This is the fourth of six Hallel psalms (Psalms 113-118) that are recited in synagogues at various Jewish holiday (such as Passover.) There was a partial Hallel that omits the first 11 verses of Psalms 115 and 116. This praise song is one of personal thanksgiving after a traumatic experience.
Psalm 116:1-2, Turned His ear
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
The psalmist rejoices that YHWH heard his cry and turned His ear to listen. As Alter points out, this is a thanksgiving psalm. Indeed, it will end with a thanksgiving sacrificial offering.
Psalm 116:3-4, Cords of death
The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came upon me;
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
"O LORD, save me!"
The psalmist felt entangled in death, with the grave looming. A similar passage occurs in Psalm 18:3-6.
And I am reminded of Jonah's cries of despair as seaweed wrapped around him (Jonah 2.)
Psalm 116:5-7, Gracious and righteous
The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simple hearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
The singer describes himself as "simple hearted", that is, humble and without merit. Having been rescued from death, the he recalls God's protection and reassures himself that he can now be in peace.
Psalm 116:8-11, Crying out
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
And in my dismay I said, "All men are liars."
Verse 10 begins with a simple statement, "I believed." The object of the trust is not clear but, says Alter, "is in all likelihood God." In the New Testament, Paul quotes the Septuagint version of verse 10 in 2 Corinthians 4:13. The cry of pain is made in desperation, the faith is in the cry.
In panic, the disillusioned psalmist declares that "All men are liars." Unlike Jonah's traumatic experience with drowning, here the death experience seems to have been caused by human enemies.
According to Kidner, the Greek Septuagint and later Latin Vulgate manuscripts break this psalm into two pieces, with the break at verse 10 while some ancient Hebrew manuscripts have a break at verse 11. The partial Hallel recites all six Hallel psalms (113-118) but leaves out the first 11 verses of this psalm and the previous one.
As Kidner points out, this psalm was set in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for the mother after the safe delivery of a child. See page 191 in the pdf document here.
Psalm 116:12-15, Lifting up the cup of salvation
How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his saints.
Although the songwriter cannot fully repay God's goodness, he can make public offerings and fulfill his vows of thanksgiving.
Psalm 116:16, Son of a maidservant
O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant,
the son of your maidservant;
you have freed me from my chains.
A declaration of submission is make -- the psalmist is a servant, indeed the son of a servant, and rejoices at his new freedom
Psalm 116:17-19, Vows to be completed in the temple courts
I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
and call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
in the courts of the house of the LORD--
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Three lines of verses 13 and 14 are repeated here, as a statement of commitment. These vows and sacrifices will be in public, before the people.
This psalm is a thanksgiving psalm ending with a thanksgiving offering in the temple.
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