Prepare
Opening Prayer
Father, thank you for this day, the sunshine, your love, your Word, and most of all your love for us in Christ Jesus. Help us not merely read your Word but understand and live it. In Jesus' name, amen.
Read
Scripture Passage
Psalm 116
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
1 I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The pains of death surrounded me,
And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.
10 I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 I said in my haste,
“All men are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
16 O Lord, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ps 116.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
After being surrounded by death, trouble, and sorrow, the psalmist calls on the gracious and merciful Lord, who hears, saves, delivers, and returns his soul to rest. In gratitude, he takes up salvation, publicly serves God, offers thanksgiving, and trusts the Lord even through death.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Psalm 116:13
I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.
Bryan explicitly says verse 13 is underlined in his Bible. It summarizes the grateful response of a soul rescued from death: receive the Lord's salvation and keep calling upon his name.
C — Called or Christ
C — Christ Connection
Take up the cup of salvation, praise the Lord, and call on him in trouble. Look to Jesus Christ, rest in God's grace and mercy, and trust that the Lord will care for his saints through their dying breath and into eternity.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
We get into God's Word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. So I'm really excited. We are at Psalm 116 today. I'm going to make sure that this is live here. Psalm 116. And I hear kids playing outside the door. We might have some visitors with us. So just so you know, if someone interrupts us, you know what's going on. Well, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions.
This is where every day we get together, we get into God's Word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. Well, today we are at Psalm 116. I'm still trying to figure out what we're going to do about Psalm 119. We might just read it all together. Anyways, let's go ahead and have some coffee. We'll pray and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for the sunshine. We thank you for your love. We thank you most of all for your love for us in Christ Jesus and for your word. Father, we pray that you would let us not just read your word, but understand it and live it. In Jesus's name, amen. All right, here we go, Psalm 116.
I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications, because He has inclined His ear to me. Therefore, I will call upon Him as long as I live. The pains of death surrounded me, and the pains of steel laid hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord.
O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple. I was brought low and he saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, therefore I spoke. Sorry. I believed, therefore I spoke. I am greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, all men are liars.
What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Lord, truly 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. I will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.
We need to ask ourselves, A, what is this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this in? C, what are we called to do in response to these words? So, A, what is this passage about? What is Psalm 116 about? Well, this is a song coming from the psalmist's heart after they've been delivered from... Right? I mean, it's coming from this heart of where he's saying, that his soul was wrapped up in Sheol. Sheol is the grave, that place of death. But where does he go? He finds his rest in the Lord. He finds his joy in the Lord. He finds his hope in the Lord. Because God is merciful. Because God is gracious. And even when God has delivered him, His praise doesn't stop then.
He says he's going to go into the house of the Lord and he's going to pay his vows. He's going to make it known that he is serving the Lord. Now, an interesting thing here I want to point out is verse 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of all of his saints, all of God's holy ones, from their birth when he knit them together in their mother's womb to their death It's precious to the Lord. The Lord cherishes life. The Lord is gracious and merciful, long-suffering and abounding in love. It is God who is wonderful and we can take comfort in Him.
What's the best verse to summarize this like normal? I'm gonna ask you, what would you underline in your Bible as the best verse to summarize this? In my Bible, I have verse 13 underlined. I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Would you highlight something else?
Lastly, seek calling. What are we called to do in response to this?
Well, are you praising the Lord? Do you take up the cup of salvation? Do you pay your vows unto him? Do you look to Jesus Christ and do you see that you have salvation, that God has been gracious to you, that in your dying breath you can have hope, that when you die, The Lord will be there for you. And the Lord hears you when you call out to Him when time of trouble has come. Will you cry? I don't know, maybe you're in a situation today where you need to cry out to God for salvation, for help. Will you do that today? Will you rest in His grace? Will you trust in His mercy? Will you lean upon Him as your hope? Why don't we pray this morning?
Father, we thank you for your grace. for your mercy, for your love, for your kindness, for your goodness, for your righteousness. For Lord, you have looked upon us, and because of Jesus, your face shines upon us. Lord, we pray that we might bask in your love, knowing your grace. Please care for us this day. Care for us all of our days. even to our dying breaths and into all eternity. In Jesus' name, amen. May the Lord bless you today. May you rest in Jesus Christ and may you rejoice praising the Lord. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.