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116. Psalm 116

¹ I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
² Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

    ³ The cords of death entangled me,
   the anguish of the grave came over me;
   I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the LORD:
   “LORD, save me!”

    ⁵ The LORD is gracious and righteous;
   our God is full of compassion.
⁶ The LORD protects the unwary;
   when I was brought low, he saved me.

⁷ Return to your rest, my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.

    ⁸ For you, LORD, have delivered me from death,
   my eyes from tears,
   my feet from stumbling,
⁹ that I may walk before the LORD
   in the land of the living.

    ¹⁰ I trusted in the LORD when I said,
   “I am greatly afflicted”;
¹¹ in my alarm I said,
   “Everyone is a liar.”

¹² What shall I return to the LORD
for all his goodness to me?

    ¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
   and call on the name of the LORD.
¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
   in the presence of all his people.

    ¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the LORD
   is the death of his faithful servants.
¹⁶ Truly I am your servant, LORD;
   I serve you just as my mother did;
   you have freed me from my chains.

    ¹⁷ I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
   and call on the name of the LORD.
¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
   in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the LORD—
   in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD. Hebrew Hallelu Yah

17. I will sacrifice the sacrifices of praise to thee. He once more repeats what he had said about gratitude, and that publicly; for we must manifest our piety, not only by our secret affection before God, but also by an open profession in the sight of men. David, along with the people, observed the rites of the law, knowing that these, at that time, were not unmeaning services; but while he did this, he had a particular reference to the purpose for which they were appointed, and offered principally the sacrifices of praise and the calves of his lips. He speaks of the courts of God’s house, because at that time there was but one altar from which it was unlawful to depart, and it was the will of God that the holy assemblies should be held there, that the faithful might mutually stimulate one another to the cultivation of godliness.