Psalm 30 is a difficult psalm for especially two reasons. The first reason is that the heading is rather mysterious: A Song at the dedication of the house of David. The second reason is that there is a dramatic change in tone in verse 7. That verse begins with a very positive statement: LORD, by Your favor you have made my mountain stand strong. But the second part of the verse is negative: You hid your face, and I was troubled. Explaining these two things will help with a better understanding of the psalm.
Some have taken the position that the house of David referred to here is the tent he set up in Jerusalem to house the ark until Solomon had built the temple. 2 Samuel 5:11 provides us with a better explanation. The house referred to was the house that David built for himself.
The law of God in Deuteronomy 20:5 provided an exemption from military service to those who had built a new house and not yet dedicated it. Dedication was probably common practice in Israel. There were many holy places and things in Old Testament times, and dedicating one’s house to the Lord would be an acknowledgement that one’s inheritance in the land was a fulfillment of the promise of God to Abraham.
David’s work of building himself a house took place at the same time that he knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel (2 Sam 5:12). All the tribes of Israel had accepted him as their king (2 Sam 5:1-5), and he had conquered the stronghold of Zion, occupied by the Jebusites, and already begun an expansion of the defenses of the city (2 Sam 5:9). He had become great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him (2 Sam 5:10).
Psalm 30, therefore, begins with thanksgiving. The LORD had lifted him up and kept him alive through all the opposition of his foes, both inside and outside the nation of Israel. David not only gives thanks himself but also calls on all the saints to sing praise to the Lord, and to give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness (v.4).
But this does not yet explain the dramatic change of tone in verse 7.
Verses 6-7 stand at the center of the psalm; five verses of thanksgiving precede them, and five verses about his trouble follow. When we look at the rest of the psalm, we see how significant that is.
Verse 6 is a confession of sin. In his prosperity David had said, “I shall never be moved.” He had taken pride in his exaltation and in the strength and glory of his kingdom. He had, in fact, said the same thing that the wicked man of Psalm 10 said in his prosperity (v.6). He had failed to acknowledge the work and goodness of the Lord in his establishment as king and had thought, to himself at least, that it was by his strength and skill that he had come to the present circumstances of prosperity.
The first part of verse 7 shows us that he had repented of his sin and professed the truth: LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong. His exaltation was of the Lord.
But then how do we explain the negative verses that follow, beginning with the complaint You hid your face, and I was troubled?
The answer is that verse 7a relates especially to verses 1-5, while verse 7b relates especially to verses 8-12. His thanksgiving in verses 1-5 was not only for establishment as Israel’s king, but also for the return of God’s favor after his sin of pride. And his trouble, as explained in verses 1-3 and in verses 8-10 was not only because of enemies prior to his establishment in his kingdom, but also the chastening hand of the Lord for his pride.
Even this trouble had now passed: You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness (v.11).
The psalm is a song of thanksgiving for the Lord’s care for him during all the years of Saul’s persecutions and for deliverance from his own pride. It is also a remembrance of the confession of sin through which he again stood in the light of God’s countenance, praising him for all his kindness.