Psalms 30:6 - Meaning and Application

These verses describe three different states David passed through in order, and how his heart moved toward God in each one. In the first, we can see the kind of attitude we are often too quick to have. In the other two, we see what we should be.

First, David had enjoyed a long season of prosperity, and then he became careless and too sure it would last. “In my prosperity,” he says, when I was healthy and God had given me rest from all my enemies, “I said, I shall never be moved” (Psalm 30:6-7). He had won clear victories over his enemies, and he had a strong place in the hearts of his people. His mind was steady, and his body was strong, so he thought his good condition was fixed like a mountain. Yet he does not credit this to his own wisdom or strength. He says, “By your favor you have made my mountain stand strong” (Psalm 30:7).

He does not treat this prosperity as if it were his heaven, as worldly people often do. He calls it only “my mountain.” It was still earth, only lifted a little above the ordinary level. He thought God’s favor would keep it that way forever. Perhaps he imagined that because he had suffered so much early in life, that was his full share of trouble. Or perhaps he thought that since God had shown him so many signs of favor, God would never turn away from him.

We are very likely, when life is going well, to dream that it will always stay that way. We think, “Tomorrow will be just like today.” It is like assuming that clear weather, once it comes, will never change. But nothing is more certain than that life will change. When we find that our hopes were mistaken, we should look back with shame on our careless trust, as David does here. That will make us wiser next time, and help us enjoy prosperity without clinging to it as if it could never pass away.

Then, suddenly, trouble came, and David turned to God in prayer, asking urgently for help. His mountain was shaken, and he was shaken with it. When he grew secure, he was actually least safe. “You hid your face, and I was troubled” (Psalm 30:7). David still looked to God in every change of his life. Just as he credited his prosperity to God’s favor, he now understood his trouble as the result of God hiding his face. If God hides his face from a good man, he will surely be troubled, even if no other trouble comes. When the sun goes down, night always follows. No moon or star can keep it day.

When his mountain was shaken, he lifted his eyes above it and prayed. Prayer is a help for every hurt, and he used it that way. “Is anyone suffering? Let him pray.” Even though God hid his face, David still prayed. If God, in wisdom and justice, turns from us, it would be foolish and wrong for us to turn from him. Instead, we should learn to pray in the dark (Psalm 30:8). “I cried to you, O Lord!” It seems God’s withdrawal made David’s prayers even more urgent.

We are told what he asked for, and it appears he kept careful account of his prayers. He first pleaded that God would gain nothing by his death. “What profit is there in my blood?” He means that he was willing to die if his death could truly serve God or his country, as Paul later speaks of offering himself (Philippians 2:17). But David could not see what good would come from his dying in sickness, as might have been the case if he had died with honor in battle. He is, in effect, asking, “Lord, will you let one of your own people be lost for nothing, and not increase your glory by sparing him?” (Psalm 44:12).

He also pleads that God’s honor would seem to suffer if David died. “Will the dust praise you?” The soul that returns to God will praise him, and will keep praising him. But the dust that returns to the earth cannot praise him, and cannot speak of his truth. The work of God’s house cannot be done by the dead. In the grave there is no planning or activity, for it is the land of silence. The promises of God’s covenant cannot be carried out by the dust. David is saying, “Lord, if I die now, what will happen to the promise you made to me? Who will tell of your truth then?” The best prayers are those that appeal to God’s honor. We ask rightly for life when we ask to live and praise him.

He also prayed for mercy and help. “Have mercy on me,” he says, and, “Lord, be my helper” (Psalm 30:10). These are the same two needs we may bring boldly to the throne of grace: pardon for sin, and help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

In time, God delivered him from his troubles and restored his former prosperity. His prayers were answered, and his mourning was turned into dancing (Psalm 30:11). God’s anger lasted only a moment, and David’s weeping only through the night. The sackcloth he had worn in humble submission to God’s providence was taken off. His grief was relieved, his fears were silenced, his comfort returned, and he was clothed with gladness. Joy became his ornament and his strength, as if it were wrapped around him like a belt.

David’s sudden fall from prosperity into trouble teaches us to rejoice in good times without overconfidence, because we do not know how near trouble may be. In the same way, his sudden return to prosperity teaches us to weep without despair, because we do not know how soon the storm may pass and the wind may turn fair again. But what was David’s spirit like after this happy change? He tells us.

His complaints were turned into praise. He understood that God had clothed him with gladness so that he might be the sweet psalmist of Israel, David, the great singer of Israel (2 Samuel 23:1). His “glory,” that is, his tongue, or even his soul, was to sing praise to God. Our tongue is our glory in a special way, and it is most fittingly used when we praise God. Our soul is our higher glory above the animals, and it also must be used to bless the Lord and make music to him in psalms. Those who are kept from being silent in the grave should not be silent in the land of the living. They should be eager, steady, and public in praising God.

These praises were meant to continue forever. “I will give thanks to you forever” shows both a holy resolve and a holy hope. David meant to keep praising God to the end of his life, and he hoped he would never lack fresh reasons to do so. He also looked ahead to the place where praise will never end. Blessed are those who live in God’s house. They will still be praising him.

In this way, we must learn to adjust ourselves to the many different ways God deals with us. We must know how to live in want and how to live in abundance. We should be able to sing about both mercy and judgment, and to give thanks to God for both.