Psalm 116 is the 116th psalm of the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

, beginning in English in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

: "I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications". It is part of the

Egyptian Hallel Hallel ( he, הַלֵּל, "Praise") is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving. Holy days Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which a ...

sequence in the Book of Psalms. In the slightly different numbering system in the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

and the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

version of the Bible, this psalm begins with Psalm 114, counted as verses 1–9 of Psalm 116, combined with Psalm 115 for the remaining verses. In Latin, Psalm 114 is known as "Dilexi quoniam exaudiet Dominus", and Psalm 115 is known as "Credidi propter quod locutus sum". Psalm 116 in Hebrew is the fourth psalm in the “

”. The Septuagint and Vulgate open with the word "

Alleluia Alleluia (derived from the Hebrew '' Hallelujah'', meaning "Praise Yahweh") is a Latin phrase in Christianity used to give praise to God. In Christian worship, Alleluia is used as a liturgical chant in which that word is combined with verses ...

", whereas the Hebrew version has this word at the end of the preceding psalm. Psalm 116 is used as a regular part of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

and other Protestant liturgies. It has often been set to music, including settings by

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Ger ...

and

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic plurality (a mixture ...

Language

Psalm 116 is without a title in the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. The psalm was translated into the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

(about 250BC) in Hellenistic Egypt. There is a presence of Aramaisms in the psalm which has been interpreted by some biblical commentators as evidence of a late date, although this is not definitive. The psalm draws heavily from other psalms, so much so that the German commentator

Hermann Hupfeld Hermann Hupfeld (31 March 1796 – 24 April 1866) was a Protestant German Orientalist and Biblical commentator. He is known for his historical-critical studies of the Old Testament.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 116:

King James Version

# I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. # Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. # The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. # Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. # Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. # The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. # Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. # For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. # I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. # I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: # I said in my haste, All men are liars. # What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? # I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. # I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people. # Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. # O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. # I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. # I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people. # In the courts of the LORD's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

Theme

It is a question of the praise of the Lord by all peoples. The second verse expresses the reason for the first verse: the goodness of the Lord has been experienced in the past, and his faithfulness will last forever. If we take into consideration the whole book of psalms, we see that this psalm seems to sum up and conclude all the psalms of the hallel, and even all the preceding psalms from

Psalm 107 Psalm 107 is the 107th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bi ...

onwards, for they invite

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and all nations to praise "Eternal".

Authorship

Theodoret Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pi ...

in the fifth century applied this psalm to the distresses of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in the times of the

Maccabee The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees ( he, מַכַּבִּים, or , ; la, Machabaei or ; grc, Μακκαβαῖοι, ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. ...

s under

Antiochus Epiphanes Antiochus is a Greek male first name, which was a dynastic name for rulers of the Seleucid Empire and the Kingdom of Commagene. In Jewish historical memory, connected with the Maccabean Revolt and the holiday of Hanukkah, "Antiochus" refers spec ...

, while a small minority ascribe it to

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...

's sickness, recorded in

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

38;

Alexander Kirkpatrick Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick (25 June 1849 – 22 January 1940) was Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University (1882–1903) and the third Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge (1898–1907). Life Kirkpatrick was born at Lewes, East S ...

notes a similarity in the wording. However, most commentators today ascribe it to

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. If David were the author, it is not certain whether it was composed upon any particular occasion, or "upon a general review of the many gracious deliverances God had wrought for him". The Syriac Church holds it was written on the occasion of

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

coming to the cave where David was hiding.

Uses

Judaism

*This psalm is one of six psalms (113-118) of which

Hallel Hallel ( he, הַלֵּל, "Praise") is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving. Holy days Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which ...

is composed. On all days when Hallel is recited, this psalm is recited in its entirety, except on

Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a minor ...

and the last six days of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

, when only verses 1-11 are recited. The word ''hallel'' means "praise". Since ancient times, the

has been used in the celebration of Passover. *Verse 13 is part of

Havdalah Havdalah ( he, הַבְדָּלָה, "separation") is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the symbolic end of Shabbat and ushers in the new week. The ritual involves lighting a special havdalah candle with several wicks, blessing a cup of ...

New Testament

Verse 10 of the Psalm was quoted by

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

2 Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author named Timothy, and is addressed to the church in Corinth and Christians in the ...

Syriac Christianity

The

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

church applies it to converts coming into the church.

Catholicism

The Psalm has been used as public

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, who called it a "Prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord". The Psalm is used in the Rule of St. Benedict. However, Psalm 117 is now read in the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

Protestant Christianity

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a Nonconformist minister and author, who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition of the Old and New Testaments ...

calls it a ''thanksgiving psalm'', while

Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...

saw it as "A Psalm of Thanksgiving in the Person of Christ". David Dickson wrote, "This Psalm is a threefold engagement of the Psalmist unto thanksgiving unto God, for his mercy unto him, and in particular for some notable delivery of him from death, both bodily and spiritual." On February 3, 1788 Anglican Minister, Reverend Richard Johnson delivered the first Christian church service ever on

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

soil to convicts of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command o ...

