Committed to His Mission

Psalm 116:1–17 NIV84

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!” The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed; therefore I said, “I am greatly afflicted.” And in my dismay I said, “All men are liars.” How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord 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 freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.

The use of Yahweh in the Lexham English Bible - Even though we know that 'Lord' is a reference to God. I think we so many times forget that it is God who Loves us, it's God who hears our cries for help, it's God who hears us when no one else does. It's God who shows us mercy and saves us, it's God who gives us our victories, and it is God who carries us through our defeats. God truly is our Lord, and our Lord is God.

Walking in Grief

Psalm 116:1-17

Question # 1 - What's a movie that always makes you cry?

The Point: God responds to our sorry with grace and compassion.

Psalm 116:1-17

1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;

he heard my cry for mercy.

2 Because he turned his ear to me,

I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me,

the anguish of the grave came upon me;

I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.

4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:

“O Lord, save me!”

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;

our God is full of compassion.

6 The Lord protects the simplehearted;

when I was in great need, he saved me.

7 Be at rest once more, O my soul,

for the Lord has been good to you.

8 For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling,

9 that I may walk before the Lord

in the land of the living.

10 I believed; therefore I said,

“I am greatly afflicted.”

11 And in my dismay I said,

“All men are liars.”

12 How can I repay the Lord

for all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the Lord.

14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

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 freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you

and call on the name of the Lord.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Ps 116:1–17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Question # 2 What might keep us from taking our sorrows to God?

We may be feeling as though we are unworthy to even approach God. But, we need to always remember that this is the beauty of grace. God loves us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of who He is. He loves us unconditionally. We can always come to the Lord.

I think that so many times we forget or maybe we don't forget, it could just get lost in translation but, the word translated Lord is Yahweh. Yahweh-God. So we need never forget that The Lord is God and God is The Lord.

Psalm 116:5-9

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;

our God is full of compassion.

6 The Lord protects the simplehearted;

when I was in great need, he saved me.

7 Be at rest once more, O my soul,

for the Lord has been good to you.

8 For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling,

9 that I may walk before the Lord

in the land of the living.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Ps 116:5–9). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

The Psalmist knew he could call on the Lord to rescue him. Why? Because he knew the character of God.

What Are some of the attributes of God?

1 - God is gracious.

2 - God is righteous.

3 - God is compassionate.

Question # 3 - What are some things that have brought you healing during times of grief?

The Psalmist was faced with a very grave situation, literally life and death. He called on the name of the Lord. The Lord immediately responded to His to him and rescued him from death.

Thought 1. Like the grateful psalmist, we should openly confess our love for the Lord. When God does something special for us—heals us or a loved one, meets a desperate need, answers an urgent prayer—our passion for Him often swells. Sadly, though, our fervor for the Lord often subsides quickly.

We should love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength at all times (Mk. 12:30). Even when God chooses not to deliver us from some dire circumstance, He has still given us the greatest deliverance of all: He has delivered us from sin, providing salvation through His Son. We have been set free from sin’s power, and we have been rescued from sin’s penalty—eternal separation from God in hell. One day, we will be set free from sin’s presence as we live forever with the Lord in a new heaven and new earth.

Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2016). Psalms: Chapters 107–150 (Vol. III, p. 85). Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.

We can always know without a doubt that God will be there for us even during our lowest moments when we struggle through our grief.

Psalm 116:15-17

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 freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you

and call on the name of the Lord.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Ps 116:15–17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Question # 4 - What are some benefits of trusting and thanking God during times of grief?

Death is such a great unknown for all of us. We only get to experience it once, we have no choice in the matter. We can know that God will carry us through our death experience if we know Him. God instituted death as the penalty for sin and He also provided a way for us to defeat death by trusting in Jesus. This same Jesus who defeated death when He was raised from the dead will one day come back for us. Scripture says it so much better than I can, Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (1 Th 4:13–18). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Question # 5 - How can our group be more effective in walking one another during times of grief?

Theme

In Psalm 116 the psalmist fulfills his previous vow by publicly thanking the Lord for delivering him from a nearly fatal distress. This psalm discloses the range and progression of the psalmist’s emotions during his adversity and deliverance, and it also details the liturgy of thanksgiving by which he publicly praises the Lord for his goodness to him.

Intertextuality

The psalmist’s description of the character of the Lord in v. 5 is one of several passages in the Psalms that allude to the Lord’s self-revelation to Moses in Exod 34:6. In the NT, Peter may allude to v. 3 in Acts 2:24 as he speaks of the power of death and applies the verse to the resurrection of Jesus. Paul cites v. 10 in 2 Cor 4:13, and in Rom 3:4 he cites v. 11 and applies it to all humans in their unrighteous status before God. Verse 13 is alluded to in 1 Cor 10:16, and as a result Psalm 116 came to be used by Christians in Communion services.

God demonstrates to Moses that He will be there, He is the God of Love but also a Just God. These and other attributes of God help us to better understand the concept of Lord being God, and God being Lord.

