Psalm 116
Some psalms cry to God for mercy because the author is dealing with great troubles. God invites such people to call upon Him and He promises to deliver them. When God does, the believer praises God for his or her deliverance, as he does in this psalm.
Section 1 (verses 1 to 4) describes the situation the author was in, from which God delivered him. He first declares his love for the Lord because He heard his supplications. Some situations feel as if death was binding a person in cords or chains, with its pain and oppression of the grave. The trouble and sorrow was not just of the body, but also of the soul, experienced in full measure. The psalmist then called on God’s name, trusting in His promises given in His Word, asking Him to deliver him.
Section 2 (verses 5 to 7) declares God to be gracious (helping even when people do not deserve it), righteous (doing according to His Word), and merciful (having pity on those who live in this sinful world. God will preserve even the simple believer from the oppression of the enemy. The author was brought low to utter helplessness, yet God rescued him in body and soul. Whatever anguish or disquiet the soul one had, it can be at rest because the Lord has bountifully blessed the soul with kindness, salvation, forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.
In section 3 (verses 8 to 11), the psalmist returns to his prayer of thanksgiving. The psalmist states three things that represent all the calamities that may come upon one in this world: death, tears, falling. God’s deliverance from them all is complete in every way. Because of this salvation, the psalmist will walk in God’s way with his whole life realizing that God is with him. He showed his faith in God as he spoke confidently of God and confessed his trust in God, for he could not trust what men may say because all people are liars.
Section 4 (verses 11 to 14) asks an important question for the believer—how to repay God’s great love and help? The cup of thanksgiving at the Passover meal also was lifted up in thanks to God for His deliverance from Egypt. Vows for special offering were made and he will not forget to carry them out in public so that others might witness how God was good to him and praise God also.
Section 5 (verses 15 to 17) continues the prayer of thanksgiving. Through this deliverance the psalmist also realizes that even should he have died from his trouble, death would not separate him from God’s love for those who are saints, that is, forgiven sinners through the Messiah. The psalmist claims the privileges of God’s covenant love toward His people as a child of God in loosing the bonds of sin and death. His thanksgiving consists of true worship: hearing God’s Word, sacrifices of thanksgiving and continued prayer to God.
The last section (verses 18 to 19) restate the psalmist’s resolve to show his thanksgiving in the courts of the Lord’s House, that is, the Temple in Jerusalem, where the people are gathered for public worship. With the believers, the psalmist will praise the Lord God of Israel for all His mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. We ought to do the same because of Christ’s salvation for us.