Christian testimonies to God’s love and faithfulness can be very encouraging. Recently, I heard a woman describe how she came to faith in Christ. She was struggling as a mother of two very active young children, when someone recommended her to join a weekly event for young mothers called “Mainly Music” at a local church. She shared her struggles with one of the leaders, who then asked if she could pray for her—no-one had ever offered to pray for her. The next day, the leader brought an evening meal to her family. These acts of love and concern, born out of the person’s love for God, drew this young mother into her own personal relationship with God.

Psalm 116 is the testimony of a person who has been wonderfully rescued by God. As is usually the case with the psalms, the psalmist doesn’t give us the specific details of his affliction. Whatever it was, it was life-threatening. It was as if death were pursuing him like a hunter who’d thrown his ropes around his prey to subdue and capture it (v. 3). But the afflicted man called out to God, because he was confident that God would hear. He knew “the Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion” (v. 5).

In our context, we can have even more confidence in bringing our needs to God. Like Paul, we know that if God “did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

In Psalm 116:7, the poet speaks to himself. There’s always a sense of great relief when you’ve come through a fearful and emotionally draining crisis. So he reminds himself that it’s all behind him, and he can “rest”. He can enjoy life again.

The psalmist asks, “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?” (v. 12). First, there is a vertical response. We give thanks to God. The psalmist says, “I will lift up the cup of salvation” (v. 13), or, in the words of the parallel verse, “I will sacrifice a thank-offering to you” (v. 17). This would have been a literal offering of food presented in the temple (see Leviticus 7:12). But in the light of the gospel, we know that our thank offering is the presentation of all of our lives as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1–2).

But there’s also a horizontal and public dimension to how we express thanks to God. We fulfil our vows in the presence of all His people (Psalm 116:14, 18). The worshipper publicly acknowledges that God is the one who has saved him. In doing this the worshipper is inviting all of us to “call on the name of the Lord” (v. 17). Giving testimony is both a blessing to others and an act of worship to God.