Psa 116:1 | KingComments | STEP | Psalm 116 sings of the salvation of the faithful who have been on the verge of death. An example is Hezekiah who was near death because of an illness, but was healed ( ). Prophetically, the psalm describes the history of the remnant in the end time. We hear the Spirit of Christ speaking in it. This psalm is a votive offering ( ) and a sacrifice of thanksgiving ( ) because of the answer to the prayers of the remnant of Israel ( ). The sacrifice is offered in the temple in Jerusalem ( ) in the presence of all Israel, all twelve tribes ( ). The psalm begins with a passionate declaration of love by the psalmist for the LORD ( ). Literally the verse reads, “I love, for the LORD hears my voice [and] my supplications”. The first words “I love” has no object, just as in 1 John 4: “We love” ( ). It is with it as with Mary Magdalene’s statement when she asks where the body of the Lord Jesus lies: “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away” ( ). Mary believes that the person to whom she is speaking is the gardener. She loves the Lord so much that she speaks of “Him”, assuming that everyone will know of Whom she is speaking. So it is also in this psalm: “I love.” The psalmist supposes that everyone would know of Whom he is speaking. The psalmist is deeply impressed by the LORD’s salvation from death. He cannot help but respond in this way, “because”, so he explains his declaration of love, “He hears my voice [and] my supplications” (cf. ). What a God He is, Who listens and saves in this way! That can have no other consequence than that you love that God. Every answer and rescue from need is a new reason to love Him. With another “because” he indicates why he loves the LORD: “He has inclined His ear to me” ( ). This goes even further than God hearing his voice. It means that God is listening with great attention, turning His head toward him to come with His ear to the mouth of the psalmist so as not to miss a word of his complaint. That is how God is, how inviting He is to listen. “Therefore” he shall call upon Him as long as he lives on earth and is in the land of the living. The psalmist tells of the distress that compelled him to call upon the LORD ( ; cf. ). He stood before the gate of death. He was encompassed by “cords of death”. That is, he was in the grip of death from which it was impossible for him to extricate himself. Inside, inwardly, “terrors of Sheol” had come upon him. He “found distress and sorrow”. Death and Sheol – Sheol is the realm of the dead – are represented as hunters who catch and kill their prey with a snare. The psalmist felt like powerless prey in the hands of powerful hostile hunters. In this great distress he “called upon the Name of the LORD” and pleaded, “O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!” ( ). He had no recourse other than “the name of the LORD”, which is His Being, all that He is. If the LORD did not intervene to save him, it would be over with him. Therefore, he pleads with Him to save his soul, that is, to release him from his mortal danger and keep him alive.

‏ Psalms 116:1

Introduction

Psalm 116 sings of the salvation of the faithful who have been on the verge of death. An example is Hezekiah who was near death because of an illness, but was healed (2Kgs 20:1-11).

Prophetically, the psalm describes the history of the remnant in the end time. We hear the Spirit of Christ speaking in it. This psalm is a votive offering (Psa 116:14 ; 18) and a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psa 116:17) because of the answer to the prayers of the remnant of Israel (Psa 116:1-2). The sacrifice is offered in the temple in Jerusalem (Psa 116:19) in the presence of all Israel, all twelve tribes (Psa 116:14 ; 18).

Loving the LORD

The psalm begins with a passionate declaration of love by the psalmist for the LORD (Psa 116:1). Literally the verse reads, “I love, for the LORD hears my voice [and] my supplications”. The first words “I love” has no object, just as in 1 John 4: “We love” (1Jn 4:19). It is with it as with Mary Magdalene’s statement when she asks where the body of the Lord Jesus lies: “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away” (Jn 20:15b). Mary believes that the person to whom she is speaking is the gardener. She loves the Lord so much that she speaks of “Him”, assuming that everyone will know of Whom she is speaking. So it is also in this psalm: “I love.” The psalmist supposes that everyone would know of Whom he is speaking.

The psalmist is deeply impressed by the LORD’s salvation from death. He cannot help but respond in this way, “because”, so he explains his declaration of love, “He hears my voice [and] my supplications” (cf. Jona 2:1-3). What a God He is, Who listens and saves in this way! That can have no other consequence than that you love that God. Every answer and rescue from need is a new reason to love Him.

With another “because” he indicates why he loves the LORD: “He has inclined His ear to me” (Psa 116:2). This goes even further than God hearing his voice. It means that God is listening with great attention, turning His head toward him to come with His ear to the mouth of the psalmist so as not to miss a word of his complaint. That is how God is, how inviting He is to listen. “Therefore” he shall call upon Him as long as he lives on earth and is in the land of the living.

The psalmist tells of the distress that compelled him to call upon the LORD (Psa 116:3; cf. Psa 18:5-7). He stood before the gate of death. He was encompassed by “cords of death”. That is, he was in the grip of death from which it was impossible for him to extricate himself. Inside, inwardly, “terrors of Sheol” had come upon him. He “found distress and sorrow”. Death and Sheol – Sheol is the realm of the dead – are represented as hunters who catch and kill their prey with a snare. The psalmist felt like powerless prey in the hands of powerful hostile hunters.

In this great distress he “called upon the Name of the LORD” and pleaded, “O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!” (Psa 116:4). He had no recourse other than “the name of the LORD”, which is His Being, all that He is. If the LORD did not intervene to save him, it would be over with him. Therefore, he pleads with Him to save his soul, that is, to release him from his mortal danger and keep him alive.