Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 30:10
Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me, – etc. This, too, is the prayer which he uttered in the calamities adverted to in Psa 30:7. It is a cry for mercy founded on the idea referred to in Psa 30:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me,…. By lifting up the light of his countenance again upon him; by manifesting and applying his pardoning grace to him, and by delivering him out of all his afflictions;
Lord, be thou my helper; in this time of trouble; for he knew that vain was the help of man; and he was entirely in the right to betake himself to the Lord, who was able to help him, when none else could.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
10. Hear, O Jehovah! In this clause the Psalmist softens and corrects his former complaint; for it would have been absurd to expostulate with God like one who despaired of safety, and to leave off in this fretful temper. Having asked, therefore, with tears, what profit God would derive from his death, he encourages himself to a more unconstrained manner of prayer, and, conceiving new hope, calls upon God for mercy and help. He puts God’s favor, however, in the first place, from whom alone he could expect the help which he implored.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Psa 30:10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.
Ver. 10. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me ] When Faith had once said to God what it hath to say, it will wait for a good answer, relying on his mercy, and expecting relief from the Lord, as here David doth; looking, in the mean while, through the anger of his corrections, to the sweetness of his loving countenance; as by a rainbow we see the beautiful image of the sun’s light in the midst of a dark and waterish cloud.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 30:10-12
10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me;
O Lord, be my helper.
11You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
12That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
Psa 30:10-12 This strophe starts out with three prayer requests (imperatives).
1. hear BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal imperative
2. be gracious BDB 335, KB 334, Qal imperative
3. be my helper (BDB 740, KB 810) BDB 224, KB 243, Qal imperative
Notice what YHWH’s response caused in the psalmist.
1. turned him from mourning into dancing
2. loosed his sackcloth and girded him with gladness (gladness is a poetic way of contrasting sackcloth, i.e., festival garments)
3. caused him to sing praises and he will not be silent
4. caused him to give thanks forever
Psa 30:11 sackcloth This was worn as a sign of mourning.
SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES
Psa 30:12 that my soul may sing praise to You The my soul is literally glory (BDB 458). The same consonants also mean liver. The UBS Text Project (p. 209) suggests it could be understood as
1. referring to the psalmist himself (i.e., inner most beingliver) by the term (LXX, NKJV, NRSV, TEV, JPSOA)
2. a vocative, O Glory, referring to YHWH
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Does God heal all faithful followers?
22. Explain why Psa 30:5 is such an important verse.
3. Is Psa 30:6 a positive or negative statement?
4. How are Psa 30:9; Psa 30:12 related?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Hear: Psa 51:1, Psa 51:2, Psa 143:1, Psa 143:7-9
be thou: Psa 28:7, Psa 54:4
Reciprocal: Psa 33:21 – For Pro 18:14 – but Phi 2:27 – but God