The Book of Psalms
Psalm 116
Psalm CXVI · Vol. II, pp. 1061–1062
1 The psalmist professeth his love and duty to God for his deliverance. 12 He studieth to be thankful.
3 Thed sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me:2 I found trouble and sorrow.
7 Returnl unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.3
A.M. cir. 2984. B.C. cir. 1020.
l Mat.11.29. Ps.13.6; 34.8. Je.6.16; 31.11-14. Jude 24.
3 What comfort and joy does a psalm like this give the troubled soul! It is the record of a painful and yet glorious experience. Amid severe bodily suffering, and deep mental anguish, when earthly comfort would have been vain, the writer looks to and trusts in God. At once heavenly joy is poured into his troubled heart, and with touching pathos he says, 'Return unto thy rest, O my soul.' In God is perfect rest found.—P.
9 Io will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
o Ps.16.8;61.7. Tit.2.11-14. 1 Co.15.58.
10 Ip believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted;5
p 2 Co.4.13,14. 1 Jn.1.1-3. Ps.66.16.
5 See note * below.
* In the hour of his sorest trial and deepest affliction, when, humanly speaking, hope had vanished, he still had faith in God, in his promises and in his faithfulness. As a result, he realized divine sustaining grace, and therefore he was able to speak of God's love and mercy. These words are quoted by the apostle in 2 Co. 4.13, to express his confidence in the truth of Christ's gospel, and the effect that confidence had upon him, causing him to proclaim the truth.—P.
13 Is will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
s ver.17. 1 Ch.16.1-3. 1 Co.10.16. Lu.22.17,20.
16 O LORD, vtruly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
Notes
Ver. 3. Can this be true of any but the 'Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief?'—of him who was exceeding 'sorrowful even unto death;' which death lies within the dominion of Satan, by whom its power is still vindictively exercised? See He. 2. 14. C.
Ver. 10. Were there yet any question that Jesus, in his sorrows, is the speaker, the quotation of this verse by Paul (2 Co. 4. 13) would put the matter beyond controversy. 'The same spirit of faith' spoken of, ver. 13, cannot possibly have a correspondent, but 'the life of Jesus,' referred to in ver. 11. C.
Ver. 11. In my haste. 'In my ecstasy.'—Sept. 'My agitation.'—Horsley. All men are liars—'are deceitful.'—Green. The very fact which our Lord, returning from his agony in Gethsemane, implied, 'when he came to his disciples, and found them asleep,' and said, 'What! could ye not watch with me one hour?' C.
Ver. 15. As the eye of man gazes with delight on a precious gem, so the most lovely, the most precious of all things in the sight of God, is the patient and triumphant death of his saints. C.
Reflections.—Happy are they who love the Lord! They are every moment laid under fresh obligations to this delightful exercise. Prayers heard by God should always make us love him more, and praise him more. And if we are in Christ, our troubles may be very sore, but our victory and deliverance are sure and near. Delightful consolation and rest succeed the bitterest tribulations to his saints. And pleasant is that rest which is enjoyed in a Saviour's arms, and under the covert of his blood. It is honourable, as well as dutiful, to walk always as under his eye, and in conformity to him; in subjection to his will as our Father, and in dependence on him as our all-sufficient portion. The consideration that we are in the land of the living should quicken us to it. And it is delightful to speak and practise that which our heart believes upon God's testimony, ratified by the blood of his Son. But often, under strong temptations and in deep afflictions, the strongest believers have had their faith shaken, and have been surprised into thoughts and words extremely dishonourable to God. Yet he upholds all believers, and makes them quickly to change their voice. And O how pleasant it is to be so overwhelmed with a sense of God's love, that we scarcely know what praise, what vows, or what service to return him in gratitude! But while we praise him for what we have received, we must eagerly drink more and more of his cup of salvation, and receive more and more out of his fulness, and grace for grace. How precious and delightful to God is the death of his saints for, or in, the Lord! But much more that unparalleled death of Jesus Christ for the world, who loosed all our bonds and secured all our blessings.