Praise God For His Benefits
Psalm 116
God sincerely wants to have a close personal relationship with each of us individually.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, "I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me".
Jesus Christ is not some aloof Savior waiting on us to run Him down or hiding for us to try to find Him.
Notice it is the desire of our Lord to be a close nit family!
Jesus Christ will not only make a personal visit to your heart and will knock with His own nailed scared hands but He will call out to us using His own Words.
God did not send anyone else to save us, He came Himself!
Before Jesus Christ will come into your heart, He will first introduce Himself and He brings with Him the record of His accomplishments, the Bible, so we can see for ourselves who He truly is.
It's called choice!
If Jesus did not knock first, we would never come to knock at His door.
God has a loving desire for our salvation!
God will knock on the door of our heart but He will not break down that door.
Jesus Christ is the "I Am" of the Bible and if we have that close personal relationship with our Savior, we will also use that word "I" along with the word "My" in our relationship with Him!
1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Let's Begin.
*****Psa 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
We have been seeing many things we need to include in our prayer life.
Just to mention a few, we need to praise our Lord, we need to repent of our sin at least daily, we need to walk the Christian path as Christ walked to get our prayers answered.
Because we are not perfect and cannot be in this life, we need to ask for mercy but just maybe at the very top of our list in our prayer life we need to say "Lord, I Love You".
Remember it was God who made the first move and we can love Him because He first loved us.
1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
This is a pure fact in Christianity, we can love our God because He first loved us!
All human love is preceded and generated by the love of God!
If we are willing to be channels through which God's love can flow, we will be able to reach others with the love of God!
If we have that close personal and loving relationship with the Lord, we should be able to say "I Love You Lord" without hesitation.
If Jesus Christ is real to you, then His love is real, and His salvation will then become very real.
We must not just know we love the Lord but we need to also know why we love the Lord!
We have a very good reason! He hears our prayers.
God hears our voice! Jesus said when we pray we need to get into our closet with our private prayer but even in that closet when we are able, we need to pray out loud if for no other reason, so that God can hear our voice.
God is always listening in to what is said by His people and the Lord will keep a good record of what is said!
Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him "for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name".
God loves to hear our voices!
God already knows what we need.
God has seen what troubles we are going through.
God just loves to hear from us and He loves to hear our voice calling out to Him!
And when we have not reported in for a while, the Lord can look back to see what was said the last time we made contact with home base!
Sometimes we just want to know that God hears us and what we need is not as important as just to know that God is listening and every time our prayer is answered our love will increase.
We show our love by calling out to God and He shows His love by answering our prayers because He is always listening for the sound of your voice if you are saved and the Lord already knows your name!
*****Psa 116:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Calling upon the Lord is an act of worship when it is done with our whole heart but when we are discouraged we must remember that God is always near.
God is always listening carefully to every prayer and God answers every prayer that reaches into Heaven!
Psa 4:3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
Knowing that the Lord is always listening gives us confidence to always seek Him.
1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
We are only foolish if we do not call upon the Lord everyday that we live!
It is always wise to go to the place we are always welcomed and that place is near the heart of our Lord and our God!
*****Psa 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
We must remember who our real enemy is!
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The only way to escape this enemy is by the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Hebrew word used for our English word "sorrows" in the verse gives us the sense of a noose tightening around our necks or the uneasiness of the pain in our minds for our circumstances.
The Hebrew word used for our English word "pain" in this verse gives us the meaning of tightness, as that noose just gets tighter and tighter and we are choking to death in our own distresses.
We have waited much to long if we have reached this point before calling upon the Lord but it is only too late if we reach that point of death.
We are wrong to think we can hide from sorrow and distress!
We are wrong to think we can hide from our problems!
We cannot ignore the fact that Satan will do all he can to hinder the spread of the "Gospel".
These things will seek us out, but there is no need to suffer through these things alone.
We simply cannot allow the sorrows and troubles of this world to choke us into submission!
*****Psa 116:4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
There is absolutely no depth of sorrow that can take us out of the ear range of our God.
