6/1/19
Tom Lowe
Psalm 116: Jesus Sings a Love Song
Theme: A love song because God swallows death in victory.
Note: The King James Bible is used throughout.
I suggest that you read the entire psalm before reading the commentary.
Psalm 116
1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.
12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
Introduction:
Some commentators will tell you that this is one of the great psalms in Scripture and place it next to Psalm 23 in greatness. It is a song of thanksgiving. Imagine, a man is in distress and calls upon God, and God hears and extends him mercy, for which he is very grateful. It is a love song. It is a Hallel psalm. It is a simple psalm that speaks of the past sufferings of Christ in the presence of death. The Night He was arrested and the day before He died the Lord sang this psalm. I wish I could have heard Him sing it! It was “. . . for the joy that was set before Him [that He] endured the cross . . .” (Heb. 12:2) and sang that last day with great joy!
The occasion and author remain unknown, although the language used by Jonah in his prayer from the fishes stomach is remarkably similar. While this appears to deal with physical death, the same song could be sung by those who have been saved from spiritual death.
It is a psalm that speaks of the future, of the deliverance of the faithful remnant during the Great Tribulation period. Also, it speaks of the remnant and has a message for modern man, for the believer in this hour in which we live. This is what God wants us to know. It is a gracious word for those in distress and trouble. It will relieve your anxiety and dispel your doubts. The Lord Jesus sang the night before He was crucified.
At a time when the psalmist was resting (v. 7), unscrupulous men whom he had trusted lied about him (v.11) and created trouble for him. In fact, their deception almost cost him his life (vv. 3-4), but he called on the Lord and was saved from death (vv. 1-2). As the psalmist reflected on his life-threatening experience, he discovered several reasons why the Lord God delivers people from danger and death. The writer could not depend upon himself for deliverance
COMMENTARY
GOD HEARS
1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications (prayers).
The psalmist declares his love for the Lord because the Lord has heard his prayer and saved him. He declared “I love the Lord” ―remember that this is a love song. Have you ever told Him that you love Him? I think that the most important thing in a Christian’s life is how he answers the question. Do you love the Lord Jesus?” Do you love His person? Do you have a personal relationship with Him? Do you have any communication [prayer] with Him? Have you talked with him today? Is He vital and real to you? The world is tired of that which is phony and aren't you tired of it too. The Scripture says, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8). The Lord said to Simon Peter, “. . . Lovest thou me?” (John 21:15-17). To the church in Philadelphia, the Lord said, “I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I love thee” (Rev. 3:9)
Now, what is the basis for all of this? “I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice.” Are we to pray audibly? Well, it says, “He hath heard my voice,” and that implies audible prayer.
2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
“He hath inclined His ear” means that He is to pay attention and concentrate on what is being said (vv. 113:5-6); 117:6). Only a God as great as Jehovah can hear the voices of millions of his children who are praying to Him at the same time.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
As a means of instructing others, the psalmist testified to his deliverance by the Lord. He recalled how he was in peril of death. His words dramatically depict that he was hunted by death and the grave. He had almost died. But the Lord intervened to rescue him from “The sorrows of death . . . and the pains of hell.” Death is personified here as stalking the psalmist, and the Lord rescued him when he was in death’s grasp. Because of God’s deliverance, the writer wishes to recount his experience to the people of God. Though he gives no details of the difficulty he faced, there are suggestions at least of physical illness (vv.3-4, 6, 8, 10) and the oppression of men (vv. 10-11, 16).
This is the desperate situation of our Lord on the cross. He knew what He would go through―He sang about it on the night before He died. Actually, the sentence of death was upon us, but it became His sentence. He did not have to die. He laid down His life for you and me. No one took His life from Him.
4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD (better; “Then I proclaimed . . .”); O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
The writer could not trust in himself for deliverance (v. 3), nor could he trust the people around Him, some of whom were liars (v. 11), but he knew he could trust in the Lord and called on Him for help (vv. 2, 13, 17). The writer was experiencing deep trouble and sorrow, like a man drowning who is so entangled in a net that death seems inevitable (vv. 3, 8, 15; see 18:4-6).
