Mazmur 116:1-2
Konteks116:1 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy, 2
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. 4
Mazmur 116:16-18
Konteks116:16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your lowest slave. 5
You saved me from death. 6
116:17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
116:18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
Mazmur 118:19-22
Konteks118:19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple! 7
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
118:20 This is the Lord’s gate –
the godly enter through it.
118:21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
118:22 The stone which the builders discarded 8
has become the cornerstone. 9
[116:1] 1 sn Psalm 116. The psalmist thanks the Lord for delivering him from a life threatening crisis and promises to tell the entire covenant community what God has done for him.
[116:1] 2 tn Heb “I love because the
[116:2] 3 tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”
[116:2] 4 tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”
[116:16] 5 tn Heb “I am your servant, the son of your female servant.” The phrase “son of a female servant” (see also Ps 86:16) is used of a son born to a secondary wife or concubine (Exod 23:12). In some cases the child’s father is the master of the house (see Gen 21:10, 13; Judg 9:18). The use of the expression here certainly does not imply that the
[116:16] 6 tn Heb “you have loosed my bonds.” In this context the imagery refers to deliverance from death (see v. 3).
[118:19] 7 tn Heb “the gates of justice.” The gates of the
[118:22] 9 tn Heb “the head of the corner.”
[118:22] sn The metaphor of the stone…the builders discarded describes the way in which God’s deliverance reversed the psalmist’s circumstances. When he was in distress, he was like a stone which was discarded by builders as useless, but now that he has been vindicated by God, all can see that he is of special importance to God, like the cornerstone of the building.