PSALM 116 [†] I  y love the LORD, because he has  z heard

my voice and my pleas for mercy.

2 Because he  a inclined his ear to me,

therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

3[^][†]  b The snares of death encompassed me;

the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;

I suffered distress and anguish.

4[†] Then  c I called on the name of the LORD:

“O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”

5[†]  d Gracious is the LORD, and  e righteous;

our God is  f merciful.

6 The LORD preserves  g the simple;

when  h I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return, O my soul, to your  i rest;

for the LORD has  j dealt bountifully with you.

8[†] For  k you have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling;

9 I will walk before the LORD

 l in the land of the living.

10[†]  m I believed,  n even when [1] I spoke:

“I am greatly afflicted”;

11[†]  o I said in my alarm,

 p “All mankind are liars.”

12[†] What shall I  q render to the LORD

for all his benefits to me?

13[^] I will lift up  r the cup of salvation

and  s call on the name of the LORD,

14 I will  t pay my vows to the LORD

in the presence of all his people.

15[^]  u Precious in the sight of the LORD

is the death of his  v saints.

16 O LORD, I am your  w servant;

I am your servant,  x the son of your maidservant.

You have  y loosed my bonds.

17 I will  z offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving

and  s call on the name of the LORD.

18 I will  t pay my vows to the LORD

in the presence of all his people,

19 in  a the courts of the house of the LORD,

in your midst, O Jerusalem.

 b Praise the LORD!