感謝拯救之恩

116 我愛耶和華,
因為祂垂聽了我的呼求和禱告。
因為祂垂聽我的祈求,
我一生都要向祂禱告。
死亡的繩索纏繞我,
陰間的恐怖籠罩我,
我被困苦和憂愁淹沒。
於是,我求告耶和華,
說:「耶和華啊,求你拯救我。」
耶和華仁慈、公義,
我們的上帝充滿憐憫。
耶和華保護心地單純的人,
危難之時祂救了我。
我的心啊,再次安寧吧,
因為耶和華恩待你。
祂救我的性命脫離死亡,
止住我眼中的淚水,
使我雙腳免於滑倒。
我要在世上事奉耶和華。
10 我相信,所以才說:
「我受盡了痛苦。」
11 我曾驚恐地說:
「人人都說謊。」
12 我拿什麼報答耶和華賜給我的一切恩惠呢?
13 我要為耶和華的拯救之恩而舉杯稱頌祂的名。
14 我要在耶和華的子民面前還我向祂許的願。

15 耶和華的眼目顧惜祂聖民的死亡。
16 耶和華啊!我是你的僕人,
是你的僕人,是你婢女的兒子。
你除去了我的鎖鏈。
17 我要向你獻上感恩祭,
呼求你的名。
18-19 我要在耶路撒冷,
在耶和華的殿中,
在耶和華的子民面前還我向祂許的願。

你們要讚美耶和華!

Psalm 116

I love Yahweh because he hears my voice, my pleas for mercy.
I will call on him as long as I live
    because he turns his ear toward me.
The ropes of death became tangled around me.
    The horrors of the grave took hold of me.
        I experienced pain and agony.
But I kept calling on the name of Yahweh:
    “Please, Yahweh, rescue me!”

Yahweh is merciful and righteous.
    Our Elohim is compassionate.
Yahweh protects defenseless people.
    When I was weak, he saved me.
Be at peace again, my soul,
    because Yahweh has been good to you.

You saved me from death.
    You saved my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling.
I will walk in Yahweh’s presence in this world of the living.
10 I kept my faith even when I said,
    “I am suffering terribly.”
11 I also said when I was panic-stricken,
    “Everyone is undependable.”
12 How can I repay Yahweh
    for all the good that he has done for me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of Yahweh.
14 I will keep my vows to Yahweh
    in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of Yahweh
    is the death of his faithful ones.
16 O Yahweh, I am indeed your servant.
    I am your servant,
        the son of your female servant.
    You have freed me from my chains.
17 I will bring a song of thanksgiving to you as a sacrifice.
    I will call on the name of Yahweh.
18 I will keep my vows to Yahweh
    in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Yahweh’s house,
    in the middle of Jerusalem.

Hallelujah!

Psalm 116[a]

Thanksgiving to God Who Saves from Death

I

I love the Lord, who listened
    to my voice in supplication,
Who turned an ear to me
    on the day I called.
I was caught by the cords of death;[b](A)
    the snares of Sheol had seized me;
    I felt agony and dread.
Then I called on the name of the Lord,
    “O Lord, save my life!”

II

Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
    yes, our God is merciful.(B)
The Lord protects the simple;
    I was helpless, but he saved me.
Return, my soul, to your rest;
    the Lord has been very good to you.(C)
For my soul has been freed from death,
    my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.(D)
I shall walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.[c](E)

III

10 [d]I kept faith, even when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted!”(F)
11 I said in my alarm,
    “All men are liars!”(G)
12 How can I repay the Lord
    for all the great good done for me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation[e]
    and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.
15 [f]Dear in the eyes of the Lord
    is the death of his devoted.(H)
16 Lord, I am your servant,
    your servant, the child of your maidservant;(I)
    you have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of praise
    and call on the name of the Lord.(J)
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord(K)
    in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courts of the house of the Lord,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 116 A thanksgiving in which the psalmist responds to divine rescue from mortal danger (Ps 116:3–4) and from near despair (Ps 116:10–11) with vows and Temple sacrifices (Ps 116:13–14, 17–19). The Greek and Latin versions divide the Psalm into two parts: Ps 116:1–9 and Ps 116:10–19, corresponding to its two major divisions.
  2. 116:3 The cords of death: death is personified here; it attempts to capture the psalmist with snares and nets, cf. Ps 18:6.
  3. 116:9 The land of the living: the phrase elsewhere is an epithet of the Jerusalem Temple (cf. Ps 27:13; 52:5; Is 38:11). Hence the psalmist probably refers to being present to God in the Temple.
  4. 116:10 I kept faith, even when I said: even in the days of despair, the psalmist did not lose all hope.
  5. 116:13 The cup of salvation: probably the libation of wine poured out in gratitude for rescue, cf. Ex 25:29; Nm 15:5, 7, 10.
  6. 116:15 Dear in the eyes of the Lord: the meaning is that the death of God’s faithful is grievous to God, not that God is pleased with the death, cf. Ps 72:14. In Wis 3:5–6, God accepts the death of the righteous as a sacrificial burnt offering.