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Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.

116 I love the Lord, because He hears [and continues to hear]
My voice and my supplications (my pleas, my cries, my specific needs).

Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.

The cords and sorrows of death encompassed me,
And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.

Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, please save my life!”


Gracious is the Lord, and [consistently] righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.

[a]The Lord protects the simple (childlike);
I was brought low [humbled and discouraged], and He saved me.

Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.(A)

For You have rescued my life from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from stumbling and falling.

I will walk [in submissive wonder] before the Lord
In the land of the living.
10 
I believed [and clung to my God] when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted.”(B)
11 
I said in my alarm,
“All men are liars.”

12 
What will I give to the Lord [in return]
For all His benefits toward me?
[How can I repay Him for His precious blessings?]
13 
I will lift up the cup of salvation
And call on the name of the Lord.
14 
I will pay my vows to the Lord,
Yes, in the presence of all His people.
15 
[b]Precious [and of great consequence] in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His godly ones [so He watches over them].
16 
O Lord, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid;
You have unfastened my chains.
17 
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call on the name of the Lord.
18 
I will pay my vows to the Lord,
Yes, in the presence of all His people,
19 
In the courts of the Lord’s house (temple)—
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

A Psalm of Praise.

117 O praise the Lord, all you nations!
Praise Him, all you people!(C)

For His lovingkindness prevails over us [and we triumph and overcome through Him],
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Saving Goodness.

118 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness endures forever.

Oh let Israel say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”

Oh let the house of Aaron say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”

Oh let those who [reverently] fear the Lord, say,
“His lovingkindness endures forever.”


Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
The Lord answered me and set me free.

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can [mere] man do to me?(D)

The Lord is on my side, He is among those who help me;
Therefore I will look [in triumph] on those who hate me.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than to trust in princes.

10 
All nations encompassed me;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
11 
They encompassed me, yes, they surrounded me [on every side];
In the name of the Lord I will cut them off.
12 
They swarmed around me like bees;
They flare up and are extinguished like a fire of thorns;
In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.(E)
13 
You [my enemy] pushed me violently so that I was falling,
But the Lord helped me.
14 
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.

15 
The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous:
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16 
The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 
I will not die, but live,
And declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord.
18 
The Lord has disciplined me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.(F)

19 
Open to me the [temple] gates of righteousness;
I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.
20 
This is the gate of the Lord;
The righteous will enter through it.(G)
21 
I will give thanks to You, for You have heard and answered me;
And You have become my salvation [my Rescuer, my Savior].

22 
The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the [c]chief corner stone.
23 
This is from the Lord and is His doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.(H)
24 
This [day in which God has saved me] is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 
O Lord, save now, we beseech You;
O Lord, we beseech You, send now prosperity and give us success!
26 
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship].(I)
27 
The Lord is God, and He has given us light [illuminating us with His grace and freedom and joy].
Bind the festival sacrifices with [d]cords to the horns of the altar.
28 
You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
[You are] my God, I extol You.
29 
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness endures forever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 116:6 In Jewish tradition this became a common saying to explain how some people could do ill-advised things and not suffer for them.
  2. Psalm 116:15 The ancient rabbis interpreted this verse to mean that it is hard for God to declare death upon the righteous.
  3. Psalm 118:22 This refers either to the prominent stone at the top of a corner tower, or perhaps more likely to the stone at the foundation of a corner, the first stone laid for a structure (cf Eph 2:20). The special significance of the latter is that the shape of its sides determined how the walls were laid out. The verse refers prophetically to Jesus the Messiah (see Matt 21:42 etc.), but the ancient rabbis interpreted it as a reference to David, who started as a humble shepherd, not the background one would expect for a king. Some prophetic passages refer to an event in the past that is a precursor or foreshadowing of the future prophetic event.
  4. Psalm 118:27 Lit branches. In Jewish tradition this is interpreted as a ritual for the Feast of Booths. The term “festival” is understood as a reference to the lulav, several branches bound together and later placed against the altar so that they reach to the top of the horns and bend over the altar.

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