Psalm 116:1 I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord: "O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!"
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death, My 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 I spoke, "I am greatly afflicted."
11 I said in my haste, "All men are liars."
12 What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows to 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 Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the courts of the Lord's house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Devotional:
"You, 0 LORD, have delivered my soul from death." Perhaps the psalmist had been very ill before he penned this song. Maybe his enemies had almost killed him. In any event, death and the grave had bound and gagged him and had nearly carried him off. But then the LORD saved him.
I have often read this psalm (omitting verses 10 and 11) to people who've had a brush with death in an accident or in surgery. They can always identify with Psalm 116 because they feel as if they've been snatched from the grip of the grim reaper. With the psalmist they feel a surge of gratitude: "How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?" (v. 12) "You ... have delivered my soul from death." This is an appropriate response for someone who has escaped physical and/or spiritual death.
When God saves us, he dries our tears, puts us on our feet, and teaches us to walk. As a result, the psalmist says with great relief and resolve, we "may walk before the LORD in the land of the living." Walking with the Lord means living in communion with him. Walking after the Lord means being his disciple. But walking before the Lord means being forever conscious of God's eye upon us.
After recovering from serious illness or being restored after a fall into sin, we cherish anew all treasures in the land of the living. And we step carefully and gratefully, knowing that we walk before the all-seeing eyes of God.