Exodus 34:4-8

So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Ex 34:4–8). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Theology

Psalm 116 includes several affirmations about the Lord. He hears the prayers of people like the psalmist when they call upon him (vv. 1–2). In his character the Lord is gracious, compassionate, and righteous (v. 5). Because of these qualities, the Lord delivers those who are needy (vv. 6, 8, 16), and he highly values those who are faithful to him (v. 15).

Response

For the people of God, Psalm 116 is a pattern both for turning to the Lord in their distresses and for thanking him for his deliverances. The Lord’s gracious goodness prompts the gratitude of his people, and that gratitude should overflow into verbal praise for him. Humans can never adequately repay the Lord’s goodness to them, but the Lord values their praise as an expres`sion of their thankfulness to him. Psalm 116 invites the Lord’s faithful people to appropriate it as a template for their own testimony as they turn to him in their time of need and then as they express publicly their thanksgiving to him for his intervention on their behalf.

Estes, D. J. (2019). Psalms 73–150. (E. R. Clendenen, Ed.) (Vol. 13, pp. 383–384). Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group.

Committed to His Mission

Question # 1 - What's your typical response when you lose something?

The Point: God desires for all people to hear and respond to the gospel.

It's not about what we say or know, this is tied to the Law. We do not become righteous through the law, but, rather we become aware of our sin. It is through faith that we become righteous. Faith in Christ. We become aware of our sin through the law and as a result of our faith in Christ we are made right. Faith involves more than what we say, as a result of what takes place in our heart we speak or confess with our mouth. I can be aware of the sin in my life, but if nothing takes place in the heart I will still be found guilty of breaking the law. The change of my heart is a direct result of the faith that I have in Christ. Christ is the only transforming power that can truly changes us. We were once lost, but, now we are saved.

Deuteronomy 30:14

14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

When we are filled with the spirit of the Lord we are changed, we are made new.

2 Corinthians 3:18

18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Romans 12:2

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

God changes us and makes us new.

Romans 10:9-17

9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, “Image unavailable.Image unavailable.Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 Image unavailable.Image unavailable.for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “Image unavailable.Image unavailable.How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Image unavailable.Image unavailable.Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Confess - "Jesus is Lord" is the earliest Christian confession, and these three words pack a;ot of meaning. Lord is the same Greek word the Jews would've used to refer to God Himself. This statement is an acknowledgment that Jesus of Nazarethis fully God.

Question # 2 - What did believing in your heart and confessing Jesus with your mouth looks like for you?

Believe - Our confession is an outward expression of our belief in who Jesus is: the resurrected Savior and Lord, the Son of God.

Confession and belief go hand in hand, they are in both vv.9 & 10. But if you notice there order is reversed.

BECOMING A CHRISTIAN

Have you ever been asked, “How do I become a Christian?” These verses give the beautiful answer—salvation is as close as your own mouth and heart. People think it must be a complicated process, but it is not. If we believe in our heart and say with our mouth that Christ is the risen Lord, we will be saved.

Romans 10:11-13

11 As the Scripture says, “Image unavailable.Image unavailable.Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 Image unavailable.Image unavailable.for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Anyone who trusts in Christ will be saved. What appears momentarily in verse 10 to be two separate actions turns out to be two parts to the response the Bible calls trust (or belief).

Paul is not saying that Christians will never be disillusioned or disappointed. At times people will let us down and circumstances will take a turn for the worse. Paul is saying that God will keep his side of the bargain—those who call on him will be saved. God will never fail to provide righteousness to those who believe.

Richly blesses all who call on him. To call on the Lord is to trust him for salvation. Paul is keeping the parallel between confession and belief, heart and mouth, and trust and call. Those who are saved will be richly blessed—in this world (although not always materially, as some might hope or expect), and most certainly in the world to come. Paul also keeps the parallel when describing the results: justification and salvation, not put to shame and blessed.

Question # 3 - How do these verses both encourage and challenge you?

Matthew 28:19-20

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

1 - The gospel is for people we like and people we don't like.

2 - The gospel is for our friends and our enemies.

3 - The gospel is for people we would love to see become believers and also for the people we deep down inside don't think deserve to be saved.

1 Timothy 2:3b-4

God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Romans 10:14-17

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “Image unavailable.Image unavailable.How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Image unavailable.Image unavailable.Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

NEEDED: MORE THAN MODELS

In the task of evangelism, an effective witness must include more than being a good example. Eventually, someone will have to explain the content, the what and the how of the gospel. Modeling the Christian life is important, but someone will need to make the connection between the mind of the unbeliever and the message of the gospel. There should never be a debate between those who favor life-style evangelism (one’s living proclaims the gospel) and confrontational evangelism (declaring the message). Both should be used together in promoting the gospel. Do people know of your faith by your actions? To whom can you communicate the life-changing message of Christ?

Question # 4 - What obstacles might keep you from sharing the gospel?

Question # 5 - What practical steps can our group take to see the gospel spread to all people?

TAKING AND TELLING

We must take God’s great message of salvation to others so that they can respond to the Good News. How will our loved ones and neighbors hear about Christ unless someone tells them? Is God calling you to be a part of making his message known in your community? Besides thinking of a person who needs to hear the Good News, think of something you can do to help that person hear it. Then take that step as soon as possible.