Sunday, May 3, 2015 pm
STUDIES IN PSALMS
I love the LORD
Psalm 116
Tonight we examine another of the Hillel psalms.
As with the others, this psalm has no author.
Yet it deals with someone whose life was in the balance and the
LORD spared him. It could
have been a psalm of David as he faced peril fleeing from Saul or at
other times, or Judah returning from captivity or King Hezekiah whose
life was extended by 15 years (cf. Isaiah 38).
The latter is the ancient Hebrew tradition and best fits the
text, as we have recorded both the event and praise to God as a result.
Some even see this psalm as Messianic describing in broader terms our
Lord’s death and resurrection.
However, while there are verses that could be applied to the
events surrounding His death, this psalm is not quoted concerning Him.
There are also statements that appeal more directly to the author
being the recipient of God’s grace, which to me means that at best, it
has a dual implication (both immediate and Messianic).
The
message for us to hope in God, because He can deliver us.
a.
“I love the Lord”
(1) Begins with one
expressing adoration for YHWH.
Rather than one who serves God out of fear, this is one who serves Him
out of love and gratitude.
1 John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us.”
This is not something to be said flippantly – Matt. 22:37-39, 1 John
5:2-3 – this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.
b.
Because He has inclined His ear to me (2) – God has answered his prayer.
We are reminded that He always answers the prayers of the godly, though
not always as we desire – 1 John 5:14-15, 3:21-22 – when our heart does
not condemn us we ask and receive, because we obey Him.
BUT, in the case of this psalm, the LORD answered His prayer in the
affirmative.
c.
Therefore I will call
upon Him as long as I live
– one who owes his life to the Maker.
We need to live our lives as if it belongs to Him – because it
does!
d.
Death surrounded me (3) - he was facing death and the grave.
e.
Then I called upon the name of the LORD. He turned
to God. When all else fails,
what is left is what God offers.
f.
The LORDs grace,
righteousness and mercy are noted (5).
Qualities we are continually reminded of in the psalms.
g.
He preserves the simple,
“He saved me”
(6) – He shows no partiality and cares for both small and great.
Gal 3:26-28, Acts 10:34.
One thing we are reminded of is that His message is more appealing to
the common man – Mark 12:37 tells us the common people gladly heard
Jesus. To the worldly (those
who rely on their wealth and power) the gospel is foolishness (1 Cor.
1:18-25, 26-29).
“He saved me” – ME! Do we
express humble gratitude to Him for what He has done to us?
h.
He could return to his rest because of the bountiful dealings of the LORD
(7) – after his prayers were answered (his circumstances changed) his
apprehension subsided.
i.
He would walk before the
LORD in the land of the living
(8-9).
j.
“I believed, therefore I
spoke” –
quoted in 2 Corinthians 4:13 where Paul in boldness quoted this and
noted he spoke in the same way.
In that context (2 Cor. 4:7-15), Paul is declaring his confidence
in God to deliver him from whatever troubles he faces – if not in this
life, in the next. He boldly
proclaims His resurrection.
k.
Vs. 10b-11 are
challenging as what the psalmist spoke expresses bitterness.
We cannot know with certainty what he meant, but do offer a
plausible explanation – In this I see the possibility that men had told
him to prepare to die - what
he had was incurable (Hezekiah had a boil – Isa. 38:21).
He didn’t want to believe it and thus in haste he lashed out at men
saying, “I am greatly afflicted”.
Many today deny a diagnosis they don’t like – both physically and
spiritually (Imagine the elders telling you to repent of some behavior).
But it doesn’t change the reality of the situation.
Another possibility is that whatever men had said was “overruled” by God
thus, in effect, they were proven false.
Consider Romans 3:4, “Let God be true and every man a liar.”
ALSO, consider how the author “said in my haste” – be careful what you
say! The tongue can get us
into great trouble. James
3:2 reminds us that if we can control the tongue, we can control the
whole body.
a.
In gratitude, the
psalmist now turns to the LORD with a determination to serve Him (12)
b.
What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits towards me?
–
We need to contemplate how blessed we really are and show that gratitude
to our God.
Furthermore, can we out give God?
He has blessed us in so many ways.
c.
I will take the cup of
salvation and call upon the name of the LORD (13) – the author will not keep this to himself.
In this text, “calling on the name of the LORD” means declaring
Him and putting his trust in Him.
We realize that calling on the name of the Lord involves
submitting to His will – Acts 22:16/
d.
I will pay my vows to Him in the presence of the people
(14, repeated in vs 18). He
is making promises to God.
We need to be careful when we make promises –whether to man or God.
Jesus emphasized – Matt. 5:33-37, James 5:12.
Solomon with divine wisdom penned that it is better to not vow,
than to vow and not pay – Eccl. 5:1-7.
Be serious with your words.
e.
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints”
(15) – an interesting statement in light of one whose life was spared.
The point is that God values man.
He loved the world enough to send Jesus to die for man (John
3:16, Rom. 5:6-8, etc.) This
is especially true of those who belong to Him (Rev. 14:13).
The simple point is that God does care about us (1 Peter 5:5-7)
f.
Truly, I am Your servant
(16) – do we truly surrender to Him? (Rom. 6:15-19)
1 Peter 4:2, we live for the will of God.
g.
I will offer the
sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the LORD
(17) – Heb. 13:15.
h.
I will pay my vows (see vs. 14) in the court’s of the
LORD’s house and in Jerusalem - again
we are reminded that one way to demonstrate gratitude to God is to
worship Him as He instructs
us to do.
i.
Hallelujah.
j.
Thought: What do we do
with our “second chances”?
When this life is over, so is our chance to submit to God (Heb. 9:27),
but until then we get “another chance” to make ourselves right with Him.
How are we using it?
k.
Another thought – as we
consider our deliverance and express gratitude, it needs to endure!
There are many like the stony
ground of Matt 13:5, 20 fall away at the first sign of trouble.
Others are grateful to God immediately after some blessing, but
it doesn’t take long to forget Him again.
True devotion endures!
And
thus we have another psalm.
It demonstrates genuine praise and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father.
While we may not find ourselves
in the physical circumstance of this psalmist, spiritually our sins
bring forth death. As He
takes care of our sins, let us show the same gratitude as this psalmist.
Think about it.