Psalm 30 is, first, a psalm of individual thanksgiving, associated with David. The psalm begins, "I will extol you", and ends, "I will give thanks to you forever." David had been very ill, and God rescued him from death (vv 1-3). Commentator Willem Van Gemeren (Expositor's Bible Commentary) notes some similarity between this psalm and Hezekiah's prayer in Isa 38:10-20.
David contrasts the temporary nature of God's judgment compared to his mercy: "For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime" (v 5). He confesses that he had felt self-reliant in a time of prosperity (v 6), but that his real strength is rooted in dependence upon God (v 7). He pledges to praise God publicly, making God's greatness known, if he is healed (vv 8-12).
Psalm 30 also calls upon Israel to praise God collectively (v 4), It is a psalm traditionally associated with Hanukkah.
In a communal view of the psalm, Israel thanks God for bringing the nation back from exile to build the Second Temple. Later, God delivers Israel through the Maccabees from persecution by the Seleucids, and the temple is rededicated.
Some verses in the psalm are associated with other times of deliverance in the history of Israel. For example, the end of verse 5 ("Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning") has been related to the Persian persecution chronicled in the book of Esther, where Haman the persecutor is hung in the morning.
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