Here again we see there is only One who we can call on to get some actual help.
Jehovah is the God of revelation and redemption!
It is Jehovah who revealed Himself to Moses.
It is Jehovah who revealed Himself to Abraham.
It is Jehovah who will reveal Himself in our hour of need!
It is Jehovah who will deliver us from our sorrows!
The name Elohim declares God displayed in his power as the Creator and Governor of this physical universe,
The name Jehovah designates God's nature as He stands in relation to man!
Jehovah is the almighty, true, personal, holy Being, a spirit and "the father of spirits," the "I Am" of the Old Testament!
When we get personal with Jehovah, He will get personal with us!
Jehovah got real personal with us when He appeared as our Savior!
Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Joh 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
And how do we approach our Lord?
It does not take many words.
"O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul".
We must pray to the Lord as often as we can and we may use many words trying to describe to the Lord how we feel but in that hour of a specific need, our prayer does not need many words.
Real trouble produces real prayer!
This prayer needs no words added and it explains the complete need!
This prayer brings the greatest benefit!
It is this prayer that will show us the "Grace of God"!
*****Psa 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
Most of the time, just to know someone is listening to us, itself brings great relief!
God teaches us to come to Him in prayer when we need His help, and there is not a day that goes by that we do not need God's help.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
God says we can draw near to Him in confidence, knowing He has the power to help us in that hour of need.
The throne of God is a "throne of grace" because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Joh 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
The throne of God is called "gracious" because we have an Intercessor who sits in the throne room of God!
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Those that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ cannot open the ears of God and cannot know the mercy of God!
*****Psa 116:6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
Psa 116:7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
Those that are wise in the wisdom of this world will try to take care of themselves but those that trust in the Lord can depend on God to take care of them.
Mat 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
It is our faith that determines if we get relief from our troubles, from the only God that lives.
If you have known the Lord for any time at all, then you can also say "when I was brought low, He helped me"!
Rest simply means we can be restored to a peaceful confidence in the Lord.
Psa 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
We are reminded that we can never loose our salvation.
We are reminded that we are not left in this world alone but our Savior is never far from us.
We are reminded that when we walk in the ways of Christ Jesus we are walking in the glory of the Lord.
We are reminded that our God is Good all the time!
God has given us His Son Jesus and in Him will He give us all things!
God has given us eternal life!
*****Psa 116:8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
What a marvelous thing is our salvation.
God has graciously canceled the debt of sin that we could not pay without our own death in Hell.
1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
God will continuously deliver us from a physical death until a time that He has selected.
Job 14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
God will not hold back anything to wipe away our tears and restore us to the joy of salvation.
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
God will keep us! Satan will never be able to lay his grubby hands on us again!
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Death is put away, our tears are dried up, and fear is banished, when the Lord is our Savior and we can walk before Him!
*****Psa 116:9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
This verse means we will walk one day in Heaven where there will be no death!
This verse means we will always live in the sight of God.
Those that continue to walk in this life can only be seen by men and only during this lifetime.
Those that continue to walk in this life, will all their days be subject to human judgment, human opinion, and human results.
Those that know the Lord know that the ever watching eyes of God are on His children.
Psa 57:3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
These things require our faith!
*****Psa 116:10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
Faith is the only way we can approach God!
Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
That faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
That faith will show in our walk with the Lord in this life.
Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
By faith we live! By faith we have deliverance! By faith we can brag on our God!
Without our faith in God our prayers will go unanswered.
Without faith we will remain greatly afflicted.
When we trust in the things of this world we will find out that all men are liars because they that reject the truth have no respect for the truth!
*****Psa 116:11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.
Some times when we are suffering affliction in this world we will become as a pessimist.
A pessimist is any person who has a gloomy, hopeless, and complaining disposition.
A pessimist takes a dark view of everything and sometimes everyone, as did the writer of this Psalm.
But we will see a child of God can only be a pessimist for a short time!
It is a fact that all those that speak against the Word of God are all liars!
Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
But we have no right to distrust all men!
There are many people still in this world who are honest, moral, and conscientious.
