Catholic Commentary on Psalm 116

"What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD." (Psalm 116:12-13)

A Personal Testimony

Psalm 116 is an intensely personal testimony of one who has been brought back from the brink of death and who responds with a public act of thanksgiving. The psalmist loved the LORD because he heard his voice and his cry for mercy; because he turned his ear to him and listened when he called. In death's entanglements, in the anguish of the grave, he called on the name of the LORD and was saved. The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

The question at the centre of the psalm is one every believer must ask: What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me? The answer is liturgical and Eucharistic: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. The Church has always read this verse in the context of the Mass: the cup of the new covenant lifted at the Eucharist is the cup of salvation, the fulfilment of what Psalm 116 anticipated. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants: a verse that has been used in the Mass for the martyrs for centuries, affirming that every death in Christ is of infinite value before God.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, what shall you return to the LORD for all his goodness to you? The answer is not moral performance or religious achievement. It is the lifting of the cup of salvation: come to the Eucharist with a grateful heart, call on his name, fulfil your vows in the presence of all his people. This is what he asks in return for everything he has given.

Prayer

Lord God, I love you because you heard my voice and my cry for mercy. You saved my soul from death and my feet from stumbling. What shall I return for all your goodness? I lift up the cup of salvation and call on your name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

116
The LORD Has Heard My Voice
1 I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice—
my appeal for mercy.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
I will call on Him as long as I live.
 
3 The ropes of death entangled me;
the anguish of Sheol overcame me;
I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, deliver my soul!”
 
5 The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD preserves the simplehearted;
I was helpless, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
 
9 I will walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore I said,* 116:10 LXX therefore I have spoken; cited in 2 Corinthians 4:13
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 In my alarm I said,
“All men are liars!”
 
12 How can I repay the LORD
for all His goodness to me?
13 I will lift the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all His people.
 
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of His saints.
16 Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have broken my bonds.
 
17 I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all His people,
19 in the courts of the LORD’s house,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
 
Hallelujah!† 116:19 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD

*116:10 116:10 LXX therefore I have spoken; cited in 2 Corinthians 4:13

†116:19 116:19 Or Hallelu YAH, meaning Praise the LORD

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