For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.
Passage: Psalm 116
1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
‘Lord, save me!’
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I trusted in the Lord when I said,
‘I am greatly afflicted’;
11 in my alarm I said,
‘Everyone is a liar.’
12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank-offering to you
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord –
in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
A. Find Out:
- Why is the psalmist so grateful? v.1,2
- What had been the psalmist’s state? v.3,6b,8a,10,11
- So what had he done and what happened? v.4,6b,8,9,16c
- How now does he describe the Lord? v.5,6a
- What does he say he will do now? v.12-14,17-19
- What does it leave him feeling about himself? v.7,15,16
B. Think:
- What had been the psalmist’s plight?
- How had that changed?
- What does it leave him feeling?
C. Comment:
This is a simple, straight forward psalm of thankfulness. We are not told the cause, but the psalmist had obviously feared for his life (v.3a). This left him feeling really bad (v.3b,c,10,11), as such a physically low state often does. He cried out to the Lord to have mercy on him (v.1), to save him (v.3). This the Lord obviously did (v.6b,8) so that the cause of his anguish was removed (v.8) and so that he could again regain his ordinary life (v.9). Even in his affliction he believed in the Lord (v.10) and his comment of verse 11 suggests that he challenged the words of others that he was under judgement and would die. No, he says, I trust in the Lord and in His love for me. I won’t believe that!
Somehow the Lord delivers him. We’re not told how; that’s not the key issue. The key issue is what happened to him, how he felt, the fact that God saved him and then what he felt afterwards. He now feels incredibly grateful (v.12) and wants to receive all that God has for him as he seeks for an even deeper relationship (v.13) and will ensure he does all he should in living out that relationship (v.14). He affirms afresh he is the Lord’s servant (v.16), having been saved from death (v.15), and so now he will do all the covenant requires. He will bring thank offerings and seek the Lord (v.17), he will do all he should (v.18) at the Temple of the Lord (v.19).
D. Application:
- Thankfulness is practical.
- Think of all you have to be thankful for and thank Him.