Psalms 116

General context

The speaker says he loves the Lord because he heard his voice and supplications and inclined his ear, so he will call on him as long as he lives. The sorrows of death compassed him and the pains of hell took hold; he found trouble and sorrow and called on the name of the Lord, asking for his soul's deliverance. The Lord is gracious, righteous and merciful, and preserves the simple; the speaker was brought low and God helped him. He tells his soul to return to its rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully, delivering his soul from death, his eyes from tears and his feet from falling; he will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. He believed and therefore spoke, was greatly afflicted, and said in his haste, All men are liars. He asks what he shall render for all the Lord's benefits, and answers that he will take the cup of salvation, call on the name of the Lord and pay his vows before all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. He says he is truly the Lord's servant, the son of his handmaid, whose bonds God has loosed; he will offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, call on the name of the Lord and pay his vows in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.

Cited passages: Psalms 116:1, Psalms 116:2, Psalms 116:3, Psalms 116:4, Psalms 116:5, Psalms 116:6, Psalms 116:7, Psalms 116:8, Psalms 116:9, Psalms 116:10, Psalms 116:11, Psalms 116:12, Psalms 116:13, Psalms 116:14, Psalms 116:15, Psalms 116:16, Psalms 116:17, Psalms 116:19

Psalms 116 (KJV)

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

This source prints no superscription; the psalm begins with I love the Lord. The speaker is a single I who calls himself thy servant and the son of thine handmaid, and who also says our God in verse 5. The danger is described as the sorrows of death, the pains of hell, trouble and sorrow, tears, falling and bonds, all in general terms; no illness, enemy or event is named, and the deliverance is reported as done, thou hast delivered, thou hast loosed. Jerusalem and the courts of the Lord's house are the places named, as where the vows will be paid. The saying All men are liars is marked as spoken in my haste. Verse 15 speaks of the death of his saints as precious in the sight of the Lord, set between the vow and the claim to be his servant, and the text does not explain it further. 2 Corinthians 4:13 quotes verse 10 as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken. There is no Selah; the psalm ends with Praise ye the Lord.

Cited passages: Psalms 116:16, Psalms 116:5, Psalms 116:3, Psalms 116:8, Psalms 116:19, Psalms 116:11, Psalms 116:15, Psalms 116:6, 2 Corinthians 4:13

Literary context

The psalm moves from a reason to a repayment. It opens with because, the Lord heard, and the middle asks what shall I render, and the answer is a set of actions, most of them said twice: call upon the name of the Lord in verses 13 and 17, pay my vows in verses 14 and 18, with the cup of salvation and the sacrifice of thanksgiving named once each. Call upon the name of the Lord appears in verses 4, 13 and 17, first as the cry in trouble and then as the thanks after it, so the same words serve both. The deliverance is listed in three parts, soul from death, eyes from tears, feet from falling. The speaker addresses his own soul in verse 7, return unto thy rest, and the Lord directly from verse 8. The vow of verse 14 is repeated word for word in verse 18 and then completed by a place, the courts and Jerusalem, so the psalm ends by locating the promised thanks.

Cited passages: Psalms 116:1, Psalms 116:12, Psalms 116:4, Psalms 116:13, Psalms 116:17, Psalms 116:8, Psalms 116:7, Psalms 116:14, Psalms 116:18

Key moments

1. I love the Lord (Psalms 116:1). The speaker gives being heard as the reason for his love.
2. Sorrows of death (Psalms 116:3). Death and hell take hold of the speaker before he calls on the Lord.
3. Return unto thy rest (Psalms 116:7). The speaker tells his soul to rest because the Lord has dealt bountifully.
4. All men are liars (Psalms 116:11). The speaker recalls what he said in his haste while afflicted.
5. The cup of salvation (Psalms 116:13). The speaker answers his own question about what to render.
6. Bonds loosed (Psalms 116:16). The servant and son of the handmaid says God has loosed his bonds.
7. Vows in Jerusalem (Psalms 116:19). The vows are to be paid in the courts of the Lord's house.

For reflection

The speaker admits he said in his haste that all men are liars, and keeps the admission inside a song of thanks. What does the psalm gain by leaving that hasty sentence in?