The name of the Lord represents all that God is and does and to call upon His name is to trust Him to work on our behalf (see vv. 4, 13, 17). Like Peter sinking into the sea during the storm, he prayed, “O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul” (Matthew 14:29-31) and the Lord rescued him. When through no fault of our own we find ourselves in great danger, we can call on the Lord for His help.
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
God’s name represents God’s character, and He is gracious, righteous, compassionate, and powerful. The Lord loved the psalmist and saved him, and the psalmist then loved Him even more (vv. 1, 5; see 1 John 4:19). Note the phrase, “Our God,” which indicates that the writer was giving his testimony to a group of people, and expressing his gratitude for the Lord saving him from a horrible fate, probably at the sanctuary (vv. 14, 18-19).
In the Old Testament, thanksgiving is not only a personal experience but also involves sharing with others the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord.
God is merciful, but God is righteous. He cannot just arbitrarily forgive sin. He has to be right when He does it. God is the moral Ruler of this universe. He has to be right; He has to be Holy; He has to be just, but He also wants to be merciful. The only way to do that was for Him to pay the penalty for the sin of man. Now He says, “Come on, I can receive you.”
GOD HELPS
6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
“Simple” (v. 6) does not refer to ignorant or superstitious people but to childlike believers with sincerity and integrity, people who dare to believe that God means what He says. The psalmist reminds the congregation that the Lord protects the simple, that is, the person who is childlike in his dependence on and trust in the Lord
Shows how he will repay the Lord. After a difficult, frustrating pressure-filled day we need to find a quiet place where we can confess our sins, read the Word, and talk with God. That is the sanctuary of the soul. Oh, how all of us need this― “return unto thy rest, O my soul.” This will enable us to walk out and face the world for God. Because the Lord has delivered him from death, he enjoys rest, a state of unthreatened well-being (vv. 1 Ki. 5.4; Jer. 6:16). His life is a gift from the Lord.
The writer gives even more testimony to the Lord’s goodness and the Lord did even more than deliver him [the psalmist] from death. He also “dealt bountifully” with him (v. 7), and some of this bounty is described in verses 8 and 9.
8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
God wiped away his tears, He held him up and prevented him from stumbling (Jude 24).
9 I will walk{2] before the LORD in the land of the living.
God walked with him to protect him from his enemies. His life is a gift from the Lord and he determines to walk before the Lord and to live his life for Him.
10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
The psalmist turns a final time to his brush with death to attest two things to the congregation. First, he maintained a strong faith, even after he realized the gravity of his situation (or, affliction). Second, he came to the conclusion that he could depend only on God, for “All men are liars (v. 11).”
The words “I believed” refer to verse 9b, that is, he believed that he would live. This showed the level of his confidence, even though he was greatly afflicted, and felt that he had been deceived by all (who apparently said he would not be delivered). Faced with certain death, he knew that God was trustworthy, so he cried out to Him.
In the pressure of danger and pain, we often say things we really do not mean, but the Lord sees our hearts and knows what we really believe. The psalmist held on to his faith even though he said what he did, and the Lord ignored what he said with his lips and responded to what he was saying in his heart.
11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.
And he did all of this in spite of the ambivalence{1] of the psalmist’s faith, one minute dismayed at the lies of so-called friends, the next minute affirming his faith in the Lord (vv. 10-11). When the psalmist said, “All men are liars,” he was reacting either to his false accusers or to people who say they can deliver him but have not.
12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
After he had been delivered, the psalmist wanted to express his gratitude to the Lord so he asks, “What shall I render unto the LORD” and he showed his gratitude in four ways. First, he brought a thank offering to the Lord at the sanctuary as an expression of devotion to the Lord and in honor of the Lord’s deliverance (v. 17; Lev. 3; 7:11-21).
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD
First, he brought a thank offering to the Lord (v. 12). Apparently, this was the Passover cup being passed around at this time. As they passed it around the group which consisted of His disciples they would sing, “I will take the cup of salvation.” They knew the Passover cup was pointing to the coming Messiah. Our Lord sang this in the Upper Room. I wonder if this was the cup about which He said, “You take this cup and drink it. I’ll not take it until I drink it new in the kingdom, because I have a cup to drink tomorrow.” Then out in Gethsemane, He prayed that the cup would pass from Him. His holy nature rebelled against being made sin. “Yet “. . . for the Joy that was set before Him [He] endured the cross. . .” (Heb. 12:2), and He took that cup joyfully the next day on the cross.
