THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - December 8, 2014 - Day 116 - Psalm 116

Though I was not raised in the church and my parents were not followers of Christ during my childhood I was blessed by God to have been loved by both my parents. My father, though a rough and tough man who I cannot ever remember telling me he loved me, did something that maybe was even better. He lived his life in a way that modeled love in action instead of through talk. My dad’s love for people was unconditional. As I look back and remember my dad I cannot help but see Christ in the way he loved people. Most of us are not like that. Most of have love based on how we are treated. Most of us love God in that way.

Psalm 116:1-2
I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

So often we go about our lives not giving God more than a passing glance. We don’t mind going to church on Sunday as long as the sermon is short. We don’t mind serving God as long as it’s on our terms and doesn’t interfere with our busy schedules. We don’t want to read His Word because it tells us how to live. We pray half-heartedly if we pray at all. Until something really bad happens or until we are in a dangerous and scary spot, then suddenly we want Him to be there.

Psalm 116:3-4
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!"

Praise God that He loves us simply because He loves us.

Psalm 116:5-6
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.

Think back on your life and remember how many times God has preserved you from danger. Keeping a prayer journal is a great way to see the Lord’s faithfulness.

Psalm 116:7-8
Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;

Faith must be exercised for it to grow. Trials and sorrows are the weight training exercises of our souls.

Psalm 116:9-10
I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. I believed, even when I spoke, "I am greatly afflicted";

We will say we trust God yet we continually look to men for the solutions to our problems. Then when we let each other down we seemed shocked. The Bible is clear that as humans we are sinners. We are not trustworthy and it is a mistake to put your faith in man and his ways.

Psalm 116:11
I said in my alarm, "All mankind are liars."

Our hope is in Christ. But the word hope in our world expresses an unsure desire that something might happen. But hope in Jesus is a sure thing. God cannot lie.

Hebrews 6:17-19
So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain…

How must we respond to this love God has given to us so freely?

Psalm 116:12-14
What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

The one thing the world is most afraid of is death. Even us Christians seem to fight death with all of our being. But hear the Word of God.

Psalm 116:15
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Could that verse be any clearer? While we cling to this life God finds our death precious. When a young parent dies leaving children on this earth we groan in our sorrows and ask why. But God rejoices that another one of His precious children has come home to the place they were created to be. Death for the Christian is the beginning of eternal life in the presence of Almighty God. It is not to be feared nor is it to be resented; it is to be celebrated.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

The Christmas season is particularly hard on those of us who miss our loved ones who have passed on. That need not be if we have all served God by leading others, especially our own family and friends, to a saving knowledge of Christ. We should be proclaiming the love of Jesus all year round and we must gather together encouraging each other as we worship and praise God.

Psalm 116:16-19
O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

We are free from the fear and the bondage of death. We are free because God loved us so much he sent Jesus to take the penalty of death from us. Life on earth is a precious time but it is short. Live it out in joy and do not fear death. Anchor yourself to Christ for He is a sure and steady anchor.

Amen.