Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then I called on Yahweh’s name: “Yahweh, I beg you, deliver my soul.”
- KJV Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
- NKJV Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
- NASB Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, save my life!”
- NLT Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Please, Lord, save me!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
In his extremity the psalmist called on Yahweh to deliver his soul. It matters because crying to God is the right response in desperate need.
Overview
From the brink of death the worshiper prays simply and urgently for deliverance. Calling on the Lord's name is the act of faith that brings salvation. This pattern of crying out and being heard culminates in the gospel promise that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Ps 118:5In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered and set me free.
- Ps 22:20Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of wild dogs.
- Luke 23:42–43Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!”
- Ps 143:6–9I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
- Ps 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Ps 30:7–8O LORD, You favored me; You made my mountain stand strong. When You hid Your face, I was dismayed.
- Ps 142:4–6Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.
- Luke 18:13But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
- 2 Chr 33:12–13And in his distress, Manasseh sought the favor of the LORD his God and earnestly humbled himself before the God of his fathers.
- Isa 38:1–3In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”
- Ps 6:4Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion.
- Ps 25:17The troubles of my heart increase; free me from my distress.
- Ps 40:12–13For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.
- Ps 22:1–3For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
- Ps 34:6This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- Isa 37:15–20And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:
- Ps 130:1–2A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!
- Ps 18:6In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
- John 2:2and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 116:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.