I Love the Lord – Psalm 116

“I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications.” Psalms 116:1

Have you ever expressed deep concerns to someone who refused to talk to you about it? David expressed love for God because God listened to him and He responded to his concerns.

“Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore, I will call upon Him as long as I live.” Psalms 116:2

When David spoke, the Lord turned to him. When others disappeared, the Lord appeared. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe humbled Himself to listen to his prayers. Amazing!

David responded to the Lord’s kindness by telling Him that he loved Him.

It is likely that people in the Gospels verbalized their love for Jesus, but the only account where someone tells Jesus, “I love you” happens in John 21:15-17. In this passage, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Each time, Peter responded, “You know that I love You.” It is likely that Jesus gave Peter three opportunities to verbalize his love for Him due to the fact that Peter had previously denied knowing Him three times. My point here is that it is easy to forget to tell the Lord that we love Him, but we should.

To love the Lord our God is the first and great commandment. Since God has shown such great love and compassion toward us, we should gladly and frequently express our love for Him.

Since God loves us, why should we look anywhere else for help? David resolved to call on God “as long as I live.” “Prayer is the breath of the believer until our final breath.” [1]

“The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow.” Psalms 116:3

David describes himself as surrounded by death. Perhaps, King Saul and his army was close to capturing him. Perhaps, he was looking at corpses on a battlefield. In any case, David felt the presence of death around him. Like Christ, he was overwhelmed with sorrow. In Mark 14:34, Jesus told His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”

“Then I called upon the Name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!’” Psalms 116:4

Prayer to God was not David’s last resort. David’s “go-to” response to a death threat was prayer. His prayer was simple: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul.” He asked God to save his soul in the Name of the Lord.

“Gracious is the Lord, and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful.” Psalms 116:5

The words of Psalms 116:5 express David’s belief in God. He viewed God as righteous, gracious and merciful. These three expressions made me think of the Trinity: the righteous Father works among us through His Son and His Spirit. Jesus the Son (also known as the Word of God) and the Holy Spirit are God’s grace and mercy working among us.

“The Lord preserves the simple. I was brought low, and He saved me.” Psalms 116:6

“Simple” describes those who are so low that they are unable to help themselves. They have no human remedy for their problem. They need Jesus to intervene for them just as He did for people in the Gospels. Along the highways and byways, Jesus stopped and rescued them.

God strengthened David to keep praying. God’s people are never so low that He cannot reach them. In Deuteronomy 32:36, it is written, “The Lord will vindicate His people and relent concerning His servants when He sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.”

“Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” Psalms 116:7

David tells his soul to rest in God. The Lord did for him more than he could ask or imagine. The words, “Return to your rest, O my soul” are fitting words both when a day and a life ends. [2]

“For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.” Psalms 116:8

The Lord delivered David’s soul from death. Every day of life is a gift from God. [3]

The Lord spared David’s eyes from tears. Sometimes God removes the cause of our sorrow, and sometimes He strengthens us so that sorrow does not overwhelm us. One day, in heaven, God will wipe away every tear forever. [4]

The Lord kept David’s feet from falling. When we are close to stumbling, God holds us by His right hand. In Psalms 73:2, 23, it is written, “As for me, my feet had almost slipped. I had nearly lost my foothold. Yet I am always with You. You hold me by my right hand.” [5]

“I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalms 116:9

As long as David lived, he was determined to walk before the Lord. To walk before the Lord means to live daily with awareness that God sees you. In Genesis 17:1, the Lord said to Abraham, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me faithfully and be blameless.” [6]

The fact that we are still “in the land of the living” should inspire us to serve God faithfully. Life is a gift of God’s mercy. [7] Life is an opportunity to love God and people.

“I believed therefore I spoke, ‘I am greatly afflicted.’” Psalms 116:10

David says, “I believed, therefore have I spoken.” Although he suffered while waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled, he continued to trust God and speak openly about his faith. [7]

Paul quotes these words in 2 Corinthians 4:13, applying them to himself and to other ministers who suffer for the Gospel’s sake. Even though they suffered for Christ, they continued to pray to God. Prior to the quote, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:8-11, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body.”

“I said in my haste, ‘All men are liars.’” Psalms 116:11

Perhaps David was thinking of King Saul, Joab or Michal. All three of them betrayed his trust. He might have been thinking about Samuel’s promise to him that he would be the king. In 1 Samuel 27:1, David doubted, saying, “I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul.”

Even strong believers struggle at times due to trials. In Matthew 11:2-6, after being imprisoned by King Herod, John the Baptist sent his followers to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Instead of criticizing others when they struggle, we should encourage them to keep on believing. Jesus affirmed John’s faith in Messiah by sending to him reports of the miracles that were happening.

“What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” Psalms 116:12

David realized that God had blessed him in countless ways. God also blesses us in many ways. A good question to ask ourselves each day is: “What shall I render unto the Lord?” [8]

“I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord.” Psalms 116:13

When the Lord handed David the cup of salvation, he drank it by faith. He accepted the cup that God placed into his hands, but did call on the Lord’s Name for help to drink it. The cup of salvation involves suffering for the sake of saving others. When we walk with God, we share in His sufferings for others. Like Jesus in John 18:11, David accepted God’s will without complaint.

“I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people.” Psalms 116:14

Jesus found His ultimate delight in doing the will of His Father. In John 4:34, He told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” He faced immense physical and spiritual anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, but prayed in Matthew 26:39 to the Father, “Not as I will, but as You will.”

In Acts 26:15-19, after Jesus met with Paul and explained God’s purpose for his life, Paul applied himself to do it. He told King Agrippa, “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”

When God reveals to us the purpose for our life, we should commit to do it. To pay a vow is to fulfill a commitment. For example, being a missionary for Christ in a foreign land. At first, the idea of being His ambassador may sound exciting, especially if you enjoy touring foreign lands. However, once the works begins, nice accommodations, restaurant dining and sightseeing ends. You learn to speak a new language, do manual labor, plus you build and maintain relationships with people who are different than you. You will be persecuted if the nation is antichristian. In such a case, paying your vow to the Lord will really test your love for Him.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psalms 116:15

God values the lives of His people. He did not allow David’s enemies to destroy him. Sometimes God protects His servants from danger, sometimes He allows them to be martyred. Martyrs are precious to God. The martyrdom stories of Stephen in Acts 8 and of James in Acts 12 are written with words that endear us to them.

“O Lord, truly I am Your servant. I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.” Psalms 116:16

Although David was a king, he was born to a mother who served God. God used her example to free David from being bound to a selfish lifestyle. Thus, David gladly served the Lord.

“I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!” Psalms 116:17-19

David worshipped God and prayed to Him in the presence of God’s people. He was not seeking attention for himself but demonstrating to everyone that he was not ashamed to serve the Lord. His public worship encouraged others to praise God as well. [9]

David began Psalm 116 with four important words: “I love the Lord.” To love the Lord our God is the first and great commandment. Since God has shown such great love and compassion toward us, let us gladly and frequently express our love for Him.


[1-9] Material developed, added to, and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary