September 7, 2021 – Psalm 114:1–118:29

“I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 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, save my life!” Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 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. I walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I kept my faith, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; I said in my consternation, “Everyone is a liar.” What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty 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.Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice 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!” Psalm 116:1-19

Our worldly and often secular wisdom comes up with phrases like “the Lord helps those who help themselves” – and as I have said before, this saying is hard to find in the bible. Here, Psalm 116 makes the opposite claim – the Lord helps those who cannot help themselves. Psalm 116 invites not our self-reliance but stakes a claim on our utter dependence upon G-d – dependence that begins with our trust in G-d. We are to love and trust G-d which is manifested in gratitude first, and then humble service. And it is this faith that hopefully keeps us strong as we work through those times of suffering and affliction.

We often spend so much time looking for earthly things to give us peace and well-being – when, in essence, we have all that we need – for only G-d can give us a peace that surpasses all understanding. And once we feel that peace, it will guide us through all of the other decisions and actions that we are called to make and endure every day.

“O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant…You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord.”

Can we begin each day with these words, and then the words of Psalm 56: 10-11: “In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid.”

Let Us Pray,

Lord, we are your servants. Help us to learn to trust in you and only in you – for our hope and salvation comes through your Son’s death and resurrection. Amen.

Pastor Dave