To blame everything on this world we live in takes our focus off of the real enemy, who is the Devil!
Faith, says we trust the Lord in all circumstances.
Faith does not mean we can wrongly accuse mankind!
We will never lead anyone to the Lord Jesus Christ by being a pessimist.
What is the opposite of being a pessimist?
*****Psa 116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
The opposite of being a pessimist is when we can say, we can give back to the Lord for all the benefits He has given to us?
This world is not so gloomy that we cannot have joy in serving the Living God!
We need to be searching for ways to serve the Lord and get busy doing so, and this will take our minds off this sinful world.
Each one of us receive a special benefits in serving the Lord, so each of us should have his own special way of of showing his gratitude!
2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
What was the special way, this writer had of showing his gratitude?
*****Psa 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
The greatest gift we can give back to the Lord is to accept His free gift of salvation!
We must become that new creation of the Lord!
This writer had been drinking from the cup of afflictions and had forgotten all about God's cup of salvation.
There are no works of our own that can ever repay the Lord for what He has done!
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
When we forget we are a saved people we will put off our worship of the Lord.
Satan will do anything to hinder the Word of God.
He will sometimes bring one affliction after another to try to break us.
BUT, if we can keep in mind the Salvation that is given to us from the Lord and the benefits that come from our Savior, we will continuously call on the name of the Lord.
Most of us think of worship as something that is only done on Sunday and Wednesdays or what ever days are set aside to worship but this actually is not good for us.
We simply must not reserve our worship for certain times or certain days.
In fact we are worshiping someone or something at all times with our thoughts, or with our words, or with our actions.
Worship is saying that this thing is worthy of our worship when in fact there is only One who is worthy of our worship and it is our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the Lord who gives life.
It is the Lord who gives us the air we breath.
It is the Lord who freely gives us all things.
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
How can we not be continuously worshiping the Lord?
The cup of Salvation of the Lord provides living water!
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
We must devote ourselves to the worship of the Lord and Him only, all the days of our lives!
What else can we give to the Lord?
*****Psa 116:14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
In our days of being in the family of God most of us have made certain vows. Some of those we have kept but in most cases there are some we have not kept.
Vows that have not been fulfilled are the same as debts that have not been paid!
Deu 23:21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
If we say things in worship and in prayer then, we need to hold ourselves accountable.
Deu 23:23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
This Psalm writer then went on to say that he would pay his vow before witnesses, in fact in the presence of all God's people.
God does not allow for secret disciples!
Because every saint of God is precious in the eyes of God.
*****Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
The Hebrew word "chasid" is translated as "saints" in this verse.
The "chasid" are godly people because they reflect the character of God Himself!
It is only because of God's covenant with Himself and fulfilled through the Lord Jesus Christ, that every "Born Again" child of God can be called a "Saint".
A Saint of God is anyone who believes by faith that Jesus Christ is Lord and can then be called Christian if they conform to the image of Christ.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate "to be conformed to the image of his Son", that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
So many people abuse the title Christian these days, as the Christian name can only be applied to those who are striving to be like Christ Jesus.
A Christian is only those whose behavior, whose actions, and whose speech are like those of Jesus Christ.
All others are impostors and it is these impostors who give Christianity a bad name!
But all those that are the true Saints of God are very precious in the eyes of God and who die according the way they lived a Christian life.
Precious means valuable.
We think of death as being the enemy of all men, but the Saints of God have no need to fear death.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The Saints of God do not have to drown on death's sorrows.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
To the Saints of God, death is only a device or a vehicle that is used to enter into the presence of the Lord.
Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
What a precious benefit for the Saint of God!
*****Psa 116:16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
There will come a time to almost everyone of us that we will need to rededicate ourselves to the Lord.
This is better stated as surrendering to the Lord!
After all the giving of ourselves to His service is one of the few things that we can actually give back to the Lord for what He has done!
We belong to the Lord by the fact that we are God's creation!
BUT, we also belong to the Lord by His "Grace"!
We are to be servants of our Lord if we want to meet our Father in Heaven!
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
It's a precious feeling to know you are saved!
It's a precious feeling to know that you no longer serve Satan.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The most precious thing we can have is to know that we are now servants of God by Jesus Christ.
We have been loosed from the bonds of sin, of death, and of Hell, so how can we not wear the yoke of Jesus Christ?
Jesus teaches us with these words:
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Once we have given ourselves to be servants of the Lord we then can begin to offer up our thanksgivings which are another one of the things that we can give to the Lord of our own possession.
*****Psa 116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
The New Testament Church has never been told to offer up animal sacrifices.
The sacrifices that the "Body of Christ" are instructed to make are:
1) The sacrifice of ourselves as servants of God.
2) The sacrifice of righteousness, remembering that our righteousness is by the Lord Jesus Christ.
3) The sacrifice of praise which is due from us all.
4) The sacrifice of thanksgiving for the great benefits of our salvation.
Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Heb 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
5) Then we are to offer the sacrifice of doing good and the sacrifice of telling everyone we meet just how good it is to serve the Lord.
It is only when we drink of the cup of salvation that we can call upon the Lord!
It is probable that David also wrote this Psalm and we know that David's desire before His death was to build a house worthy of the Lord.
It should also be our desire to build houses worthy of the Lord.
Salvation is still the main objective of the Church but it seems the modern day Church has forgotten the main thing!
*****Psa 116:18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
Psa 116:19 In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
We must be determined to keep our word to the Lord.
We must invite all those that know the Lord to observe our walk in this life and point out anything that looks to be a deviation from the Word of God.
We are to exhort and help each other through the trials and afflictions in this life.
We are to comfort each other and we are to do it daily.
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
This is the duty of each Pastor.
This is the duty of each "Born Again" child of God.
God says we need to have a Hallelujah time whenever we are in the House that is called by His name!
When our own hearts are filled with gratitude, we will want all our brothers and sisters in Christ to join in with that same feeling!
There are truly great benefits in serving the Living God!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
Psalm 116
God sincerely wants to have a close personal relationship with each of us individually.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, "I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me".
Jesus Christ is not some aloof Savior waiting on us to run Him down or hiding for us to try to find Him.
Notice it is the desire of our Lord to be a close nit family!
Jesus Christ will not only make a personal visit to your heart and will knock with His own nailed scared hands but He will call out to us using His own Words.
God did not send anyone else to save us, He came Himself!
Before Jesus Christ will come into your heart, He will first introduce Himself and He brings with Him the record of His accomplishments, the Bible, so we can see for ourselves who He truly is.
It's called choice!
If Jesus did not knock first, we would never come to knock at His door.
God has a loving desire for our salvation!
God will knock on the door of our heart but He will not break down that door.
Jesus Christ is the "I Am" of the Bible and if we have that close personal relationship with our Savior, we will also use that word "I" along with the word "My" in our relationship with Him!
1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Let's Begin.
*****Psa 116:1 I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.
We have been seeing many things we need to include in our prayer life.
Just to mention a few, we need to praise our Lord, we need to repent of our sin at least daily, we need to walk the Christian path as Christ walked to get our prayers answered.
Because we are not perfect and cannot be in this life, we need to ask for mercy but just maybe at the very top of our list in our prayer life we need to say "Lord, I Love You".
Remember it was God who made the first move and we can love Him because He first loved us.
1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
This is a pure fact in Christianity, we can love our God because He first loved us!
All human love is preceded and generated by the love of God!
If we are willing to be channels through which God's love can flow, we will be able to reach others with the love of God!
If we have that close personal and loving relationship with the Lord, we should be able to say "I Love You Lord" without hesitation.
If Jesus Christ is real to you, then His love is real, and His salvation will then become very real.
We must not just know we love the Lord but we need to also know why we love the Lord!
We have a very good reason! He hears our prayers.
God hears our voice! Jesus said when we pray we need to get into our closet with our private prayer but even in that closet when we are able, we need to pray out loud if for no other reason, so that God can hear our voice.
God is always listening in to what is said by His people and the Lord will keep a good record of what is said!
Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him "for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name".
God loves to hear our voices!
God already knows what we need.
God has seen what troubles we are going through.
God just loves to hear from us and He loves to hear our voice calling out to Him!
And when we have not reported in for a while, the Lord can look back to see what was said the last time we made contact with home base!
Sometimes we just want to know that God hears us and what we need is not as important as just to know that God is listening and every time our prayer is answered our love will increase.
We show our love by calling out to God and He shows His love by answering our prayers because He is always listening for the sound of your voice if you are saved and the Lord already knows your name!
*****Psa 116:2 Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
Calling upon the Lord is an act of worship when it is done with our whole heart but when we are discouraged we must remember that God is always near.
God is always listening carefully to every prayer and God answers every prayer that reaches into Heaven!
Psa 4:3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.
Knowing that the Lord is always listening gives us confidence to always seek Him.
1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
We are only foolish if we do not call upon the Lord everyday that we live!
It is always wise to go to the place we are always welcomed and that place is near the heart of our Lord and our God!
*****Psa 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
We must remember who our real enemy is!
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The only way to escape this enemy is by the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Hebrew word used for our English word "sorrows" in the verse gives us the sense of a noose tightening around our necks or the uneasiness of the pain in our minds for our circumstances.
The Hebrew word used for our English word "pain" in this verse gives us the meaning of tightness, as that noose just gets tighter and tighter and we are choking to death in our own distresses.
We have waited much to long if we have reached this point before calling upon the Lord but it is only too late if we reach that point of death.
We are wrong to think we can hide from sorrow and distress!
We are wrong to think we can hide from our problems!
We cannot ignore the fact that Satan will do all he can to hinder the spread of the "Gospel".
These things will seek us out, but there is no need to suffer through these things alone.
We simply cannot allow the sorrows and troubles of this world to choke us into submission!
*****Psa 116:4 Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
There is absolutely no depth of sorrow that can take us out of the ear range of our God.
Here again we see there is only One who we can call on to get some actual help.
Jehovah is the God of revelation and redemption!
It is Jehovah who revealed Himself to Moses.
It is Jehovah who revealed Himself to Abraham.
It is Jehovah who will reveal Himself in our hour of need!
It is Jehovah who will deliver us from our sorrows!
The name Elohim declares God displayed in his power as the Creator and Governor of this physical universe,
The name Jehovah designates God's nature as He stands in relation to man!
Jehovah is the almighty, true, personal, holy Being, a spirit and "the father of spirits," the "I Am" of the Old Testament!
When we get personal with Jehovah, He will get personal with us!
Jehovah got real personal with us when He appeared as our Savior!
Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
Joh 8:57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
And how do we approach our Lord?
It does not take many words.
"O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul".
We must pray to the Lord as often as we can and we may use many words trying to describe to the Lord how we feel but in that hour of a specific need, our prayer does not need many words.
Real trouble produces real prayer!
This prayer needs no words added and it explains the complete need!
This prayer brings the greatest benefit!
It is this prayer that will show us the "Grace of God"!
*****Psa 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
Most of the time, just to know someone is listening to us, itself brings great relief!
God teaches us to come to Him in prayer when we need His help, and there is not a day that goes by that we do not need God's help.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
God says we can draw near to Him in confidence, knowing He has the power to help us in that hour of need.
The throne of God is a "throne of grace" because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Joh 16:25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
The throne of God is called "gracious" because we have an Intercessor who sits in the throne room of God!
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Those that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ cannot open the ears of God and cannot know the mercy of God!
*****Psa 116:6 The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
Psa 116:7 Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.
Those that are wise in the wisdom of this world will try to take care of themselves but those that trust in the Lord can depend on God to take care of them.
Mat 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
It is our faith that determines if we get relief from our troubles, from the only God that lives.
If you have known the Lord for any time at all, then you can also say "when I was brought low, He helped me"!
Rest simply means we can be restored to a peaceful confidence in the Lord.
Psa 56:13 For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
We are reminded that we can never loose our salvation.
