Chapter 30

Ps.30:1. At the end, a psalm to David, exhortations. David sings the proposed psalm, as if still in repentance for sin and wanting to be freed from it; however, and as if he had already heard, he sends thanks and describes what happened to him during his repentance. The word “frenzy” means nothing else, but sin itself, from which the soul seemed to have lost its sanity; why she no longer hoped that she would be accepted again, but clearly said: (23) “I am Rekh in my ecstasy: I am rejected from before Thy sight.” Ps.30:2. In You, Lord, I trusted. Ps.30:3. Incline Your ear to me. Since our cry does not reach the height, then, by condescension towards me, incline Your ear. Ps.30:5. Removing me from the net of sowing, hiding me from the south. For those who plotted against his soul caught him. What? Sin. Ps.30:6. You have delivered me, O Lord God of truth. As heard already, says this. Ps.30:7. You hated those who kept vanities in vain. “Vanities” refers to the entertainments of real life, in which we work on vanity. He who keeps vanity is followed by vanity. Ps.30:8. I will rejoice and be glad, trampled sadness and other passions. Ps.30:9. And carry me shut in the hands of the enemy, You put it on my spacious nose. You freed me from sorrow, gave me peace and space. Ps.30:10. My eye, my soul and my womb are troubled with rage. Just as the mind in the soul is called “eye,” so memory in the soul is called “womb,” into which we put intelligent food, like into a womb. With irritation and great anger I turned away my eyes from the Jewish people. Ps.30:11. As if my stomach had disappeared in illness. Expresses the concern of the heart. The poverty of the most necessary things exhausted my body, because Ziba and Barzillai brought David wheat, and barley, and flour, and beans, and lentils, and honey, and much more, also carpets and bedding, and they brought this and food for the people, saying that the people were suffering from hunger and were exhausted from thirst in the desert. And my summer is in sighs, that is, I spent my years groaning because of disasters. My fortress is weakened by poverty. Having become impoverished, deprived of Your help for sin, I became weak. “Bones” refers to mental forces. Ps.30:12. From all my enemies there was reproach. My enemies, he says, have reviled me; those who knew me feared me, and those who saw them fled from me; because I showed great repentance, exhausting myself in sackcloth and ashes, shedding tears day and night, and therefore, when they fled, I was in oblivion, as if truly dead, I seemed like a destroyed vessel. The expression: “from all” does not mean “more than all,” but means: “he was reviled by all,” that is, by enemies. This is what Aquila says: I have become a reproach to all my enemies. Ps.30:13. He who is devoid of virtues is dead from the heart. Ps.30:14. As if I heard the fortune telling of many living around. He calls evil intentions “fortune,” and says that enemies surrounded him, plotting against him. Receive my soul as a councilor. Ps.30:15. But I have trusted in You, Lord. By captivating the soul, they captivate the heart; because irritability and lust kill the mind. Ps.30:16. My lots are in Your hand. Although the enemies are plotting, conspiring to ensnare my soul, my lots are preserved in Your hands, and You will reward them to me in due time, because I trust in You. Therefore, I ask you to deliver me from my enemies at this time. Although the enemies have gathered together and are plotting my death, I know that You are God and my protector. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. Flee from wickedness, says the Apostle (Acts 3:26). Although wickedness pursues you, and precisely adultery, covetousness, irritability, and anger pursue you, let the rest remain behind. Ps.30:17. Make Thy face shine upon Thy servant: save me by Thy mercy. With Your coming, all sorrowful things will immediately cease. This is the only way of my salvation, if You enlighten Your face. Ps.30:18. Lord, let me not be ashamed, for I called Thee. From this we understand how great the difference is between sin and wickedness. Therefore, the great David begs both to free him from the shame caused by sin, and to put to death those who live in wickedness with shame. Ps.30:19. Let there be mute flattering lips. I beg for the enemies to become numb. And this will happen if You enlighten Your face. Ps.30:20. How much is the abundance of Thy goodness, O Lord! How one who is already enlightened by the Spirit gives thanks for the future. David usually, to express amazement, often uses the phrase “kol” in the meaning of “very.” Great is Your goodness, which You save and keep for us. For the phrase “Thou hast hidden” is used instead of “Kept,” as in what was said: “Hid me in Your village” (Ps. 26:5). Instead of “Kept,” it is said: “Thou hast hidden” because what is hidden is kept. Thou hast made thou to trust in Thee, i.e., done at the appropriate time. Ps.30:21. Hiding them in the secret of Your face. Your face becomes a covering for those who trust in You. From human rebellion, covering them in shelter from bickering tongues. You will cover them, as it were, with a veil, so that those who arm themselves against them with words will not harm them, and those who attack them will not catch them with their deeds. Ps.30:22. Blessed be the Lord, for He has astonished His mercy in the city of enclosure. Through me, he says, God was glorified; because when thousands of enemies stood around me and tried, like a great hail, to besiege my soul, my Guardian, protecting me with a stronghold, showed His wonderful mercy. Ps.30:23. Az Rekh in my rage: I am rejected. When I humiliated myself in the frenzy that happened to me, when “my eye was troubled with fury” (Ps. 30:10), then I lamented, as one rejected for my sin. But although I said this, You, O Lover of Mankind, did not reject Your servant. Ps.30:24. Love the Lord, all of His reverends. He turns his speech to others, calling and convincing others to confession through the benefits shown to him. And rewards those who are excessively arrogant. Although the Lord is long-suffering to the proud, He also rewards “those who act excessively in pride.” You might be interested in: