Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death — Psalm 116
I love this psalm.
Honestly, I wish I could sit down and talk with the author. Because this doesn’t read like theology. It reads like surviving a near death experience.
It sounds like a man who thought he was about to die… and didn’t.
Look at the language:
- “The snares of death encompassed me” (v.3)
- “I was brought low, and He saved me” (v.6)
- “You have rescued my soul from death” (v.8)
- “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (v.15)
This isn’t abstract. This is personal.
You can feel it.
When Death Feels Close
Verse 3 is where everything tightens:
“The snares of death encompassed me
The terrors of Sheol came upon me…”
That word matters.
Sheol wasn’t just “the grave.” It was the shadowy place of no return.
The psalmist isn’t being dramatic.
He believed this was it.
Death had him.
Trapped him.
And there was no way out.
Until there was.
The Simplest Prayer
In that moment, he doesn’t give a speech.
He doesn’t quote scripture.
He just says:
“Please, Lord, save my life!”
That’s it. Death, becomes a “near death experience’.
And somehow… a simple crying out to God was enough.
The Emotional Whiplash of Survival
One of the most honest lines in the entire psalm is this:
“I said in my alarm, ‘All people are liars.’” (v.11)
That’s not theology.
It’s panic.
Of course he feels this way. Who wouldn’t when:
- the doctors don’t have answers
- the comforting words stop working
- and you realize no one else can go where you’re going
It’s the moment where everything human feels unreliable.
And yet…
God still hears him.
That contrast is the point.
When everything else failed, God didn’t.
From One Man’s Story… to Everyone’s Story
Here’s where it gets bigger.
This psalm didn’t stay private.
It became part of the Hallel Psalms (113–118)—sung during major Jewish festivals like Passover.
So now his story becomes Israel’s story:
- Surrounded by death → Egypt, exile, oppression
- Crying out → “I have seen their misery” (Exodus 3:7)
- Delivered → The Red Sea parts
- Walking in the land of the living → The promised land
One man’s rescue becomes a pattern.
And Then… Jesus Sings It
It doesn’t stop there.
On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ and His disciples sang a hymn after the Last Supper (Matthew 26:30).
That hymn was almost certainly the Hallel.
Which means Jesus likely sang these words:
- “The snares of death encompassed me…”
- “I will lift up the cup of salvation…”
- “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints…”
Think about that.
He’s singing a song about being delivered from death…
on the night He’s about to walk straight into it.
The Pattern You Can’t Unsee
The early church began to read Psalm 116 differently.
Not just:
- a man healed from illness
Not just:
- Israel delivered from oppression
But now:
A pattern.
A rhythm.
A story that keeps repeating:
Near death → cry out → delivered → restored to life
That’s not just His story.
That’s the story.
And Now… It’s Ours
The psalmist went through something real.
Pain. Fear. Helplessness.
He thought he was done.
When there was nothing left to trust, he called out to God.
God answered.
Then something remarkable happened…
That moment didn’t just stay his.
God took his experience:
- and turned it into Israel’s story
- then into Jesus’ story
- and now into every believer’s story
What Do You Do With a Life You Got Back?
The psalm ends with a question:
“What shall I repay the Lord for all His benefits to me?”
Not out of obligation.
But out of awe.
When you’ve been that close to losing your life…
Everything after that feels like a gift.
Maybe that’s why I love this psalm.
It is just the raw response of one man who encountered our rescuing God. He wasn’t constructing a theologically sound psalm. Rather he was writing about his own experience. He was amazed at what happened and wanted to share with the world the story of his amazing experience.
And somewhere in that story…
you start to realize:
The story I’ve been living, is part of that story too.
