Psalm 116:1-4 Now Available feat. Ivan Theva, Taylor Armstrong , and Callan Brown

Psalms

Nov 12

Psalm 116:1-4 is now available on all streaming platforms!

THE VERSE

[1] I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
[2] Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
[3] The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
[4] Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”

Did you know that in 150 psalms, only two of them directly declare love for God? The first is in Psalm 18:1, and the second here in Psalm 116:1. Love sets the tone of this psalm of thanksgiving. This psalm is part of a compilation of psalms (Psalm 113-118) known as the Egyptian Hallel, traditionally sung during the Passover. Why the love?

First, because God has heard! Not only do we come to a God who speaks the world into existence, but we come to a God who listens… It’s easy to wonder if our prayers are falling on deaf, uncompassionate ears, but Psalm 116 sheds light on the divine reality that “he has heard” our voice and our pleas for mercy. As if hearing us wasn’t enough, we’re told “he inclined his ear.” This word for “incline” in Hebrew means to stretch or bend. God stretches and extends His ear toward us, like a parent intimately drawing near to try to hear what their young child is saying! How do you picture God when you cry out to Him? Do you picture Him busy attending to the prayers of others or the needs of the universe, or do you picture Him warmly leaning in to hear your faint cries? God hears our prayers, and we love Him!

Second, because God has delivered! If God could only hear us, but wasn’t powerful enough to do anything about it, we’d be in trouble. Whatever trouble the psalmist was in, we know it was a near-death experience: “the snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me.” They found themselves in deep distress and in anguish. What do you do when you find yourself here? We’re told what the psalmist did: “Then I called on the name of the LORD.” To call on the name of the LORD is to call on all that you know is true of Him. That He’s a God of steadfast love and has tied Himself in covenant with His people to not abandon them; that He hears our cries and is able to do something about it. We’re told later on in verse 6 that God saved them from the situation! Not only that, in verse 8, the psalmist spells it out even more:

For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;

While we don’t know how God will answer our prayers and pleas for mercy, we do know that He will eventually answer them, either in this life or the life to come. We must learn to cry out to Him, but then trust in the wisdom of His timeline, and know that if He doesn’t swoop in immediately, it doesn’t mean He hasn’t heard us. Psalm 116 reminds us that He hears and that deliverance ultimately is coming. Because of these two realities, we join the psalmist in saying we will call on Him as long as we live, in every season, until we’re with Him face to face in glory!

Happy meditating!

The Song + The Artists

This song was written and co-produced by Ivan Theva, Taylor Armstrong, and Callan Brown in Portland, OR. Mixed by Taylor Armstrong. Mastered by Dave Wilton at Coalesce Studios in Lafayette, CO.