Psalm 116 (114/115):4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Neither poverty, nor illness, nor the gravest trial of all—death—can harm one who is subjected to these afflictions if the soul is secure; conversely, no good can emerge from life itself when the soul is tainted and lost. This is why the prophet, setting aside all other concerns, focuses solely on the soul, imploring that it may be spared from harsh judgment and freed from intolerable suffering.

Is it suggested that love is ignited by hope, leading him to love in anticipation of God hearing his prayer?

But from where did this hope arise? For he affirms, He inclined His ear unto me, and in my days I cried unto Him. Psalm 114:2. Therefore, I loved because He was willing to hear; He was willing to hear because He lent His ear to me. But how can you, O soul of man, be certain that God has inclined His ear toward you unless you declare, I have believed? Hence, these three abide: faith, hope, and love. 1 Corinthians 13:13. Because you believed, you hoped; and because you hoped, you loved.

And what do you mean by your days, when you say, In my days I called upon Him? These could be the days when the fullness of time arrived, and God sent His Son. Galatians 4:4. He has already proclaimed: In a favorable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Isaiah 49:8. I may rather consider my days as days of tribulation, days of mortality, following the path of Adam, filled with labor and sweat, the days of ancient decline. For I was stuck in deep mire, and in another psalm I cried out, Behold, you have made my days old; in these my days I have called upon you. My days differ from those of my Lord. I refer to those days that I created for myself out of my own boldness, having turned away from Him; and since He reigns over all and is all-powerful, I have earned my prison; that is, I have received the gloom of ignorance and the chains of mortality.

For in these days, my nets of death have surrounded me, and the pains of Gehenna have seized me. Psalm 113:3. These afflictions would not have come upon me had I not wandered from You. Yet now they have overtaken me; I was blind to them while I rejoiced in the world's prosperity, in which the snares of hell are all the more deceptive.

But after I encountered trouble and sorrow, I called upon the Name of the Lord. Psalm 113:4. I was ignorant of meaningful trouble and the kind of sorrow that brings help; to the one in need of assistance, it is said, Be our help in the time of trouble, for human assistance is futile. I believed I could celebrate over the empty help from mankind; however, when I heard my Lord say, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4, I did not wait until I had lost the fleeting blessings I had taken joy in, causing me to weep later. Instead, I paid careful attention to my own affliction, which had led me to rejoice in such things I feared to lose yet could not hold on to. I boldly contemplated my condition and recognized that I was not merely tormented by the burdens of this life but also ensnared by its fleeting joys. Thus, I uncovered the troubles and sorrows I had previously overlooked and called upon the Name of the Lord, saying, Lord, I implore You, rescue my soul.

Let the holy people of God then declare, I have called upon the Name of the Lord; and let those Gentiles who have not yet called upon His Name listen. May they hear and seek to uncover their own troubles and sorrows, calling upon the Name of the Lord to be saved.

The Lord is gracious and righteous; indeed, our God is compassionate. Psalm 114:5. He is gracious, just, and merciful. Above all, He is gracious because He has inclined His ear to me; I was unaware that the ear of God was so close until the beautiful feet prompted me to call upon His name. For who could call upon Him unless He first called them? He is therefore merciful above all; yet He disciplines, and yet He is merciful because He accepts. He disciplines every son whom He accepts; I must not be so bitter over the discipline, nor so sweet over His acceptance. How can the Lord, who preserves the little ones (Psalms 113:6), refrain from chastising those He seeks as heirs when every son is chastised by his father? Hebrews 12:6-7. I was in distress, and He aided me. He helped me because I was in need; for the pain inflicted by the physician's scalpel is not punitive but corrective.

Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has bestowed goodness upon you. Psalm 114:7. Not according to your merit, nor according to your strength, but because the Lord has shown goodness to you. For He has redeemed my soul from death. Psalm 114:8. It is remarkable, dear brethren, that after stating His soul had turned to rest because the Lord had rewarded him, he added, For He has redeemed my soul from death. Did it find rest because it was freed from death? Is rest not often associated with death? What should the actions be of one whose life is peaceful and whose death is filled with unrest? Such actions must direct the soul toward calmness and security, rather than increased labor of strife; for he was rescued from death by Him, who in His compassion said, Come unto Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest, etc. Matthew 11:28-30. Therefore, with humility and gentleness, following Christ as her path, the soul must seek rest through diligent engagement, as it is written, In quietness do your works. Sirach 3:19. You have redeemed my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. He who feels the chains of this flesh sings these truths as fulfilled in hopeful expectation for himself. For it is rightly stated, I was in distress, and He delivered me; yet the apostle also reliably asserts that we are saved by hope. Romans 8:24. And that we are liberated from death is aptly termed as already realized, so that we might comprehend the death of the unbelievers, of whom He says, Let the dead bury their dead. Matthew 8:22. He will then wipe away our tears, when He has rescued our feet from slipping. At that time, there will be no tripping of our feet as we walk, for there will be no stumbling due to frail flesh. While our path, which is Christ's, may appear firm, since we must subdue the flesh beneath us, the challenge lies not in slipping; anyone can struggle against the flesh. I will delight in the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 114:9. We labor now, awaiting the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23. But when death is swallowed up in victory, and this perishable body is clothed in imperishability, and this mortal shall receive immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53-54. Then shall there be no weeping, for there will be no fallen state; and no falling, because there is no corruption. Thus, there shall no longer be labor to gain acceptance; rather, we shall be perfectly pleasing in the sight of the Lord in the land of the living.

