Psalm Meditation 878
Easter
April 16, 2017

Psalm 116
1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.
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, save my life!”
5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.
6 The LORD protects 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 walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10 I kept my faith, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation, “Everyone is a liar.”
12 What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty 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 faithful ones.
16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice 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!
(NRSV)

This psalm sounds as if it is made up of quid pro quo, tit for tat, statements—I love God because of all the great things that have happened to me. There is some of that. Because of who God is and who we are, our love for God is always a response to what God has done in our lives. Whatever we give to God is giving back, since all we have is a gift in the first place. Unlike some people who act in order to make people feel an obligation to them, God acts out of love for us and is deeply touched and gratified when we respond with love in return.

When we add a testimony in addition to our love God is doubly gratified. A testimony is given to those around us and serves to give them an example of how God has worked in our lives and a hint of how God is at work in their lives. God does not wait for an acknowledgment from us before acting in our lives. We receive because God loves us. I have heard people say that they will not give another gift to a particular someone until they get a ‘Thank you’ from them for the current gift. It makes some sense for us, however God continues to give to us whether we give thanks privately, publicly, or not at all. God loves us, simple as that.

The psalmist is filled with gratitude for this return to health and strength and sees it as a gift from the hand of God. As an expression of thanks the psalmist will participate in expanding circles of worship; in the family meal, in the public payment of privately made vows, and in the offering sacrifices and giving public, verbal thanks to God for all that has been received through a time of trial. The hope of the psalmist is that others will see and join in the thanksgiving to our God who loves us beyond measure.

April 10, 2017
LCM