Psalm 116 ~ I believe

Psalm 116

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

10 I believed, even when I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my alarm,
“All mankind are liars.”

12 What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay 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, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Only 73 of the Psalms we know have flown through David's Spirit. The Psalms, like all of the Scriptures, are for us. They explain many situations, many lives and they continue to do this good work for millenniums. Just as these situations fit others - they fit you.

~ I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

Think of Hezekiah. Hezekiah wanted mercy from God hearing his illness would be fatal.


Isaiah 38:2-6 2
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.

Can you see Hezekiah and God's mercy in your life?





God's mercy touched Hezekiah's life and we have, amazingly, so many archaeological finds of Hezekiah's life, above. This is a miracle by itself, Judah was destroyed not many years after Hezekiah died. Just as God was merciful to Hezekiah, His mercies exist today for you.




~ Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. 6 The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

What kind of person would the Lord choose to raise His Son. Someone who would hear of God's plans and be humble and ask for the Lord's will.

Luke 2:38, 46-50
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

46 And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

Yes, we see with the eyes of faith - Mary is the Mother of God. Mothering Jesus and walking the way of the Cross with Him.

Where would we find records of this young woman from Nazareth? The Sanhedrin Counsel, Talmud, records still exist of Jesus and His Mother. Mary and her role in Jesus' life are debated by puzzled, angry, powerful men. Leaving official, judicial, biased documents.

We remember Mary better as meeting the angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God.



Lazarus. The friend of Jesus. A man who fed Jesus in his home and was raised from death by Jesus.

~ For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; 9 I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Lazarus is another person the Scriptures are not specific about later. We could visit this empty tomb in Israel.

Or we could visit the tombs of Mary Magdalene and Martha in France. And there is another empty tomb for Lazarus with his sisters' tombs. With Church records saying Lazarus' remains went to an altar in a Cathedral in Spain. When they opened the altar in the last few years, they discovered dust, but a sign reading "Lazarus, friend of Jesus."

John 11:43
When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”

Lazarus' sign is ours. An empty tomb because we are friends of Jesus.



12 What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, 14 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.

Jesus was known to run with sinners. We learned this in Sunday School, before we had the honest appreciation - we are sinners. How did Jesus change one thug's Whole Life? Matthew, formerly Levi, upwardly mobile Jew, working to collect honest and dishonest taxes away from the Children of Israel. Matthew was so profoundly touched by the benefit of Jesus' overwhelming love and forgiveness - he gave Jesus a feast - inviting all the people who really, really needed a savior. And writing for them a Gospel!



Luke 5:27-32
After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”




Who else was so changed by meeting, face to face, God's overwhelming Love?

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. 16 O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. 18 I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

Jericho


Luke 19:1-10 (The Message)
Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

^5-7When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "“He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”?"

⁸Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages."

^9-10Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."

I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.


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