Psalms 116 – I Love the LORD

A personal thanksgiving from someone the LORD rescued from the sorrows of death.

Psalms 116 – I Love the Lord Who Heard Me

Following the trust in the living God from Psalms 115, this deeply personal psalm opens 'I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice,' recalling a rescue from the sorrows of death.


I love that HaShem should hear my voice and my supplications.

Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him all my days.

The cords of death compassed me, and the straits of the nether-world got hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow.

But I called upon the name of HaShem: 'I beseech thee, O HaShem, deliver my soul.'

Gracious is HaShem, and righteous; yea, our G-d is compassionate.

HaShem preserveth the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.

Return, O my soul, unto Thy rest; for HaShem hath dealt bountifully with thee.

For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.

I shall walk before HaShem in the lands of the living.

I trusted even when I spoke: 'I am greatly afflicted.'

I said in my haste: 'All men are liars.'

How can I repay unto HaShem all His bountiful dealings toward me?

I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of HaShem.

My vows will I pay unto HaShem, yea, in the presence of all His people.

Precious in the sight of HaShem is the death of His saints.

I beseech Thee, O HaShem, for I am Thy servant; I am Thy servant, the son of Thy handmaid; Thou hast loosed my bands.

I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of HaShem.

I will pay my vows unto HaShem, yea, in the presence of all His people;

In the courts of HaShem'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah.

Its confession that God heard first, prompting love in return, mirrors <a href="/bible/jps/1-john/chapter-4/19">1 John 4:19</a>, and the psalmist's vow to praise publicly continues into <a href="/bible/jps/psalms/chapter-117">Psalms 117</a>.