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Psalms 116

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A Declaration of Love for the LORD 1–2

1
I love Jehovah, because he heareth My voice and my supplications. ​
2
Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, Therefore will I callupon himas long as I live.

Recalling Distress and Desperate Prayer 3–4

3
The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. ​
4
Then called I upon the name of Jehovah: O Jehovah, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

Proclaiming God's Mercy and Righteousness 5–9

5
Gracious is Jehovah, and righteous; Yea, our God is merciful. ​
6
Jehovah preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he saved me. ​
7
Return unto thy rest, O my soul; For Jehovah hath dealt bountifully with thee. ​
8
For thou hast delivered my soul from death, Mine eyes from tears, Andmy feet from falling.
9
I will walk before Jehovah In the land of the living. ​

Faith Tested During Affliction 10–11

10
I believe, for I will speak: I was greatly afflicted: ​
11
I said in my haste, All men are liars. ​

Commitment to Vows and Public Worship 12–19

12
What shall I render unto Jehovah For all his benefits toward me? ​
13
I will take the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of Jehovah. ​
14
I will pay my vows unto Jehovah, Yea, in the presence of all his people.
15
Precious in the sight of Jehovah Is the death of his saints. ​
16
O Jehovah, truly I am thy servant: I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid; Thou hast loosed my bonds. ​
17
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of Jehovah.
18
I will pay my vows unto Jehovah, Yea, in the presence of all his people,
19
In the courts of Jehovah’s house, In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye Jehovah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 116

Verse 1

I love the LORD — The verb is ahab, the one in Ps 31:23, 'O love the LORD, all ye his saints'. The reason is given at once: 'he hath heard my voice and my supplications'. Tachanun, 'supplications', comes from chanan, the root of 'gracious' in v.5. Ps 31:22 ends with the same hearing, 'thou heardest the voice of my supplications'.

Verse 3

The sorrows of death compassed me — The first line is the same as Ps 18:4. Chebel, 'sorrows', is a cord, and also a pang; 'hell' is sheol, the place of the dead. Metsar, 'pains', is a strait, found elsewhere only at Ps 118:5 and Lam 1:3. 'Gat hold' and 'found' are one verb, matsa: the pains found him, and he found trouble.

Verse 5

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous — Channun, tsaddiq and the verb racham, to have compassion, name three things. Ps 112:4 joins the same three words, 'gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous'. 'Merciful' comes from the same root as 'full of compassion'. Ex 34:6 has the LORD's own words of himself, 'merciful and gracious'.

Verse 6

The LORD preserveth the simple — Pethi is the open, unguarded one, easily led; Ps 19:7 says the testimony of the LORD makes him 'wise', and Ps 119:130 that his word 'giveth understanding unto the simple'. 'Brought low' is dalal, as in Ps 142:6. 'Helped' is yasha, to save, the root of the 'salvation' (yeshuah) of v.13.

Verse 7

Return unto thy rest — Manoach, a resting place, as the dove found none in Gen 8:9 and Naomi sought for Ruth in Ruth 3:1. 'Return' is shub, the verb translated 'render' in v.12. 'Dealt bountifully' is gamal, to deal fully with, the root of 'benefits' (tagmul) in v.12; Ps 13:6 has the same words, 'he hath dealt bountifully with me'.

Verse 9

walk before the LORD — To 'walk before' him is the charge in Gen 17:1, 'walk before me, and be thou perfect'. 'Land of the living' is eretz hachayyim. Hezekiah feared he would not 'see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living' (Isa 38:11), and Ps 27:13 speaks of seeing 'the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living'.

Verse 10

I believed, therefore have I spoken — Aman, to be firm and trust, the root of 'amen'. Paul quotes the line in 2 Cor 4:13: 'We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak'. 'Afflicted' is anah, to be afflicted or humbled, as in Ps 119:71, 'It is good for me that I have been afflicted'.

Verse 11

I said in my haste — Chaphaz, to start up suddenly and hurry; the words are those of Ps 31:22, 'I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes', which goes on, 'nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications' (as in v.1 here). 'Liars' is kazab, to deceive or fail.

Verse 12

all his benefits — Tagmul, 'benefits', occurs only here in the Old Testament. It comes from gamal, the verb of 'dealt bountifully' in v.7, and 'render' is shub, the 'return' of v.7. The answer is given in the verses that follow: the cup, the name of the LORD, and the vows (vv.13–14).

Verse 13

the cup of salvation — Kos, a cup, which is a portion in Ps 16:5, 'The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup'. 'Salvation' is yeshuah, from yasha (v.6). He will 'call upon the name of the LORD', as in vv.4 and 17, where it goes with 'the sacrifice of thanksgiving' (todah, as in Lev 7:12).

Verse 15

Precious in the sight of the LORD — Yaqar, costly or dear, is the root of 'precious' in Ps 72:14, 'precious shall their blood be in his sight'. 'Saints' is chasid, from chesed, covenant love: those addressed in Ps 31:23, 'O love the LORD, all ye his saints'. 'Death' is mavet, the word of v.3, where the sorrows of death compassed the psalmist.

Verse 16

the son of thine handmaid — The same words stand in Ps 86:16, 'save the son of thine handmaid'. Anna, 'truly', is a particle of entreaty, 'I beseech thee', as in v.4 and Ps 118:25. 'Bonds' is moser, a band or cord, the word of Ps 107:14, 'brake their bands in sunder'; the LORD has opened (pathach) what held him.

Verse 19

the courts of the LORD'S house — The 'courts' (chatser) are the sanctuary's enclosed yards, as in Ps 100:4, 'into his courts with praise', and Ps 135:2, 'in the courts of the house of our God'. The verse completes v.18, 'I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people'. The psalm ends with Hallelu-Yah.