I Love The Lord Series

Introduction

Bethany Hamilton was born in 1990 and grew up in Hawaii.

She had a passion for surfing.

In 2003, at just 13 years old, she was a rising star in the surfing world, known for her talent and dedication.

One day, Bethany prayed with her mom for her life to have a purpose. She wanted her life to honor God.

Two weeks later, her life took a dramatic turn when a 14-foot tiger shark attacked her while she was surfing off the coast of Kauai.

The shark bit off her left arm, and she lost over 60% of her blood by the time she reached the hospital.

She was seriously injured and was looking death squarely in the eye.

Let me pause Bethany’s story and ask: How would you respond if you had just asked God to give your life purpose—because you want your life to honor God—and then you face death because you have just lost your arm?

Not many of you have lost a limb, but when things don’t turn out as you want, how often do you blame God for the situation in which you find yourself?

Today, we are going to study Psalm 116.

The psalmist in today’s psalm faced death.

We don’t know exactly what illness or danger the psalmist faced that was so dangerous.

All we know is that he looked death squarely in the eye.

Thankfully, God delivered him from death.

Psalm 116 is an intensely personal thanksgiving to God for the psalmist’s deliverance from death.

Scripture

Let’s read Psalm 116:1-19:

1 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!

Lesson

Psalm 116:1-19 is an intensely personal thanksgiving to God for deliverance from death.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. What the Lord Does (116:1-11)

2. What the Believer Does (116:12-19)

I. What the Lord Does (116:1-11)

First, let’s notice what the Lord does.

Verses 1-11 tell us what the Lord does.

I mentioned that this is an intensely personal psalm of thanksgiving. The psalmist uses the personal pronoun about three dozen times in this psalm.

Nevertheless, though the psalm is so intensely personal, we learn about two things the Lord does for the believer.

A. The Lord Hears the Believer’s Prayer (116:1-2, 4-7)

First, the Lord hears the believer’s prayer.

We see the Lord heard the prayer of the psalmist in several verses, such as:

• Verse 1: “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.”

• Verse 2a: “Because he inclined his ear to me….”

• Verse 7: “Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.”

Again and again, in Scripture, we read of the Lord hearing the believer’s prayer.

When the prophet Elijah faced overwhelming challenges, he prayed to God. Despite the magnitude of the situation, God heard Elijah's prayer and provided him with supernatural strength and guidance.

In the Book of Acts, Peter was imprisoned by King Herod, and the church fervently prayed for his release. God heard their prayers and sent an angel to free Peter from his chains and open the prison gates.