This is said to be "A Psalm or Song at the dedication of the house of David." There is no reason to call in question the correctness of this inscription, though it cannot be certain that it was prefixed by the author himself. The words of the title are found in the Hebrew, and it is to be presumed that they were affixed to the psalm by some one of the inspired writers.
It is clearly implied in the title, though not expressly affirmed, that David was the author of the psalm, for it is to be presumed that he would himself compose the hymn or song that was to be used at the dedication of his own dwelling. In fact, the title, as Rosenmuller has remarked, might not improperly be read, "A Psalm, a song of dedication of a house, of David," so that the words "A Psalm of David" might not improperly be regarded as united.
It is not absolutely certain what occasion is referred to in the psalm. Some have supposed that the tabernacle is meant; but the tabernacle was dedicated long before the time of David. Others, and among them several Jewish interpreters, have supposed that it was prepared in order to be sung either at the dedication of the temple which Solomon built, or the dedication of that which was erected after the return from the Babylonian captivity. Others have supposed that it was intended to be used at the dedication of the house or palace which David built for himself on Mount Zion, 2-Samuel 5:11. It was usual for the Hebrews to "dedicate" a house when it was finished; that is, to devote it in a solemn manner to God, probably with appropriate religious exercises. Deuteronomy 20:5, "what man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it."
Compare also Nehemiah 12:27. Others, as Rosenmuller and Prof. Alexander, suppose that the psalm was designed to be used at the dedication of the altar reared by David on the "threshing-floor" of Ornan, which David purchased at the time of the pestilence which came upon the people for his sin in numbering the people, 1-Chronicles 21:15-26. But there is no certain evidence of this. Apart from the incongruity of calling an altar a "house," the circumstances are not such as to lead us to believe that the psalm was composed for that occasion. The allusion in the psalm is rather to a previous state of depression, trouble, and sorrow, such as occurred in the life of David before he conquered his enemies, and before he was peaceably established on his throne - and to the joy which he felt when he had triumphed over his foes, and was peacefully established as king in Jerusalem. All the circumstances seem to me to accord best with the time when David erected a house for his own abode - a palace - upon Mount Zion, and to the act of dedicating such a house to God. See 2-Samuel 5:9-12; 2-Samuel 7:1-2. It may be added that that was properly called "the house of David" - a name which could be given neither to the altar erected on the threshing-floor of Ornan, nor to the tabernacle, nor to the temple.
But although the psalm was composed for the purpose of being used at the dedication of his "house," it was in view of some important circumstances of his past life, and particularly of his feelings in time of dangerous illness, and of his obligation on his recovery to devote himself to God. In the dedication of his house to God he recurs with deep interest to that period of his life, and dwells with grateful satisfaction on the goodness of God manifested in his restoration to health. On entering his new abode, he seems to have felt that there was a special propriety in his recognizing the fact that he owed his life to God; his life, not only in general, but in this special act of goodness, by which he had been raised up from the borders of the grave. "His former condition of calamity and sorrow as contrasted with his present happy and prosperous condition," therefore, suggested the train of thought in the psalm at the dedication of his house. In the course of the psalm, as illustrating his feelings, he adverts to the following points:
(1) His former state of self-confidence or security when he was in health, and when he thought his "mountain" stood "strong," Psalm 30:6-7.
(2) His sickness as a means of humbling him, and teaching him his dependence, Psalm 30:2-3.
(3) His prayer for deliverance when he was sick, Psalm 30:2, Psalm 30:8-10.
(4) His deliverance as an act of God Psalm 30:2-3, Psalm 30:11.
(5) His obligation to give thanks to God for his mercy, Psalm 30:1, Psalm 30:4,Psalm 30:12.
These would suggest most appropriate topics of meditation on entering a near abode, and looking forward to the vicissitudes which might and which would probably occur there.
