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Psalm 116

Thanksgiving for Recovery from Illness

I love the Lord because he has heard
    my voice and my supplications.(A)
Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.(B)
The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.(C)
Then I called on the name of the Lord,
    “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”

Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
    our God is merciful.(D)
The Lord protects the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.(E)

For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling.(F)
I walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
10 [a]I kept my faith, even when I said,
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation,
    “Everyone is a liar.”(G)

12 What shall I return to the Lord
    for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the Lord;
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.(H)
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his faithful ones.(I)
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
    I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
    You have loosed my bonds.(J)
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
    and call on the name of the Lord.(K)
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!(L)

Footnotes

  1. 116.10 Some early witnesses begin a new psalm here

Psalm 116

116 I love the Lord because he hears
    my requests for mercy.
I’ll call out to him as long as I live,
    because he listens closely to me.
Death’s ropes bound me;
    the distress of the grave[a] found me—
    I came face-to-face with trouble and grief.
So I called on the Lord’s name:
    Lord, please save me!”[b]

The Lord is merciful and righteous;
    our God is compassionate.
The Lord protects simple folk;
    he saves me whenever I am brought down.
I tell myself, You can be at peace again,
    because the Lord has been good to you.
You, God, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    and my foot from stumbling,
    so I’ll walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
10 I have remained faithful, even when I said,
    “I am suffering so badly!”
11     even when I said, out of fear,
    “Everyone is a liar!”

12 What can I give back to the Lord
    for all the good things he has done for me?
13 I’ll lift up the cup of salvation.
    I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
14 I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people.
15 The death of the Lord’s faithful
    is a costly loss in his eyes.

16 Oh yes, Lord, I am definitely your servant!
    I am your servant and the son of your female servant—
    you’ve freed me from my chains.
17 So I’ll offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to you,
    and I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
18 I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people,
19     in the courtyards of the Lord’s house,
        which is in the center of Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 116:3 Heb Sheol
  2. Psalm 116:4 Or my soul; also in 116:7-8