Psalms 116
116
PSALM 116
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
1I love the Lord, because my voice
and prayers he did hear.
2I, while I live, will call on him,
who bow'd to me his ear.
3Of death the cords and sorrows did
about me compass round;
The pains of hell took hold on me,
I grief and trouble found.
4Upon the name of God the Lord
then did I call, and say,
Deliver thou my soul, O Lord,
I do thee humbly pray.
5God merciful and righteous is,
yea, gracious is our Lord.
6God saves the meek: I was brought low,
he did me help afford.
7O thou my soul, do thou return
unto thy quiet rest;
For largely, lo, the Lord to thee
his bounty hath exprest.
8For my distressed soul from death
deliver'd was by thee:
Thou didst my mourning eyes from tears,
my feet from falling, free.
9I in the land of those that live
will walk the Lord before.
10I did believe, therefore I spake:
I was afflicted sore.
11I said, when I was in my haste,
that all men liars be.
12What shall I render to the Lord
for all his gifts to me?
13I'll of salvation take the cup,
on God's name will I call:
14I'll pay my vows now to the Lord
before his people all.
15Dear in God's sight is his saints' death.
16Thy servant, Lord, am I;
Thy servant sure, thine handmaid's son:
my bands thou didst untie.
17Thank-off 'rings I to thee will give,
and on God's name will call.
18I'll pay my vows now to the Lord
before his people all;
19Within the courts of God's own house,
within the midst of thee,
O city of Jerusalem.
Praise to the Lord give ye.
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Psalms 116: MP1650
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 116
116
Thanksgiving to God Who Saves from Death
I
1I love the Lord, who listened
to my voice in supplication,
2Who turned an ear to me
on the day I called.
3I was caught by the cords of death;#The cords of death: death is personified here; it attempts to capture the psalmist with snares and nets, cf. Ps 18:6.#Ps 18:5; Jon 2:3.
the snares of Sheol had seized me;
I felt agony and dread.
4Then I called on the name of the Lord,
“O Lord, save my life!”
II
5Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
yes, our God is merciful.#Ex 34:6.
6The Lord protects the simple;
I was helpless, but he saved me.
7Return, my soul, to your rest;
the Lord has been very good to you.#Ps 13:6.
8For my soul has been freed from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.#Ps 56:14; Is 25:8; Rev 21:4.
9I shall walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.#The land of the living: the phrase elsewhere is an epithet of the Jerusalem Temple (cf. Ps 27:13; 52:5; Is 38:11). Hence the psalmist probably refers to being present to God in the Temple.#Ps 27:13; 56:14; Is 38:11.
III
10#I kept faith, even when I said: even in the days of despair, the psalmist did not lose all hope.I kept faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted!”#2 Cor 4:13.
11I said in my alarm,
“All men are liars!”#Ps 12:2.
12How can I repay the Lord
for all the great good done for me?
13I will raise the cup of salvation#The cup of salvation: probably the libation of wine poured out in gratitude for rescue, cf. Ex 25:29; Nm 15:5, 7, 10.
and call on the name of the Lord.
14I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15#Dear in the eyes of the Lord: the meaning is that the death of God’s faithful is grievous to God, not that God is pleased with the death, cf. Ps 72:14. In Wis 3:5–6, God accepts the death of the righteous as a sacrificial burnt offering.Dear in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his devoted.#Ps 72:14; Is 43:4.
16Lord, I am your servant,
your servant, the child of your maidservant;#Ps 86:16; 143:12; Wis 9:5.
you have loosed my bonds.
17I will offer a sacrifice of praise
and call on the name of the Lord.#Lv 7:12ff.
18I will pay my vows to the Lord#Jon 2:10.
in the presence of all his people,
19In the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc