Some of our life experiences are very personal and hard to explain regarding their impact on us. This psalm was written by someone who seemed uninhibited and willing to open up his emotions to the extent that his inner thoughts became one of the Hallel psalms. Our Lord Jesus probably sang this the day before He died, and perhaps it was the one He sang either before leaving the upper room or in the garden of Gethsemane. It is a love song to the Lord.
The first five verses express his love for the Lord because he knows God hears. The following seven verses are words of confidence that God helps. His response to divine assistance is stated: "As long as I am in the land of the living, the Lord will be the object of my walk.” The last six verses are his thoughts about God and can be summed up in the words, “God is holy.”
The psalmist called from a condition of sickness and sorrow, and the Lord answered him. He, in turn, answered the Lord with four words of purest worship. “I love the Lord.” Do I genuinely love the Lord? This is a fundamental life and death question. Both John and Peter wrote and spoke of their love for the Lord Jesus Christ and were confident of His love for them. To recite these words is worship. To express what our Lord was willing to do for us is worship. Telling others who He is and what He has done for us is worship.
The Lord heard us call in repentance and faith and has saved us. Now, it is only fitting that we express words of unreserved trust in Him and testify to others of His goodness to us. His deliverance and all “His benefits” toward us move our hearts in devotion and gratitude to worship Him. Our response to His grace is to give our thanks, express our recognition of His blessings, and pay our vows. “The vows of God are on me. I dare not stay to play with shadows until I, my work, have done.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself would have sung, “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me. I found trouble and sorrow.” That all happened to Him so that He could deliver us. He is gracious to us. He is righteous in His forgiveness. He preserves us. We can have rest in our souls because of what He endured and accomplished. Truly, we know Him as gracious, righteous, and merciful to us. If He hadn’t died for us, we would have been eternally and hopelessly lost. The holiness of His character and the limitlessness of His love are why He was willing to do that on our behalf.
Like the psalmist, we have learned to trust God, not people who fail and deceive. In faith, we call upon Him. In our trust in Him, we accept the bad things with the good. In complete confidence, we rest in Him. In our words, we testify to His goodness, faithfulness, and blessings. As His servants, it is an honor to obey and act upon whatever He does for us, as He wants us to. It is a joy to the simple mortal who has been redeemed to think that we can give something to the Almighty and are privileged to serve Him. A sincere, genuine “Thank You” is worth more to our heavenly Father than anything else we could make or give. An earthly father would appreciate those two words more than an expensive gift his child would buy or even make.
The psalmist wrote of a “cup of salvation.” That would be the drink offering. He said he would “Call upon the name of the Lord.” That would be worship. He said he would “Pay my vows.” That would be offering the thank-offering. His humility and dedication are often found together in this condition of soul and devotion. The “simple” who are preserved are inexperienced and/or helpless people. No matter who we are, the virtues of our Lord, His work, His grace, His death and resurrection, His mercy, His forgiveness, His grace, His compassion, His advocacy, and His promises all deserve our unhesitating and unreserved worship.
Trust is most meaningful when pressures are imposed upon us, and our faith does not waver. In faith, we know the Lord bends to hear our cry of need. Even when we are discouraged and uncertain of the future, He is aware of the condition of our soul and spirit. He is near us in death, and He chooses the right time for death to take us to be with Him. When we review God’s ways with us, we will publicly testify, “I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.”
PSALM 116 A LOVE SONG v.1-11. Praise for deliverance. “I love the Lord, because…” v.12-19. Words of gratitude. “What shall I render unto the Lord?”