The Meaning of Psalms 116:9 Explained

Psalms 116:9

KJV: I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

YLT: I walk habitually before Jehovah In the lands of the living.

Darby: I will walk before Jehovah in the land of the living.

ASV: I will walk before Jehovah In the land of the living.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I will walk  before  the LORD  in the land  of the living. 

What does Psalms 116:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 116:1-11 - He Delivered My Soul
Throughout this psalm we meet the pronoun in the first person. Only in two verses, Psalms 116:15 and Psalms 116:19, does it not so occur. There is no fear of egotism, however, when the heart of the singer overflows with divine love.
Psalms 116:1-4
The psalmist here compares himself to some wild animal ensnared by the hunter and bound by the sharp cords which make free movement impossible. Bow many of God's saints have felt the deep incision of these cords! It has been with them as with Joseph, when let down into the pit. But there is no pit so deep that a cry from it may not reach the heart of God.
Psalms 116:5-11
When the quiet faith of answered prayer is ours, the fluttering soul seems to settle down to its nest in peace. The feet which were slipping now walk in the paths of life. Notice the prayer of Psalms 116:4 and the reply of Psalms 116:8. God does more than deliver; He wipes the tears from our faces, and holds us as a mother who places her hands under the armpits of her child, teaching it to walk. Paul quotes Psalms 116:10 in 2 Corinthians 4:13. How often must this psalm have been in his thought and on his lips! Do not speak hastily. An eminent religious leader said once, "I shall have good hopes of you, when you can speak and move slowly." [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 116

1  The psalmist professes his love and duty to God for his deliverance
12  He studies to be thankful

What do the individual words in Psalms 116:9 mean?

I will walk before Yahweh in the land of the living
אֶ֭תְהַלֵּךְ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה בְּ֝אַרְצ֗וֹת הַֽחַיִּֽים

אֶ֭תְהַלֵּךְ  I  will  walk 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
לִפְנֵ֣י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בְּ֝אַרְצ֗וֹת  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הַֽחַיִּֽים  of  the  living 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.