Psalm 116 is a chapter dedicated to the relationship between faith, death and God with a very important value. Today, in Your Online Bible you will discover all that this psalm wants to transmit with an article suitable for all audiences. Interested?
Psalm 116 kjv commentary
There are situations in life in which people find themselves very much in contact with the concept of death; either by illness, accident or by the death of family members or friends we love deeply.
There is always an aura of sadness and loss surrounding death, although today you will learn that it doesn’t always have to be that way if we keep God in mind.
Psalm 116 of the Bible has great importance in Christianity, since it was this song that Jesus recited on the night of his betrayal, just before leaving for the Mount of Olives, as shown in the gospels Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26.
“When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. “ (Mark 14:26)
The way Jesus faced his imminent crucifixion and all the words of this psalm can help you in many difficult occasions in life. We want to contribute to this too, so today we bring you everything you need to know about Psalm 116!
Psalm 116 of the Bible in English and large print
To complete your introduction to the text, in this section you will be able to read Psalm 116 in its entirety in English, with large print and easy to understand typography.
The version that we propose to read in this article is the one extracted from the king james version, which is the English version of the Bible with the best translations.
Thanksgiving for having been spared from death
1 I love the LORD, for he has heard
My voice and my pleas;
2 For he has inclined his ear to me;
Therefore, I will call upon him all my days.
3 They compassed me about with bands of death,
The anguish of Sheol found me;
Anguish and pain I had found.
4 Then I called upon the name of Jehovah, saying:
O LORD, deliver my soul now.
5 Jehovah is gracious and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 Jehovah keeps the simple;
I was prostrate, and he saved me.
7 Return , O my soul, to your rest,
For Jehovah has done you good.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death,
My eyes with tears,
And my feet from slipping.
9 I will walk before the LORD
In the land of the living.
10 I believed; therefore I spoke,
Being greatly distressed.
11 And I said in my haste:
Every man is a liar.
12 What shall I render to the LORD
For all its benefits to me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation,
And I will call upon the name of the LORD.
14 Now I will pay my vows to Jehovah
In front of all his people.
15 Esteemed in the sight of Jehovah
The death of its saints.
16 O Jehovah, surely I am your servant,
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
You have broken my prisons.
17 I will offer you a sacrifice of praise,
And I will call upon the name of the LORD.
18 To Jehovah I will now pay my vows
In front of all his people,
19 In the courts of the house of Jehovah,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah.
Explanation and meaning of Psalm 116
Now we can begin to analyse Psalm 116 calmly and in detail, explaining everything you need to know to pray with it and understand its meaning without problems.
This Bible commentary is separated by blocks of verses that share the same theme or are related in some way. The most important verses stand alone, with a special section for each of them. Let’s start with the analysis of Psalm 116!
- Psalm 116:1-2
“I love Jehovah, for he has heard
My voice and my pleas;
Because he has inclined his ear to me;
Therefore I will call upon him all my days.“
Psalm 116 begins with a clear message that leaves no room for doubt: I love God. And no matter how many things happen, that is the most important thing and on which everything that happens in our lives should be based.
After this initial statement, the author of the psalm explains why he loves the Lord and why he dedicates all the days of his life to him. The Lord is our protector, our shield and our guide.
When we turn to Him with faith and sincerity, He listens to us and shows us the way to follow, always with His infinite love.
- Psalm 116:3-4
“Ligatures of death surrounded me,
I was found by the anguish of Sheol;
Anguish and pain I had found.
Then I called upon the name of Jehovah, saying:
O Jehovah, deliver my soul now.”
In this second block, the psalmist puts us in a situation. He found himself at some point near death, perhaps from some illness or some outside threat.
It is in those moments, when pain and anguish take over our body, when it is more difficult to turn to God for help, because we feel far from Him. Even so, the psalmist seeks the Lord, as should all people of faith. Only then will we have any chance of being saved.
Sheol is the name given by the Jews to hell, being interpreted as a place of eternal suffering where the souls of the dead went.
- Psalm 116:5 and Psalm 116:6
“Clement is Jehovah, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
Jehovah keeps the simple;
I was prostrate, and he saved me.”
Here you find some of the most beautiful verses of Psalm 116 and perhaps of the entire Old Testament. The Lord is merciful, wise and just. This is in great contrast to the idea of God that people had centuries before the arrival of Jesus Christ.
