Psalms 30:5

For his anger [endureth but] a moment,.... Anger is not properly in God, he being a simple, uncompounded, immovable, and unchangeable being; nor is it ever towards his people in reality, unless anger

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

His anger endureth but a moment; commonly the afflictions which he sends upon his people are short, and last but for a few moments of their lives. In his favour is life; or, life, i.e. our whole life, is in his favour, i.e. he heapeth his favours upon them, for the greatest part of their present lives, and in the next life, which endures for ever; of which the Chaldee paraphrast expounds this place. And indeed without the consideration of eternal life, the difference between the duration of the afflictions and of the happiness of God’ s people, were neither so evident nor considerable as David here makes it. Life is oft put for a long and happy time, as 133:3 ; and for an eternal and immortal duration, . And in civil affairs estates for life are opposed to those that are but for a short time. Joy cometh in the morning, i.e. it comes speedily and in due season.

Psalms 30:5 For his anger [endureth but] a moment; in his favour [is] life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy [cometh] in the morning.Ver. 5. For his anger endureth but a moment] Though it lasts all a man’ s life; for what is that to eternity? Puncture est quod vivimus et puncto minus. But it soon repenteth the Lord concerning his servants; whom, out of love displeased, he correcteth for a short braid, Isaiah 54:7-8 1 Corinthians 14:17 Isaiah 26:20 Hebrews 10:37. Tantillum, tantillum, adhuc pussillum. Bear up, therefore, faint not, fret not. Flebile principium melior fortuna sequetur. If our sorrows be long, they are light; if sharper, the shorter. The sharp north east wind never lasteth three days; nothing violent is permanent. In his favour is life] Vita in voluntate, else we should die in our sins; but his favour never faileth. Kimchi here noteth that of those thirteen attributes of God, Exodus 34:7, twelve are mercy, and one only is anger. Joseph, for his thirteen years of servitude and imprisonment, had fourscore years’ freedom and preferment. David’ s persecution by Saul was but a moment to his following happiness, when once he came to the kingdom. Weeping may endure for a night] Diseases and aches are worst toward night. At eventide, lo, there is trouble; but before morning it is gone, Isaiah 17:14; mourning lasteth but till morning, and then departeth; as did Lot’ s two angels. The morning of the resurrection, howsoever, shall put a period to all our miseries, and make a plentiful amends. But joy cometh in the morning] Heb. singing; flebilibus modis modus adhibebitur. God turneth his people’ s sighing into singing, their musing into music, tears into triumph, wringing of hands into clapping of hands for joy, &c. And as there is a vicissitude of nights and days, so of crosses and mercies of God’ s people, while they are in this vale of misery and valley of tears. God chequereth his providences (saith one) white and black; he speckleth his work, as is set forth by those speckled horses among the myrtle-trees, Zechariah 1:8. Mercies and crosses are interwoven. This world is called a valley of tears, or, as some render it, of mulberry trees, Psalms 84:6. Between them both they may make up an emblem of the saints’ condition here. Tears are moist; mulberries grow in dry places. God’ s people have their interchanges of joys and sorrows while here. See in this and the following verses the circle God goes in with them. David was afflicted and delivered in this verse; in the next he grew wanton. Then he is troubled again, Psalms 30:7, crieth again, Psalms 8:9. God turneth his mourning into mirth again, Psalms 30:11-12.

(5) For his anger.—Literally, “For a moment (is) in his anger, Life in his favour; In the evening comes to lodge weeping, But at morning a shout of joy.” Some supply comes to lodge with the last clause, but the image is complete and finer without. It is thoroughly Oriental. Sorrow is the wayfarer who comes to the tent for a night’s lodging, but the metaphor of his taking his leave in the morning is not carried on, and we have instead the sudden waking with a cry of joy, sudden as the Eastern dawn, without twilight or preparation. Never was faith in the Divine love more beautifully expressed. (Comp. Isaiah 54:7-8.)

Verse 5. For his anger endureth but a moment] There is an elegant abruptness in these words in the Hebrew text. This is the literal translation: "For a moment in his anger. Lives in his favour. In the evening weeping may lodge: but in the morning exultation." So good is God, that he cannot delight in either the depression or ruin of his creatures. When he afflicts, it is for our advantage, that we may be partakers of his holiness, and be not condemned with the world. If he be angry with us, it is but for a moment; but when we have recourse to him, and seek his face, his favour is soon obtained, and there are lives in that favour-the life that now is, and the life that is to come. When weeping comes, it is only to lodge for the evening; but singing will surely come in the morning. This description of God's slowness to anger, and readiness to save, is given by a man long and deeply acquainted with God as his Judge and as his Father.

5. Literally, For a moment in his anger;life in his favour:which is generally explained to mean, as in R.V. marg., For his anger is but for a moment;His favour is for a life-time:on the ground that the parallelism requires the contrast between a lifetime and a moment. But this is a maimed and inadequate explanation. The parallelism is (as is often the case) incomplete; life is not the antithesis to a moment but to the adversity which comes in Jehovah’s anger. If the thought of the lines were expanded it would be: For in his anger is adversity for a moment;In his favour is life for length of days.The A.V. may therefore be retained as a tolerable paraphrase. Life carries with it the ideas of light and joy and prosperity. Cp. Psalms 16:11; Psalms 21:4; Psalms 36:9. weeping &c.] Literally; Weeping may come in to lodge at even, But in the morning there is singing. Sorrow is but the passing wayfarer, who only tarries for the night; with dawn it is transfigured into joy, or joy comes to takes its place. Note the natural and suggestive contrast between the dark night of trouble and the bright morn of rejoicing. Cp. Psalms 49:14; Psalms 90:14; Psalms 143:8; and for the truth expressed by the whole verse, which is a commentary on Exodus 34:6-7, see Psalms 103:8 ff.; Isaiah 54:7-8; Micah 7:18; John 16:20; and indeed the whole of the O.T. and N.T.

For his anger endureth but a moment - Margin: There is but “a moment in his anger.” So the Hebrew. That is, his anger endures but a short time, or brief period.

5. Night… morning—The original is very terse and beautiful. In the evening weeping shall lodge with us; in the morning rejoicing. So quickly does infinite Love hasten to our relief!