21
I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.
My Thoughts
As I was looking at this verse, I was reminded that in John 11:42 right before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He prayed and said:
And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.
Also in Exodus 33:13, Moses prayed and said:
Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”
And in the next verse, Exodus 33:14, God answered Moses and said:
And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
We should always remember that the Lord, our Abba, our provider, our healer, our redeemer is always with us. When we come to Him in prayer we need to remember our Loving God, who hears and answers our prayers.
The content of this verse emphasizes expressing gratitude for God’s answered prayers and salvation. It connects this sentiment to biblical examples, such as Jesus praying before Lazarus’ resurrection and Moses seeking God’s guidance. The commentaries below prioritize direct worship and personal connection with God. The psalmist’s determination to praise God emerges from his experiences of deliverance and victory over adversity. Ultimately, the message highlights the importance of recognizing God’s presence and grace in one’s life through prayer and praise……..Bill
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Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
Having entered, the champion exclaims, “I will praise thee,” not “I will praise the Lord,” for now he vividly realizes the divine presence, and addresses himself directly to Jehovah, whom his faith sensibly discerns. How well it is in all our songs of praise to let the heart have direct and distinct communion with God himself! The Psalmist’s song was personal praise too: “I will praise thee;” resolute praise, for he firmly resolved to offer it; spontaneous praise, for he voluntarily and cheerfully rendered it, and continuous praise, for he did not intend soon to have done with it. It was a life-long vow to which there would never come a close, “I will praise thee.”
“For thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.” He praises God by mentioning his favors, weaving his song out of the divine goodness which he had experienced. In these words, he gives the reason for his praise—his answered prayer, and the deliverance which he had received in consequence. How fondly he dwells upon the personal interposition of God! “Thou hast heard me.” How heartily he ascribes the whole of his victory over his enemies to God; nay, he sees God himself to be the whole of it:
“Thou art become my salvation.” It is well to go directly to God himself, and not to stay even in his mercy, or in the acts of his grace. Answered prayers bring God very near to us; realized salvation enables us to realize the immediate presence of God. Considering the extreme distress through which the worshipper had passed, it is not at all wonderful that he should feel his heart full of gratitude at the great salvation which God had wrought for him, and should at his first entrance into the temple lift up his voice in thankful praise for personal favors so great, so needful, so perfect.
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John Gill
I will praise thee, for thou hast heard me,…. Here, the psalmist reassumes his part in this song and determines to praise the Lord for hearing him when in distress and when he was encompassed with his enemies and for delivering him out of their hands;
and art become my salvation; the author of it, and therefore deserving of praise; and who is no other than the Messiah Jesus, who is described in the next verse.
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Matthew Henry
He promises to give thanks to God for this favor (v. 21): I will praise thee. Those that saw Christ’s day at so great a distance saw cause to praise God for the prospect; for in him they saw that God had heard them, had heard the prayers of the Old-Testament saints for the coming of the Messiah, and would be their salvation.
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Adam Clarke
I will praise thee — He is now got within the gates, and breaks out into thanksgivings for the mercies he had received. He is become my salvation-he himself hath saved me from all mine enemies.
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Cross-References
Psalm 24:3–6 (KJV)
3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of them that seek him,
That seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
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Geneva Bible 1560
Psalm 118:21
21 I wil praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and hast been my deliverance.
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Closing Thoughts
For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:25-27 NKJV
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