1 I love Yahweh, because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy.
2 Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on Yahweh’s name: “Yahweh, I beg you, deliver my soul.”
5 Yahweh is Gracious and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful.
6 Yahweh preserves the simple. I was brought low, and he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you.
Free Grace note
Love that begins with being heard The psalm opens with a reason for love that is almost childlike in its simplicity: I love Yahweh, because he listens to my voice and my cries for mercy. The singer had been at the edge of the grave; the cords of death surrounded him, the pains of Sheol had hold of him. His prayer in that extremity was not eloquent, just five words in verse 4: Yahweh, I beg you, deliver my soul. And God heard. Verse 6 adds a detail worth savoring: Yahweh preserves the simple, the peti, the plain and unsophisticated person with no leverage and no polish. This man was not rescued because he was impressive; verse 5 gives the real reasons, God is gracious, righteous, and merciful. Out of that experience comes verse 2's resolve, I will call on him as long as I live, and verse 7's lovely self talk: return to your rest, my soul, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you. A soul learns rest by rehearsing what God has actually done for it. This psalm was sung at Passover, and rescue from death was its oldest theme.
8 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before Yahweh in the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore I said, “I was greatly afflicted.”
11 I said in my haste, “All men are liars.”
12 What will I give to Yahweh for all his benefits toward me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call on Yahweh’s name.
14 I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people.
Free Grace note
The strange arithmetic of the cup Verse 12 asks the question every grateful heart eventually asks: what will I give to Yahweh for all his benefits toward me? The answer breaks the expected pattern. Instead of listing payments, the psalmist says, I will take the cup of salvation and call on Yahweh's name. Asked what he will give, he receives more. The cup likely belongs to the thanksgiving sacrifice of verse 17, the drink offering lifted in public worship as the rescued man told his story before all God's people. The arithmetic is deliberate: you cannot settle accounts with God, so the truest thanks is to keep receiving from him and to say so openly. The vows and the sacrifice of thanksgiving that follow are gratitude's overflow, not the bill for services rendered. This psalm belongs to the Hallel sung at Passover, which means Jesus and his disciples very likely sang these words at the Last Supper before he lifted a cup and gave it new meaning. Verse 15 adds one more comfort: precious in Yahweh's sight is the death of his saints. Even at the boundary this psalmist once approached, his people are not cheap to God.
15 Precious in the sight of Yahweh is the death of his saints.
16 Yahweh, truly I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your handmaid. You have freed me from my chains.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on Yahweh’s name.
18 I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of Yahweh’s house, in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise Yah!
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