See how one, turning away from worldly distractions, seeks solely that the soul remains unscathed and free from evil? When the soul is well, all other aspects align properly; conversely, when it suffers, no goodness in other pursuits avails us. Therefore, all our actions and words should be aimed at its salvation. This is reflected in the saying: be wise as a serpent. Just as a serpent sacrifices its body to save its head, you must be willing to relinquish everything for the salvation of your soul. It is noteworthy that the blessed Theophylact, interpreting the Lord's words: My soul is now troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour (John 12:27), alongside the apostolic words: In the days of his flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death (Hebrews 5:7), illustrates how David in this psalm foretells the sentiments expressed by our Lord and the Apostle, hence he states: I will call upon you in my days. The pangs of death have surrounded me, the terrors of the grave have come upon me, and I have called on the name of the Lord. Lord, rescue my soul. Theodoret remarks that with mercy mentioned twice and truth only once, David indicates that God's inclination leans more toward compassion, which surpasses the weight of justice, utilized merely as a guiding principle. Saint Basil asserts that mercy is born from love for others, particularly towards those who are deeply afflicted. Thus, we empathize with one who was once affluent but has fallen into dire poverty, and with one who was once radiant in body but has succumbed to ignoble desires. In the same vein, we who were once exalted in Paradise but have been brought low by sin can expect God’s mercy towards us as He perceives our diminished state compared to our former glory. With a merciful call, He asked Adam, ‘Where are you?’ The all-knowing did not need to inquire but wished for Adam to comprehend the gravity of his fall. Where are you? Instead of proclaiming, ‘What have you fallen into from such greatness?’ Origen comments that since the Lord melds mercy with justice, He embodies both mercy and righteousness. Saul’s mercy towards Agag was not truly righteous. Had all mercy been just, the law would not declare, You shall not show pity to the poor in judgment (Exodus 23:3). It is said that God, in His mercy, does not turn away from a penitent sinner, and in His righteousness, He only welcomes him with true repentance.

Instead, he turned to God in heartfelt groans and tears, pleading for divine assistance, saying, "O Lord, deliver my soul!" To demonstrate that his appeal to the Lord was made with genuine hope, he follows with the assurance that the Lord is merciful and just, declaring that our God is indeed compassionate. The Lord's mercy is evident in how He warns those who suffer, offering both comfort and compassion. He is just, ensuring that no one goes unpunished, for He disciplines every son He takes to Himself (Hebrews 12:6). Ultimately, our God exemplifies mercy in His willingness to welcome back those He has chastened, forgiving their transgressions and elevating them to the status of heirs.

If we accept that the psalmist is articulating on behalf of the entire community, we may view the psalm as a thanksgiving hymn from those freed from bondage; in this context, bondage represents the mortal peril discussed in the passage, wherein the existence of the nation was in jeopardy, facing the risk of scattering among the nations and thereby facing ruin. This psalm can also be understood from an individual perspective, as referenced in Psalms 17 and 55.

The Psalmist passionately expresses his love for God, declaring that He has always listened to his supplications; he substantiates this by recalling a specific instance of answered prayer, for which he vows to extol the Lord throughout his life. When he proclaims his love, it is essential to consider his relationship with God and the joy he feels knowing that the Lord hears his calls. To invoke God's name with gratitude is a significant act, as seen in Psalm 17:4. In a moment of crisis, the Psalmist cried out to the Lord for deliverance, and the Lord, in His mercy and righteousness, intervened, aiding the innocent and safeguarding the humble (infants; cf. Psalm 18). Graced with such divine assistance, the psalmist's once troubled soul is now comforted, allowing it to recover from despair and return to its previous state of peace. God's aid has dispelled all sources of distress. Rightly, the Psalmist interprets this rescue from the clutches of death as a promise that God will sustain him throughout his days (in the land of the living; contrasting with Sheol, the realm of the dead). To honor God in the land of the living entails leading a righteous life on earth, as he entrusts himself to the hope that the Lord will guide him in living such a life.

Christ, the Lord, is just, having righteously banished Adam from paradise, yet in His mercy, He died to allow Adam the chance to return to that paradise. The Lord watches over infants, born with inherent malice rather than righteousness, and He extends His grace to the humble. Those reborn through water and the Spirit are akin to infants, growing through faith to spiritual maturity. Adam and others shall indeed return to paradise, for Christ the Lord chose to suffer for his sake. The righteous view their eternal rest as the mountain abodes, a reward for their actions, while the tears of repentance provide solace to the sinful in this earthly life (Chrysostom, Isikhiy).

Christ rescues Adam’s soul from the grips of hell and death, wiping away every tear and strengthening him with grace to prevent a relapse into sin. The land of the living is heaven, where the righteous and angels offer thanks to God. The prophet refers to the land of the living as eternal life, free from any hindrances: there will be no night or slumber, no hunger or need for sustenance, no suffering or death, but rather the experience of true life in Christ. The existence here is alien to the soul, which feels as if half-dead, confined within a perishable body; the soul is not made of earth and will not return to it, but rightfully belongs to the land of the living (Basil the Great, Theodoret).