That the allusion in the psalm is to "sickness," seems to me to be evident from Psalm 30:2-3, Psalm 30:9, though at what time of life this occurred, or what was the particular form of disease, we are not informed. From Psalm 30:3, Psalm 30:9, however, it is certain that it was a "dangerous" illness; that he anticipated death; and that he was saved from death only in answer to fervent prayer. The psalm, therefore, in this respect, has a resemblance to Psalm 6:1-10; Ps. 35; Psalm 41:1-13; psalms composed also in view of sickness. In a book claiming to be from God, and designed for all mankind in a world where sickness so abounds, it was to be expected that there would be allusions to disease as well as to other forms of affliction, and that in the examples of ancient saints suffering on beds of pain, we should be able to find illustrations of proper pious feeling; that we should be directed by their example to the true sources of consolation, and should be made acquainted with the lessons which God designs to teach us in sickness.
The direct contents of the psalm are as follows:
I. The author recounts the signal mercy of God to him in the time of his danger. God had lifted him up, and had not allowed his enemies to exult over his death, Psalm 30:1-3.
II. He calls upon others to unite with him in praising God, and especially in view of the truth that affliction, as endured by the people of God, would not continue long, and that it would certainly be followed by peace and joy, as the light of the morning will certainly follow the darkest night, Psalm 30:4-5.
III. He adverts again, in illustration of this, to his former state, saying that there was a time when he thought he should never be moved; when he supposed that his "mountain" stood "strong," and that he was secure; but that God had hid His face, and troubled him, teaching him not to confide in his own strength, or in the mere fact that he was prosperous, Psalm 30:6-7.
IV. He adverts to his earnest prayer in the time of his affliction, and recounts the substance of that prayer, Psalm 30:8-10. The "argument" which he then urged was that there could be no "profit" or advantage to God "in his blood," or in his being cut off; that the "dust," that is, the dead, could not praise Him or declare His truth. He, therefore, prayed that God would keep him alive, that he might honor Him upon the earth.
V. In Psalm 30:11-12, he refers to the fact that the prayer was heard, and to the reason why it was heard. God had turned his mourning into dancing; he had put off his sackcloth, and girded him with gladness. The reason why God had done this was, that his "glory," that is, his tongue (margin), might give praise to God, and not be silent; and, in view of all the goodness of God to him, he expresses his purpose to praise God forever.
It will be seen, therefore, that the contents of the psalm are every way suitable to the occasion supposed to be referred to - the dedication of his house to God. On entering such a habitation for the first time it was proper to recall the past scenes of his life - his perils and troubles; it was proper to acknowledge the goodness of God in delivering him from those perils and troubles; it was proper to express his solemn purpose to serve God in that dwelling, and to consecrate himself and all that he had to Him and to His service evermore. What was proper for the royal author of this psalm is proper for all; and there can be nothing more appropriate when we have erected a house to dwell in than to dedicate it to God, with a suitable recollection of his dealings with us in our past life, and to pray that He may also condescend to dwell with us there.

The psalmist returns thanks to God for deliverance from great danger, Psalm 30:1-3. He calls upon the saints to give thanks to God at the remembrance of his holiness, because of his readiness to save, Psalm 30:4, Psalm 30:5. He relates how his mind stood affected before this great trial and how soon an unexpected change took place, Psalm 30:6, Psalm 30:7; mentions how, and in what terms, he prayed for mercy, Psalm 30:8-10; shows how God heard and delivered him and the effect it had upon his mind, Psalm 30:11, Psalm 30:12.