Second, as part of this sacrifice, the priest would pour out a portion of wine on the altar as a symbol of the worshiper’s life poured out to serve the Lord. This was indeed a “cup of salvation” for the psalmist whose life could have been destroyed by the enemy.
The “cup of salvation” (see the first paragraph) likely refers to the cup of wine drunk at the festal meal that climaxed a thank offering (vv. 22:26, 29; Lev. 7:11-21). In presenting the thank offerings, the psalmist would fulfill the vows (v. 14) he has made to praise the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
Third, the priest kept back part of the offering for a feast held after the sacrifice, and there the worshipers shared his food and his joy with his family and friends. At that feast, the psalmist called on the Lord and publicly thanked Him for His mercies.
“I will pay my vows,” that is, he promises to praise God in the congregation. Others would hear him and be edified, which is one of the purposes of public praise. Most likely, he is referring to vows made during a time of duress.
GOD IS HOLY
This brings us to the last section of this psalm which tells us that God is holy. His holiness is important. It is the reason He had to die for Us.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Fourth, following the ceremony and feast, the psalmist began to keep the promises he had made to the Lord during his time of great suffering and danger (vv. 14, 18). We must not consider these vows to be “holy bribes” given in payment for God's help, for the psalmist surely knew that God’s will cannot be influenced by man’s gifts. (see Job 41:11 and Rom. 11:35)
Precious was the death of Christ to God. Precious will be the deaths of those who lay down their lives as martyrs during the Great Tribulation period, and many will do so. I firmly believe that we can apply this today. The death of one of His children is precious in His sight. God’s servants are immortal until their work on earth is done. They can be foolish and hasten the day of their death, but they cannot go beyond their appointed time. That is in God’s hands (vv. 48:14: Job 14:5; Luke 2:26).
The psalmist is thankful that the Lord has counted his life as precious. “Precious . . . is the death” does not convey that the believers death is a joyous experience to God but rather that it is something of great importance to the Lord so that He carefully watches over the believer’s life and will not allow him to die before his time.
16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
The psalmist, knowing that the Lord cares intensely about His saints, acknowledged that he was a servant of the Lord and would praise Him publicly (vv. 17-19). The death of a saint is not something the Lord considers as cheap; He does not let his people die for no good reason. Here the deliverance of a saint from the brink of death (vv. 3, 8) resounded to God’s praise and the edification of God’s saints for ages to come.
Believers today belong to God’s new Covenant family in Christ, but this does not guarantee protection from pain and trials. However, it does mean God is in control and will work out all things for our good and His glory, even our death (vv. Rom. 8:28; John 21:17-19; 2 Pe. 1:12-15). Even our Lord lived on a divine timetable and they could not crucify Him until the chosen hour had come (vv. John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1). May the Lord help us end well and be faithful to Him (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
The psalmist concludes by again confirming his intention to offer “the sacrifice of thanksgiving” in connection with the fulfillment of his “vows” of praise.
18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord.
He reiterates his intention to complete his vows to Yahweh in full view of all His people, adding this time, “in the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.”
It is a debt of praise which the psalmist is pleased to pay, but at the same time, he feels incapable of paying. How sorely needed, indeed, is the proud testimony to God’s goodness in one man’s behalf, as well as in all men’s behalf.
“The Lord’s house” refers to (1) the tabernacle in Jerusalem, if written by David or before or (2) the temple in Jerusalem, if written by Solomon or later.
Dear reader, you have nothing that God wants―nothing tangible. The psalmist sings, “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving.” I’m going to thank Him. In case we miss the importance of this, the writer to the Hebrews says, “By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Heb. 13:15). Oh, dear reader, the only thing we can give to our God is our thanks, and how precious that is to our Heavenly Father. But the single most moving thought of this moving psalm is the recognition, against the most fired-up intention of which a grateful man is capable, that there is simply no way to pay God back. But we can, like this poet, love and praise Him.
Special notes and Scripture
[1} Ambivalence: continual fluctuation (as between one thing and its opposite)
[2} “I will walk” is a vow of obedience.