 38:39-39:30, the instincts of animals. Is it thou that givest it the instinct to hunt its prey? (Psa 104:21).
**appetite--**literally, "life," which depends on the appetite" (Job 33:20).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-12**
When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn...
Read full commentary →I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.
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KJV Study Commentary
The prayer 'I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication' describes response to God's hidden face (v.7). Crisis drove prayer. This models proper response to divine discipline—return to God through confession and supplication, not self-pity or rebellion. Reformed theology emphasizes that trials are meant to drive believers to prayer. God's purpose in withdrawal is restoration thro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **I cried to thee.**—The very words of “this utter agony of prayer” are given. But it is better to keep the futures in Psalm 30:8, instead of translating them as *preterites, *and make the quotation begin here. So Symmachus, “Then I said, *I will cry to thee, O Lord,” *&c
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**40. lie in wait?--**for their prey (Psa 10:9).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-12**
When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn...
Read full commentary →What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?
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KJV Study Commentary
The rhetorical question 'What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?' argues for preservation on the basis of God's glory. Death silences testimony. While not fully understanding afterlife, David argues that living saints glorify God more than dead ones. Reformed theology sees fuller revelation in Christ's resurrection—even d...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **What profit . . .**—*i.e., *to God. For the conception of death as breaking the covenant relation between Israel and Jehovah, and so causing loss to Him as well as to them (for Sheôl had its own king or shepherd, *Death*) by putting an end to all religious service, comp. Hezekiah’s song; Isaiah 38:18. Comp. also Psalm 6:5, and note Psalm 88:11.) Plainly as yet no hope, not even a dim one, ha...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
41. Lu 12:24. Transition from the noble lioness to the croaking raven. Though man dislikes it, as of ill omen, God cares for it, as for all His creatures.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-12**
When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn...
Read full commentary →Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
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KJV Study Commentary
The plea 'Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper' combines petition for audience, compassion, and assistance. This simple prayer acknowledges complete dependence—the psalmist needs God to hear, have mercy, and help. Reformed theology emphasizes that prayer is covenant relationship, not earning divine favor. God has committed to hear His people's cries. Mercy is the basis of ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-12**
When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn...
Read full commentary →Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.</strong> This verse vividly describes transformation from grief to joy, using physical imagery—mourning to dancing, sackcloth to gladness-garment. David celebrates God's complete reversal of his circumstances, demonstrating that divine deliverance isn't merely stopping bad but act...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Thou hast turned for me.**—This verse gives the answer to the prayer. *Mourning *is literally *beating the breast, *and therefore *dancing *forms a proper parallelism; or else, according to one derivation of the word, *machôl *would suggest *piping. *(See margin, Psalm 149:3; Psalm 150:4; see Smith’s *Bible Dictionary, *under “Dance;” and *Bible Educator, *vol. ii., p. 70; and comp. Note to...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 39
Job 39:1-30.
1. Even wild beasts, cut off from all care of man, are cared for by God at their seasons of greatest need. Their instinct comes direct from God and guides them to help themselves in parturition; the very time when the herdsman is most anxious for his herds.
**wild goats--**ibex (Psa 104:18; 1Sa 24:2).
**hinds--**fawns; most timid and defenseless animals, yet cared f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-12**
When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn...
Read full commentary →To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. my glory: that is, my tongue, or, my soul
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.</strong> The psalm concludes with purpose statement and perpetual commitment. David explains why God transformed his mourning to joy—so he could worship. This verse reveals worship as both gift received (enabled by deliverance) and gift given back (offered to God etern...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **My glory.**—The suffix is wanting in the Hebrew, and in all the older versions except LXX. and Vulg. The Chaldee versions make the word concrete and render “the nobles.” The Syriac, reading the verb in a different person, makes *glory *the object—“then will I sing to thee, Glory.” *My *glory would, as in Psalm 108:1, mean *my heart. *(See Note, Psalm 16:9.) Without the pronoun, we must (wit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. They bring forth with ease and do not need to reckon the months of pregnancy, as the shepherd does in the case of his flocks.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-12**
When things are well with us, we are very apt to think that they will always be so. When we see our mistake, it becomes us to think with shame upon our carnal security as our folly. If God hide his face, a good man is troubled, though no other calamity befal him. But if God, in wisdom and justice, turn from us, it will be the greatest folly if we turn from him. No; let us learn...
Read full commentary →