We are reminded that we are not left in this world alone but our Savior is never far from us.
We are reminded that when we walk in the ways of Christ Jesus we are walking in the glory of the Lord.
We are reminded that our God is Good all the time!
God has given us His Son Jesus and in Him will He give us all things!
God has given us eternal life!
*****Psa 116:8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
What a marvelous thing is our salvation.
God has graciously canceled the debt of sin that we could not pay without our own death in Hell.
1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
God will continuously deliver us from a physical death until a time that He has selected.
Job 14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
God will not hold back anything to wipe away our tears and restore us to the joy of salvation.
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
God will keep us! Satan will never be able to lay his grubby hands on us again!
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Death is put away, our tears are dried up, and fear is banished, when the Lord is our Savior and we can walk before Him!
*****Psa 116:9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
This verse means we will walk one day in Heaven where there will be no death!
This verse means we will always live in the sight of God.
Those that continue to walk in this life can only be seen by men and only during this lifetime.
Those that continue to walk in this life, will all their days be subject to human judgment, human opinion, and human results.
Those that know the Lord know that the ever watching eyes of God are on His children.
Psa 57:3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
These things require our faith!
*****Psa 116:10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:
Faith is the only way we can approach God!
Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
That faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ!
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
That faith will show in our walk with the Lord in this life.
Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
By faith we live! By faith we have deliverance! By faith we can brag on our God!
Without our faith in God our prayers will go unanswered.
Without faith we will remain greatly afflicted.
When we trust in the things of this world we will find out that all men are liars because they that reject the truth have no respect for the truth!
*****Psa 116:11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.
Some times when we are suffering affliction in this world we will become as a pessimist.
A pessimist is any person who has a gloomy, hopeless, and complaining disposition.
A pessimist takes a dark view of everything and sometimes everyone, as did the writer of this Psalm.
But we will see a child of God can only be a pessimist for a short time!
It is a fact that all those that speak against the Word of God are all liars!
Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
But we have no right to distrust all men!
There are many people still in this world who are honest, moral, and conscientious.
To blame everything on this world we live in takes our focus off of the real enemy, who is the Devil!
Faith, says we trust the Lord in all circumstances.
Faith does not mean we can wrongly accuse mankind!
We will never lead anyone to the Lord Jesus Christ by being a pessimist.
What is the opposite of being a pessimist?
*****Psa 116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?
The opposite of being a pessimist is when we can say, we can give back to the Lord for all the benefits He has given to us?
This world is not so gloomy that we cannot have joy in serving the Living God!
We need to be searching for ways to serve the Lord and get busy doing so, and this will take our minds off this sinful world.
Each one of us receive a special benefits in serving the Lord, so each of us should have his own special way of of showing his gratitude!
2Co 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
What was the special way, this writer had of showing his gratitude?
*****Psa 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.
The greatest gift we can give back to the Lord is to accept His free gift of salvation!
We must become that new creation of the Lord!
This writer had been drinking from the cup of afflictions and had forgotten all about God's cup of salvation.
There are no works of our own that can ever repay the Lord for what He has done!
Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
When we forget we are a saved people we will put off our worship of the Lord.
Satan will do anything to hinder the Word of God.
He will sometimes bring one affliction after another to try to break us.
BUT, if we can keep in mind the Salvation that is given to us from the Lord and the benefits that come from our Savior, we will continuously call on the name of the Lord.
Most of us think of worship as something that is only done on Sunday and Wednesdays or what ever days are set aside to worship but this actually is not good for us.
We simply must not reserve our worship for certain times or certain days.
In fact we are worshiping someone or something at all times with our thoughts, or with our words, or with our actions.
Worship is saying that this thing is worthy of our worship when in fact there is only One who is worthy of our worship and it is our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the Lord who gives life.
It is the Lord who gives us the air we breath.
It is the Lord who freely gives us all things.
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
How can we not be continuously worshiping the Lord?
The cup of Salvation of the Lord provides living water!
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
We must devote ourselves to the worship of the Lord and Him only, all the days of our lives!
What else can we give to the Lord?
