Anonymously written, Psalm 116 is
the author’s expression of gratitude to God for delivering him from death. The
number of times the pronoun “I” is used, show how personally grateful this
Psalmist is to the Lord. Being a “Hellel” Psalm, this is sung during the Passover
Feats. This is one of the four that was sung after the meal. Full of gratitude
for God’s deliverance from death, the Psalmist generously thanked God. One thing
that stood out in this Psalm that we must emulate is the Psalmist’s attitude of
gratitude. He began by giving the one reason why he loved the Lord so much. It’s
because God answered his prayer and delivered him from death. That solidified his
resolve and made him wanted to call upon the Lord all his life. This he will do
because he knows that the Lord He serves is a prayer answering God. The
appropriate response to such a loving God is to deeply love Him in return and
to trust and rely on Him for our entire existence, now and forever.
It is obvious that the Psalmist
encountered some troublesome circumstances where he came close to death and the
grave. In his desperate, lonely moments, he looked to God for deliverance. It
is good to note that no long, elaborate prayers to God are needed before God will
intervene on our behalf. All we need to do is simple but sincere prayers, even
if they are short. And this was what the Psalmist did. All he said was, “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!” And
immediately God came to his rescue. The Lord being gracious and compassionate
did not take long to reach down to where the Psalmist was and delivered him. So
in verses 7-9, he acknowledged the bountiful grace showered upon him and so encouraged
himself to walk with the Lord. Like him, we must learn to rest in the Lord, and
determine to live for Him and walk closely with Him daily.
In verses 10-11, the Psalmist came
to some conclusion during his predicament. He saw through the deception of the
people who had lied to him and realized how deceptive all men could be. We can
certainly trust the Lord, but with human beings, learn to discern intention. Wisdom
dictates that we should cultivate an inquiring mind that will help us to
discern and not be taken in by deception too easily. However, we must respond positively
to God for all His benefits in life. We must develop trust in God and be
grateful for His salvation. And we must ensure that we fulfill all vows made to
Him in our distress. And it is good to fulfill them openly, so that God will be honored
before all people.
The Psalmist had a healthy outlook
concerning himself and so must we. Like him we must realize that those who love
God need not be threatened when death beckons. Precious in the Lord’s eye is
the death of any of his beloved children. However, when God delivers us we must
recognize that we owe Him everything and must spend the rest of our life honoring
and serving Him. This we must do gratefully with great praise. But remember, we
must not only look to the Lord in the days of trouble, we must learn to trust Him
even when we are trouble free. We should live a life of praise, gratitude and
service. Know it or not, we are saved to serve His purpose.
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