THE LORD HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME

Psalm 116:1-117:2 / Keywords 116:7

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

 

116:1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;

    he heard my cry for mercy.

2 Because he turned his ear to me,

    I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me,

    the anguish of the grave came over me;

    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.

4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:

    “Lord, save me!”

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;

    our God is full of compassion.

6 The Lord protects the unwary;

    when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul,

    for the Lord has been good to you.

8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,

    my eyes from tears,

    my feet from stumbling,

9 that I may walk before the Lord

    in the land of the living.

10 I trusted in the Lord when I said,

    “I am greatly afflicted”;

11 in my alarm I said,

    “Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the Lord

    for all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation

    and call on the name of the Lord.

14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

    in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord

    is the death of his faithful servants.

16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;

    I serve you just as my mother did;

    you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you

    and call on the name of the Lord.

18 I will fulfill 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, Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord.[a]

117:1 Praise the Lord, all you nations;

    extol him, all you peoples.

2 For great is his love toward us,

    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.[b]

Footnotes

a. Psalm 116:19 Hebrew Hallelu Yah

b. Psalm 117:2 Hebrew Hallelu Yah

 

1. The Psalmist here expresses great relief and joy after being rescued from a severe trial and pours out thankfulness to the Lord. The trial was so severe that they were overcome with distress and sorrow (3) and saw other human beings as no help at all (11). As severe as the suffering was, the realization of God’s goodness in delivering them was equally great. Their soul returns to a peaceful state of resting in God (7). It’s good for us to remember times in our lives when God brought us out of a crisis. We can testify, “When I was brought low, he saved me” (6).

2. When we are thankful, we naturally start to think about what we can do for God (12). It is an appropriate time to recommit ourselves to serve faithfully (14). When our service has the nature of a thanksgiving offering, serving becomes our joy (17). The purest and best gift we can offer God is praise, and so the ending of both Psalm 116 and the short Psalm 117 is “Praise the Lord.”

Prayer Father, thank you for the times you rescued me and restored peace in my soul after much trouble. I want to serve you faithfully as my thanksgiving offering. I will praise you continually!

One Word Praise the Lord for his goodness