Psalm 30 thanks God (vv. 1-3, 11-12) and exhorts others to thank God (vv. 4-5). Both emerge from the concrete reality of David’s own experience. Here is what that experience looks like:
30:1 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,
and did not allow my enemies to gloat over me.
30:2 O Lord my God,
I cried out to you and you healed me.
30:3 O Lord, you pulled me up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.
30:4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers of his;
give thanks to his holy name.
30:5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,
and his good favor restores one’s life.
One may experience sorrow during the night,
but joy arrives in the morning.
30:6 In my self-confidence I said,
“I will never be upended.”
30:7 O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.
Then you rejected me and I was terrified.
30:8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;
I begged the Lord for mercy:
30:9 “What profit is there in taking my life,
in my descending into the Pit?
Can the dust of the grave praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty?
30:10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me!
O Lord, deliver me!”
30:11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.
30:12 So now my heart will sing to you and not be silent;
O Lord my God, I will always give thanks to you.