. The text of his sermon was Psalm 116:12-14.

City motto

The city of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, Northern Ireland has as its motto ''Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus'', the

translation of Ps 116:12 ("what shall we give in return for so much?" or "What shall I return to

the Lord Lord is a general title denoting deference applied to a male person of authority, religious or political, or a deity. Lord or The Lord may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Lord (band), an Australian heavy metal band * "The Lord" (son ...

for all his bounty to me?")

Notable verses

* Verse 11, "In my haste I said all men are liars", can be read as an early statement of the

liar paradox In philosophy and logic, the classical liar paradox or liar's paradox or antinomy of the liar is the statement of a liar that they are lying: for instance, declaring that "I am lying". If the liar is indeed lying, then the liar is telling the truth ...

. This verse has also been translated "I said in my fear, Every man is a liar." and "In an ecstasy of despair, I said, the whole race of man is a delusion." Some take the word חפז, (chaphaz) to denote haste or flight rather than fear.

Samuel Horsley Samuel Horsley (15 September 1733 – 4 October 1806) was a British churchman, bishop of Rochester from 1793. He was also well versed in physics and mathematics, on which he wrote a number of papers and thus was elected a Fellow of the Royal So ...

translates the verse as "an ecstasy of despair". * I will sacrifice the sacrifices of praise * ''The cup of salvation '' this phrase has been used by

s as prophetic of the

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

. While some see this as similar to the modern

ceremony held every year in commemoration of the deliverance of their ancestors from the bondage of Egypt. Others see this portion as reference to morning drink offering in

Solomon's temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by t ...

under

Mosaic law The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...

(Numbers 28:7), inferring the writer is now making an offering of thanks for being delivered. Others think the verse may have inspired Jesus at the

last supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

, or Paul's "cup of blessing".

Musical settings

A collection '' Angst der Hellen und Friede der Seelen'' ("Fear of Hell and Peace of the Soul") combines sixteen

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Ma ...

settings of Psalm 116 in German, "Das ist mir lieb" (That is dear to me). It was commissioned by the

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

merchant Burckhard Grossmann in 1616, and published in 1623. The composers are

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

Michael Altenburg Michael Altenburg (27 May 1584 – 12 February 1640) was a German theologian and composer. Altenburg was born at Alach, near Erfurt. He began attending school in Erfurt in 1590; he began studying theology at the University of Erfurt in 159 ...

Christoph Demantius Johann Christoph Demantius (15 December 1567 – 20 April 1643) was a German composer, music theorist, writer and poet. He was an exact contemporary of Monteverdi, and represented a transitional phase in German Lutheran music from the polypho ...

, Nicolaus Erich, Andreas Finold,

Melchior Franck Melchior Franck (c. 1579 – 1 June 1639) was a German composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was a hugely prolific composer of Protestant church music, especially motets, and assisted in bringing the stylistic innovatio ...

, Abraham Gensreff, Johannes Groh, Johann Krause, Christian Michael, Daniel Michael,

Rogier Michael Rogier Michael von Bergen (ca. 1553 probably in Bergen-op-Zoom – after middle 1623 in Dresden) was a Franco-Flemish composer, singer and Kapellmeister of the late Renaissance. Life and work Michael came to Vienna as a child with his father S ...

Tobias Michael Tobias Michael (13 June 1592, in Dresden – 26 June 1657, in Leipzig) was a German composer and cantor of the Thomasschule in Leipzig from 1631 until his death. He updated Johann Hermann Schein's ''Cantional'' in 1645. He was son of the Flemish Ro ...

Michael Praetorius Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms ba ...

, Johann Hermann Schein and Caspar Trost.

set ''Psalmus David'' 115 (in Vulgate numbering), ''Credidi propter quod locutus sum'', H. 209 - H. 209a, for soloists, chorus and continuo in 1690.

composed a setting of the first nine verses as Psalm 114 "Alleluja! Liebe erfüllt mich", WAB 36, in 1852.

composed a setting of Psalm 116 for three-part

women's choir A women's choir or women's chorus is a choir formed exclusively by women. If all singers are young it is called a girls' choir. The voice types are usually soprano and alto, SSAA choir, SSAA. The names are also used for music especially composed f ...

and orchestra as his Op. 6 in 1900.Hailey, Christopher
Franz Schreker, Psalm 116, Op. 6

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York City, New York-based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is th ...

2006

References

External links

* *
Psalms Chapter 116
text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org * Text of Psalm 116 according to th
1928 Psalter
*United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
I love the LORD, who listened / to my voice in supplication
text and footnotes, usccb.org

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 116 – Paying the Vow of Gratitude
enduringword.com
Psalm 116 / Refrain: Gracious is the Lord and righteous.

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

Psalm 116
at biblegateway.com *

Psalm 116
detailed commentary, archive.spurgeon.org * {{Psalms 116 Hallel