Psalms 30:11

3 O L ORD , thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 4 Sing unto the L ORD , O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v3-5

Those hast turned for me my mourning into dancing,....

The sackcloth with which, in a humble compliance with the divine Providence, he had clad himself, was loosed; his griefs were balanced; his fears were silenced; his comforts returned; and he was girded with gladness: joy was made his ornament, was made his strength, and seemed to cleave to him, as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man.

Observe the contrast, God takes away the mourning of his people; and what does he give them instead of it? Quiet and peace? Aye, and a great deal more than that. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing. He makes their hearts to dance at the sound of his name. He takes off their sackcloth. That is good. What a delight to be rid of the habiliments of woe! But what then? He clothes us. And how? With some common dress? Nay, but with that royal vestment which is the array of glorified spirits in heaven.

Isa 38:18, the appeal for mercy is based on the destruction of his agency in praising God here, which death would produce. The terms expressing relief are poetical, and not to be pressed, though "dancing" is the translation of a word which means a lute, whose cheerful notes are contrasted with mourning, or (Am 5:16) wailing.

Observe the contrast, God takes away the mourning of his people; and what does he give them instead of it? Quiet and peace? Aye, and a great deal more than that. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing. He makes their hearts to dance at the sound of his name. He takes off their sackcloth. That is good. What a delight to be rid of the habiliments of woe! But what then? He clothes us. And how? With some common dress? Nay, but with that royal vestment which is the array of glorified spirits in heaven. Thou hast girded me with gladness. This is better than to wear garments of silk or cloth of gold, bedight with embroidery and bespangled with gems. Many a poor man wears this heavenly apparel wrapped around his heart, though fustian and corduroy are his only outward garb; and such a man needs not envy the emperor in all his pomp. Glory be to thee, O God, if, by a sense of full forgiveness and present justification, thou hast enriched my spiritual nature, and filled me with all the fulness of God.

Observe the contrast, God takes away the mourning of his people; and what does he give them instead of it? Quiet and peace? Aye, and a great deal more than that. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing. He makes their hearts to dance at the sound of his name. He takes off their sackcloth. That is good. What a delight to be rid of the habiliments of woe! But what then? He clothes us. And how? With some common dress? Nay, but with that royal vestment which is the array of glorified spirits in heaven.

Thou hast turned - my mourning into dancing - Rather into piping. I have not prayed in vain. Though I deserved to be cut off from the land of the living, yet thou hast spared me, and the remnant of my people. Thou hast taken away my sackcloth, the emblem of my distress and misery, and girded me with gladness, when thou didst say to the destroying angel, when he stood over Jerusalem ready to destroy it: “It is enough, stay now thy hand;” 2Sa 24:16.

Thou hast turned - my mourning into dancing - Rather into piping. I have not prayed in vain. Though I deserved to be cut off from the land of the living, yet thou hast spared me, and the remnant of my people. Thou hast taken away my sackcloth, the emblem of my distress and misery, and girded me with gladness, when thou didst say to the destroying angel, when he stood over Jerusalem ready to destroy it: “It is enough, stay now thy hand;” 2Sa 24:16.

Thou hast turned for me - In my behalf. That is, God had heard his prayer; he had brought his troubles to an end; he had caused his sorrows to be succeeded by correspondent joy. My mourning into dancing - Joy, exultation, every expression of rejoicing, had been made to succeed his deep sorrows. Compare Psa 30:5. It was this which he commemorated at the dedication of his house; this joy succeeding scenes of sorrow that he now called to remembrance as he entered the place which he had reared for a permanent abode. The contrast of his circumstances now - in a palace, with every comfort of plenty and peace around him - with his former circumstances which had been so sad, made it proper for him thus to celebrate the goodness of God. Thou hast put off my sackcloth - That which I wore, or had girded around me, as an emblem of sorrow, or in the time of my mourning. See Isa 3:24, note; Job 16:15, note; and Mat 11:21, note. And girded me with gladness - Instead of a girdle of sackcloth he had been clothed in a festive dress, or with such a dress - girded with an elegant girdle - as was worn on joyous and festive occasions. See the notes at Mat 5:38-41.