---
title: Psalms 116:4
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/psalms-116-4/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/psalms-116-4.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Psalms 116:4
testament: OT
section: Poetry
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Psalms 116:4

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!”

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "But I called on the name of Jehovah: 'O Jehovah, rescue me!'"

## JW Usage

The Watchtower reads Psalm 116:4 as straightforward Old Testament prayer: the psalmist calls on Jehovah's name for rescue. The verse is treated as evidence that "calling on the name of Jehovah" was the proper Old Testament worship language — reserved for Jehovah alone. The New Testament transposition of this language onto Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:2, Romans 10:13, Acts 7:59) is reframed by the NWT through selective insertion of "Jehovah" only where the application keeps Jesus separate.

## Protestant Usage

Psalm 116:4 is one of the cleanest demonstrations of the Watchtower's selective Tetragrammaton policy. The Old Testament "calling on the name of Yahweh" is exclusive worship language. The NWT correctly preserves "Jehovah" here. But Joel 2:32 ("everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved") is quoted by Paul in Romans 10:13 — and the NWT preserves "Jehovah" at Romans 10:13 because the application in that verse alone could plausibly be read either way. Acts 2:21 (Peter at Pentecost) similarly uses "Jehovah" because the application is veiled. But where the New Testament unambiguously applies the calling-on-the-name pattern to Jesus directly — 1 Corinthians 1:2 ("those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"), Acts 7:59 (Stephen calling on Jesus to receive his spirit) — the NWT renders "Lord" rather than "Jehovah," breaking its own stated rule. The selective pattern reveals the underlying theological motivation: insert "Jehovah" where it separates Jesus from divinity; preserve "Lord" where insertion would identify him as YHWH.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Call Upon the Name of the Lord Jesus](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/call-upon-name.md) — The OT worship phrase applied to Jesus [Deity of Christ]