This Psalm or song is said to have been made or used at the dedication of the house of David, or rather the dedication of a house or temple; for the word David refers not to הבית habbayith, the house, but to מזמור mizmor, a Psalm. But what temple or house could this be? Some say, the temple built by Solomon; others refer it to the dedication of the second temple under Zerubbabel, and some think it intended for the dedication of a third temple, which is to be built in the days of the Messiah. There are others who confine it to the dedication of the house which David built for himself on Mount Sion, after he had taken Jerusalem from the Jebusites; or to the purgation and re-dedication of his own house, that had been defiled by the wicked conduct of his own son Absalom. Calmet supposes it to have been made by David on the dedication of the place which he built on the threshing floor of Araunah, after the grievous plague which had so nearly desolated the kingdom, 2-Samuel 24:25; 1-Chronicles 21:26. All the parts of the Psalm agree to this: and they agree to this so well, and to no other hypothesis, that I feel myself justified in modelling the comment on this principle alone.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 30
A Psalm [and] Song [at] the dedication of the house of David. This is the first time that a psalm is called a song; some psalms are called by one name, some by another, and some by both, as here; and some are called hymns: to which distinction of them the apostle refers in Ephesians 5:19. A psalm was sung upon musical instruments, a song with the voice; it may be this psalm was sung both ways: the occasion of it was the dedication of David's house: the Targum interprets it of the house of the sanctuary, the temple; and so most of the Jewish commentators (i); which might be called his house, because it was his intention to build it; his heart was set upon it, he provided materials for it, and gave his son Solomon the form of it, and a charge to build it; and, as is thought, composed this psalm to be sung, and which was sung by the Levites at the dedication of it: others, as Aben Ezra, are of opinion it was his own dwelling house, made of cedar, which he dedicated according to the law of Moses, with sacrifices and offerings, prayer and thanksgiving, 2-Samuel 5:11; so Apollinarius calls it a new house David built; but since there is nothing in the whole psalm that agrees with the dedication, either of the temple, or of David's own private house, it seems better, with other interpreters, to understand it of the purging of David's house from the wickedness and incest of his son Absalom, upon his return to it, when the rebellion raised by him was extinguished; which might be reckoned a new dedication of it; see 2-Samuel 20:3; and to a deliverance from such troubles this psalm well agrees. Theodoret interprets it of the restoration of the human nature by Christ, through his resurrection from the dead.
(i) Jarchi, Kimchi, & Abdendana.

(Psalm 30:1-5) Praise to God for deliverance.
(Psalm 30:6-12) Others encouraged by his example.

Song of Thanksgiving after Recovery from Dangerous Sickness
The summons to praise God which is addressed to the angels above in Psalm 29:1-11, is directed in Psalm 30:1-12 to the pious here below. There is nothing against the adoption of the לדוד. Hitzig again in this instance finds all kinds of indications of Jeremiah's hand; but the parallels in Jeremiah are echoes of the Psalm, and דלּיתני in Psalm 30:2 does not need to be explained of a lowering into a tank or dungeon, it is a metaphorical expression for raising up out of the depths of affliction. Even Hezekiah's song of thanksgiving in Isaiah 38 has grown out of the two closing strophes of this Psalm under the influence of an intimate acquaintance with the Book of Job. We are therefore warranted in supposing that it is David, who here, having in the midst of the stability of his power come to the verge of the grave, and now being roused from all carnal security, as one who has been rescued, praises the Lord, whom he has made his refuge, and calls upon all the pious to join with him in his song. The Psalm bears the inscription: A Song-Psalm at the Dedication of the House, by David. This has been referred to the dedication of the site of the future Temple, 2 Sam; 1-Chronicles 21:1; but although the place of the future Temple together with the altar then erected on it, can be called בּית יהוה (1-Chronicles 22:1), and might also at any rate be called absolutely הבּית (as הר הבית, the Temple hill); yet we know that David did not himself suffer (2-Samuel 24:17) from the pestilence, which followed as a punishment upon the numbering of the people which he instituted in his arrogant self-magnification. The Psalm, however, also does not contain anything that should point to a dedication of a sanctuary, whether Mount Moriah, or the tabernacle, 2-Samuel 6:17. It might more naturally be referred to the re-consecration of the palace, that was defiled by Absolom, after David's return; but the Psalm mentions some imminent peril, the gracious averting of which does not consist in the turning away of bloodthirsty foes, but in recovery from some sickness that might have proved fatal. Thus then it must be the dedication of the citadel on Zion, the building of which was just completed. From 2-Samuel 5:12 we see that David regarded this building as a pledge of the stability and exaltation of his kingdom; and all that is needed in order to understand the Psalm is, with Aben-Ezra, Flaminius, Crusius, and Vaihinger, to infer from the Psalm itself, that David had been delayed by some severe illness from taking possession of the new building. The situation of Psalm 16:1-11 is just like it. The regular official title אשׁר על־הבּית (majordomo) shows, that הבית, used thus absolutely, may denote the palace just as well as the Temple. The lxx which renders it τοῦ ἐγκαινισμοῦ τοῦ οἴκου (τοῦ) Δαυίδ, understands the palace, not the Temple. In the Jewish ritual, Psalm 30:1-12 is certainly, as is even stated in the Tractate Sofrim xviii. 2, the Psalm for the feast of Chanucca, or Dedication, which refers to 1 Macc. 4:52ff.