Psalm 30 (29):11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Lord listened and showed compassion towards me; He became my support. He did not permit His Holy One to experience decay.

Once he had expressed his cries to God, he quickly experienced divine assistance, encouraging us to seek the Lord in the same way: The Lord has listened, he proclaims, and shows compassion towards me; the Lord is my supporter. Thus, let us similarly lift our voices in prayer, desiring profound blessings rather than earthly desires (for those who are of the flesh cannot please God - Rom. 8:8), so that the Lord may respond to our pleas and extend His mercy in our frailty, allowing us to declare with the help of God: You have turned my sorrow into rejoicing.

Hezekiah, adorned in his robe, lifted a prayer to God regarding the Assyrians, while humanity donned a garment of mourning. In our time, there are some foolish individuals who, while seated upon their garments, grieve over the deceased, neglecting the prophetic utterances that clearly proclaim: 'Thou hast torn my garment, and hast girded me with gladness, and hast turned my weeping into my joy.' Just as Hezekiah rejoiced upon hearing the promise of an additional fifteen years of life, it is fitting for us, who have embraced the hope of the resurrection, not to mourn the dead, but to anticipate the coming resurrection with joy.

When David reflected on the assistance bestowed upon him by God, he was filled with joy and spoke of it as though it had already been granted. He declares that God has heard my cry, meaning He has responded to my prayer. Those who do not receive do so often out of a lack of patience to listen. The Lord is my helper, he proclaims, having accepted my prayer, listened to me, granted me forgiveness, assisted me, and rescued me from the death I faced at that moment.

In the previous verse, the scripture illustrates the contrasts of divine anger and life, sorrow and joy in a broad sense, and now it examines these contrasts more closely. It showcases through personal experience that the sorrow I felt, stemming from misplaced trust in temporary pleasures, was fleeting and quickly faded. This reflects the period after David defeated Goliath, as recounted in the first book of Kings, chapter 18, when he was cherished by the king, the king's son, and the people alike, quickly rising to the positions of commander and son-in-law to the king.

The Lord Christ listened to Adam's cries from the depths of hell and descended to liberate him from that place of torment. The Lord, our Supporter, upon arriving on earth, restored humanity, which had strayed into idolatry.