*****Psa 116:14 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.
In our days of being in the family of God most of us have made certain vows. Some of those we have kept but in most cases there are some we have not kept.
Vows that have not been fulfilled are the same as debts that have not been paid!
Deu 23:21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
If we say things in worship and in prayer then, we need to hold ourselves accountable.
Deu 23:23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
This Psalm writer then went on to say that he would pay his vow before witnesses, in fact in the presence of all God's people.
God does not allow for secret disciples!
Because every saint of God is precious in the eyes of God.
*****Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
The Hebrew word "chasid" is translated as "saints" in this verse.
The "chasid" are godly people because they reflect the character of God Himself!
It is only because of God's covenant with Himself and fulfilled through the Lord Jesus Christ, that every "Born Again" child of God can be called a "Saint".
A Saint of God is anyone who believes by faith that Jesus Christ is Lord and can then be called Christian if they conform to the image of Christ.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate "to be conformed to the image of his Son", that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
So many people abuse the title Christian these days, as the Christian name can only be applied to those who are striving to be like Christ Jesus.
A Christian is only those whose behavior, whose actions, and whose speech are like those of Jesus Christ.
All others are impostors and it is these impostors who give Christianity a bad name!
But all those that are the true Saints of God are very precious in the eyes of God and who die according the way they lived a Christian life.
Precious means valuable.
We think of death as being the enemy of all men, but the Saints of God have no need to fear death.
1Co 15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The Saints of God do not have to drown on death's sorrows.
1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
To the Saints of God, death is only a device or a vehicle that is used to enter into the presence of the Lord.
Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
What a precious benefit for the Saint of God!
*****Psa 116:16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.
There will come a time to almost everyone of us that we will need to rededicate ourselves to the Lord.
This is better stated as surrendering to the Lord!
After all the giving of ourselves to His service is one of the few things that we can actually give back to the Lord for what He has done!
We belong to the Lord by the fact that we are God's creation!
BUT, we also belong to the Lord by His "Grace"!
We are to be servants of our Lord if we want to meet our Father in Heaven!
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
It's a precious feeling to know you are saved!
It's a precious feeling to know that you no longer serve Satan.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The most precious thing we can have is to know that we are now servants of God by Jesus Christ.
We have been loosed from the bonds of sin, of death, and of Hell, so how can we not wear the yoke of Jesus Christ?
Jesus teaches us with these words:
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Once we have given ourselves to be servants of the Lord we then can begin to offer up our thanksgivings which are another one of the things that we can give to the Lord of our own possession.
*****Psa 116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
The New Testament Church has never been told to offer up animal sacrifices.
The sacrifices that the "Body of Christ" are instructed to make are:
1) The sacrifice of ourselves as servants of God.
2) The sacrifice of righteousness, remembering that our righteousness is by the Lord Jesus Christ.
3) The sacrifice of praise which is due from us all.
4) The sacrifice of thanksgiving for the great benefits of our salvation.
Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Heb 13:16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
5) Then we are to offer the sacrifice of doing good and the sacrifice of telling everyone we meet just how good it is to serve the Lord.
It is only when we drink of the cup of salvation that we can call upon the Lord!
It is probable that David also wrote this Psalm and we know that David's desire before His death was to build a house worthy of the Lord.
It should also be our desire to build houses worthy of the Lord.
Salvation is still the main objective of the Church but it seems the modern day Church has forgotten the main thing!
*****Psa 116:18 I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people,
Psa 116:19 In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
We must be determined to keep our word to the Lord.
We must invite all those that know the Lord to observe our walk in this life and point out anything that looks to be a deviation from the Word of God.
We are to exhort and help each other through the trials and afflictions in this life.
We are to comfort each other and we are to do it daily.
Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
This is the duty of each Pastor.
This is the duty of each "Born Again" child of God.
God says we need to have a Hallelujah time whenever we are in the House that is called by His name!
When our own hearts are filled with gratitude, we will want all our brothers and sisters in Christ to join in with that same feeling!
There are truly great benefits in serving the Living God!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
