Psalms 30:5

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; lifeis not the antithesis to a momentbut 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. Lifecarries 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.