On many occasions and biblical episodes, the Lord uses his infinite power to punish the inhabitants of the world and make them pay for their sins. This changes with the arrival of new prophets, in whom the Lord reveals himself as a good God who is purely love.
This process culminates with Jesus in the New Testament, in which the image of God is renewed to the point that we know today and in which all Christians around the world believe.
- Psalm 116:7-9
“Return, O my soul, to your rest,
For Jehovah has done you good.
For thou hast delivered my soul from death,
My eyes with tears,
And my feet from slipping.
I will walk before the LORD
In the land of the living.”
At this point we already know that the psalmist was going through a difficult situation, but that he has faith in God, who is good and merciful, so he turns to Him to try to save himself. This situation could be shared by any of us at some point in our lives.
The Lord helped the psalmist to overcome that complicated near-death situation, just as he has done so many times with us in moments even not so serious. It is a message of joy and praise to the Lord, because He saves us.
It is also an important message of thanks. You should know that giving thanks is one of the main acts of every Christian, and we should thank the Lord every day.
- Psalm 116:10-11
“I believed; therefore I spoke,
Being greatly distressed.
And I said in my haste:
Every man is a liar.”
These two verses summarize what may well have happened to all of us: in times of difficulty, we commit acts without thinking of the consequences, and that plays against us.
Words spoken or acts committed do not disappear as if they had not occurred. Rather, it takes sincere repentance seeking God to make it so. We should not seek to justify our faults with the context in which we commit them; we only need to be sincere, accept them and turn towards the Lord.
- Psalm 116:12-14
“What shall I render unto Jehovah
For all its benefits to me?
I will take the cup of salvation,
And I will call upon the name of the LORD.
Now I will pay my vows to Jehovah
In front of all his people.”
Is it necessary to repay the Lord for his favours in some way? The truth is yes, and contrary to what you might think, you can only give back to God by receiving more of Him.
The way to thank the Lord for all His acts of love is to seek Him more, again and again, day after day; to receive more blessings and to keep Him by our side. We should thank God by loving His Word and carrying it as banners of our lives, making the rest of the world see it.
This is the only way to give back to God what He has given you, and it is up to you to do it. So, do not hesitate to continue seeking God and proclaiming his name to the wind; for in this way you are thanking him for his love.
- Psalm 116:15-17
“Esteemed is she in the sight of Jehovah
The death of its saints.
O LORD, surely I am your servant,
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
You have broken my prisons.
I will offer you a sacrifice of praise,
And I will call upon the name of Jehovah.”
Returning to the theme of death that surrounds this psalm, the psalmist reminds us that God is close to us at all times, but especially the days near our death.
It is Our Lord who is in charge of watching over all Christians when they leave this earthly world and giving them the best possible end.
To do this, we must dedicate our lives to the Lord, acting in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and with love above all else. Let us praise the Lord every day of our lives and He will keep us from all evil.
- Psalm 116:18-19
“To Jehovah I will now pay my vows
In front of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah.”
These last verses of Psalm 116 are used to repeat the message already stated above. The way to repay God is with the joy of loving him, making the rest of the people share in it.
It is so important to share this joy that even the psalmist cites the great city of Jerusalem. Let us not keep the joy of knowing the Lord to ourselves alone, and let us try to take him to every corner of the world.
Who wrote Psalm 116
The author of this psalm has always remained anonymous, as there is no indication that he was any known biblical character.
This fact may be due to the fact that the author never wanted it to be known that he was the author of it for possible fear of reprisals at the time or because he wanted to give a psalm to the rest of the world, which belonged to everyone equally.
Although not mainstream, there are scholars who assign this psalm to King David, who wrote many of the other psalms in the Old Testament Book of Psalms. If so, it is unknown when David might have written this psalm, as it does not fit with everything we know about the character.
Psalm 116 Prayer
Now you know everything you need to know about Psalm 116, and we want to offer you the opportunity to make a prayer with this knowledge and others that will be provided in the following video.
It is a prayer dedicated to all those people who are in times of need and suffering, so that they may succeed in moving forward, thanks to the love of God.
This profound and moving article from Psalm 116 of the Bible ends after this prayer that we have left for you above. We hope that you have felt everything we wanted to convey with this article and that you have understood the main message of the psalm, on the other hand, follow the reading with Psalm 23 or Psalm 133, two of our favorite psalms.
Finally, we wish you a happy day if you read us in the morning, or that you have just had a good day if it is noon or evening.
Thanks for reading our articles, and see you next time!