What shall I return to the LORD
for all his bounty to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD. (Ps. 116:12-13)

Have you ever been at death’s door, or felt as if you were? Sickness is always a problem, but consider the difference between being ill in the modern world and the ancient world. Today an attack of appendicitis or gallstones, along with many other internal diseases, can be diagnosed, treated, and cured with little drama. Broken bones can be repaired and worn-out joints replaced. Infections can sometimes be challenging due to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria, but are usually curable. Even many cancers can now be treated with success. 

Imagine living in a world where cleanliness is a constant challenge and antibiotics are unknown. A broken leg can lead to a permanent deformity and a nasty cut can cause a serious infection. Issues relating to internal organs are basically untreatable. Abdominal puncture wounds suffered in combat bring a lingering and painful demise. A serious case of the flu or a routine case of pneumonia is life-threatening – or can at least leave people thinking they were at death’s door. 

The book of Psalms contains many prayers of people who believed they were in danger of dying, whether from illness or from enemy action. Without quality medical care, an appeal to God might be someone’s only hope. 

Testimony and trial (vv. 1-4)

Last week’s study of Psalm 16 was the testimony of someone who had escaped a narrow scrape with death. Now 100 psalms later, we find another hymn that celebrates survival after someone prayed for deliverance in the face of mortal danger. 

Psalm 116 has no superscription. We have no idea who wrote it, nor do we know the specific illness or issue that threatened the writer’s life. This can be a good thing: though we often like to know more about the original setting, the lack of specifics allows later readers to apply the psalm’s lessons to their own situations. [DD]

The psalmist writes from a post-crisis standpoint: he or she had faced a perceived life-threatening situation, probably an illness of some sort, and had cried out to Yahweh for help, promising to offer public praise and a thank-offering if he survived. With health restored, the exuberant psalmist now acts to fulfill the vow. 

The psalm begins with a declaration of love: “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications” (v. 1). Yahweh had proven true to the psalmist’s belief that faithful obedience would lead to blessing, according to the covenant made between God and Israel at Sinai, introduced in Exod. 19:6. The book of Deuteronomy expanded on the covenant theme, promising a host of blessings to the Israelites if they remained faithful, and threatening dire troubles if they did not (see Deuteronomy 28, for example). Stories found in the books of Joshua through 2 Kings illustrate practical ways in which both individuals and the nation found prosperity or peril in keeping with their faithfulness or rebelliousness toward God.

Israel’s part of the covenant was summarized in Deut. 6:4-5, famously called the “Shema” because the first word is shěm‘a, an imperative verb meaning “hear” or “listen.” And the first commandment is to love God. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

The people were challenged to love God with all of their being, period. As with humans, however, love grows best in the context of a mutual and reciprocal relationship. Partners in a marriage grow in love as they do things for each other. God, having created and redeemed us, is worthy of our love from the beginning. Still, as we actively engage in relationship with God, as we experience God’s love and blessings, our love for God grows more intense. 

The psalmist believed God heard and responded to his prayers (“he inclined his ear to me,” v. 2a), leading him to trust that God would always be faithful: “therefore I will call on him as long as I live” (v. 2b). 

In verse 3 we find a figurative description of the psalmist’s former plight in three parallel statements: “The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.” 

From the depths of that wretched state, the author looked heavenward: “Then I called on the name of the LORD: ‘O LORD, I pray, save my life!’” (v. 4). The Hebrew construction of the prayer is more forceful: “Please, LORD, save my life!” The word translated “life” is nefesh, a word sometimes translated as “soul,” though it basically describes the essence of one’s self, what makes a person alive. [DD]

Deliverance and praise (vv. 5-11)

Having told the story in short, the psalmist now embarks on an exultant celebration of God’s goodness. He first recalls God’s gracious and merciful nature (v. 5), then declares “The LORD protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me” (v. 6). 

The word translated as “simple” does not mean “simple-minded,” but was a term common to the wisdom literature that described someone who was immature or naïve, still learning to distinguish between wisdom and folly. Though he may have been lacking in maturity, God had saved him, bringing relief to the stressful anxiety that had plagued him (v. 7). 

With v. 8 the psalmist again returns to the theme of deliverance from death and misery, so that he can “walk before the LORD in the land of the living” (v. 9). Verses 9-10 appear to assume that other people had downplayed God’s role in saving the psalmist, or had scoffed at the notion of facing affliction with faith. That might explain the psalmist’s insistence that “I kept my faith, even when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted’; I said in my consternation, ‘Everyone is a liar.’”

While humans offered no comfort, and may even have added to his distress, the psalmist found both health and rest in God.

Have you ever been in a similar situation, when others could not understand your trust in God?

Promises and fulfillment (vv. 12-19)

The content of vv. 12-19 reveals that the psalmist had done more than pray for deliverance: he or she had made a vow. Modern readers think of vows as unconditional promises, such as wedding vows or monastic vows, but for the Hebrews and their neighbors in the ancient Near East, vows were expressly conditional. Narrative vows consisted of two parts: a specific request from God, and a promise to give or do something for God if the request was fulfilled. The Old Testament’s legal materials contain rules about vow making (Numbers 30), and the narratives include stories about people who made vows. [DD] 

Vows can also be found in the psalms, though the form varies. In some cases, such as Psalm 116, we find references to vows that were made offstage. In all cases, vows were considered serious business: if made, they must be paid. 

Psalmists often made vows, sometimes including the promise of sacrifices, though they were more likely to pledge an offering of praise and testimony for God’s goodness. The author of Psalm 116 appears to have promised a drink offering and a thanksgiving sacrifice in addition to public praise, all introduced by the question “What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me?” (v. 12). 

“I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD” (v. 13) probably refers to the pouring out of wine as a drink offering to the accompaniment of praise to God. Such libations were commonly associated with thanksgiving sacrifices, as in Exod. 29:40–41, Lev. 23:18, 37, and Num. 28:7. Here, the thanksgiving sacrifice is mentioned in v. 17. Verses 13b-14 and 17b-18 are identical: both the drink offering and the thanksgiving sacrifice take place in the context of calling on – that is, praising or glorifying – the name of Yahweh, and “in the presence of all his people.” The closing verse clarifies the location: the vows are to be paid, not only in public, but in the courts of the temple in Jerusalem, the only place sacrifices could be acceptably made (v. 19). 

Still living, the psalmist declared that God cares about both life and death for those who are faithful (v. 15), and he or she clearly identified as being counted among them: “O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl” (v. 16). 

The word for “faithful ones” is hasîd – the same word used to describe “Hasidic Jews,” devoted to rabbinic law. “Serving girl” translates a word for female slaves whose children were also servants. Such language is discomfiting in our current culture, but was a natural analogy for the psalmist, who lived in a society in which slavery was an accepted way of life. 

Have you ever prayed to God when in trouble, promising some gift, service, or change in lifestyle if God will only provide healing or release from a sticky situation? If such a prayer met with a positive answer, did you keep your promises? “Testimony meetings” aren’t as common as they used to be: perhaps we should consider bringing them back, offering a natural opportunity for us to offer public thanks and praise to God for the blessings we have received.