Psalms116
New Living Translation
1 I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.
2 Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
3 Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, save me!”
5 How kind the Lord is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours!
6 The Lord protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me.
7 Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me.
8 He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
9 And so I walk in the Lord’s presence as I live here on earth!
10 I believed in you, so I said, “I am deeply troubled, Lord.”
11 In my anxiety I cried out to you, “These people are all liars!”
12 What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the Lord’s name for saving me.
14 I will keep my promises to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
15 The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die.
16 O Lord, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people—
19 in the house of the Lord in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Study
Psalms 116Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Psalms 116. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The psalmist declares his love to the Lord. (1–9). His desire to be thankful. (10–19).
vv1-9
We have many reasons for loving the Lord, but are most affected by his loving-kindness when relieved out of deep distress. When a poor sinner is awakened to a sense of his state, and fears that he must soon sink under the just wrath of God, then he finds trouble and sorrow. But let all such call upon the Lord to deliver their souls, and they will find him gracious and true to his promise. Neither ignorance nor guilt will hinder their salvation, when they put their trust in the Lord. Let us all speak of God as we have found him; and have we ever found him otherwise than just and good? It is of his mercies that we are not consumed. Let those who labour and are heavy laden come to him, that they may find rest to their souls; and if at all drawn from their rest, let them haste to return, remembering how bountifully the Lord has dealt with them. We should deem ourselves bound to walk as in his presence. It is a great mercy to be kept from being swallowed up with over-much sorrow. It is a great mercy for God to hold us by the right hand, so that we are not overcome and overthrown by a temptation. But when we enter the heavenly rest, deliverance from sin and sorrow will be complete; we shall behold the glory of the Lord, and walk in his presence with delight we cannot now conceive.
vv10-19
When troubled, we do best to hold our peace, for we are apt to speak unadvisedly. Yet there may be true faith where there are workings of unbelief; but then faith will prevail; and being humbled for our distrust of God's word, we shall experience his faithfulness to it. What can the pardoned sinner, or what can those who have been delivered from trouble or distress, render to the Lord for his benefits? We cannot in any way profit him. Our best is unworthy of his acceptance; yet we ought to devote ourselves and all we have to his service. I will take the cup of salvation; I will offer the drink-offerings appointed by the law, in token of thankfulness to God, and rejoice in God's goodness to me. I will receive the cup of affliction; that cup, that bitter cup, which is sanctified to the saints, so that to them it is a cup of salvation; it is a means of spiritual health. The cup of consolation; I will receive the benefits God bestows upon me, as from his hand, and taste his love in them, as the portion not only of mine inheritance in the other world, but of my cup in this. Let others serve what masters they will, truly I am thy servant. Two ways men came to be servants. By birth. Lord, I was born in thy house; I am the son of thine handmaid, and therefore thine. It is a great mercy to be children of godly parents. By redemption. Lord, thou hast loosed my bonds, thou hast discharged me from them, therefore I am thy servant. The bonds thou hast loosed shall tie me faster unto thee. Doing good is sacrifice, with which God is well pleased; and this must accompany giving thanks to his name. Why should we offer that to the Lord which cost us nothing? The psalmist will pay his vows now; he will not delay the payment: publicly, not to make a boast, but to show he is not ashamed of God's service, and to invite others to join him. Such are true saints of God, in whose lives and deaths he will be glorified.
Key Words
אָהַב: to have affection for (sexually or otherwise)
כִּי: (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
קוֹל: a voice or sound
תַּחֲנוּן: earnest prayer
נָטָה: to stretch or spread out; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); used in a great variety of application
אֹזֶן: broadness. i.e. (concrete) the ear (from its form in man)
קָרָא: to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications)
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
חֶבֶל: a rope (as twisted), especially a measuring line; by implication, a district or inheritance (as measured); or a noose (as of cords); figuratively, a company (as if tied together); also a throe (especially of parturition); also ruin
Cross References
Psalms 116Directly quotes 'I believed, therefore have I spoken' to illustrate the spirit of faith.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallel imagery of being compassed by the sorrows of death and the pains of hell.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Parallel use of speaking unadvisedly 'in my haste' (or terror) under heavy distress.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Identical triplet of deliverance: soul from death, eyes from tears, and feet from falling.
Supported by JFB
The call to 'walk before' the Lord as a sign of devoted, faithful living.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Explicit parallel to walking before the Lord in the 'land of the living'.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Echoes the identical plea of being God's servant and the 'son of thine handmaid'.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The soul finds rest because the Lord has dealt bountifully with it.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Theological development of the concept that 'all men are liars' compared to God's truth.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Parallels paying vows and offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving after deliverance from death.
Supported by JFB
Exhorts offering to God thanksgiving and paying vows unto the Most High.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Jesus invites the weary to come to Him and find rest for their souls.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Underlying Mosaic law for the drink offering ('cup of salvation') accompanying sacrifices.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Confirms that the blood and death of God's saints are precious in His sight.
Supported by Matthew Henry