Psalm 116:1-2 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 writer of Psalm
116 is unknown, as is the time period. The Psalm is untitled, so it is not easy
to pin it to a specific state of affairs. Obviously, in reading the Psalm, the
composer has recently fought and won a battle with death. In verse 11, he says
that "everyone is a liar," which might indicate that all around him was
sure that he would die. Then as well as now, death will come in God's time and
not in our time. God must have had some additional works for this servant to do
before He took him home.
God can take any of us home at any time He pleases, so as the writer here (Psalm 116) praises God for life, we should all do that daily. Two times in this Psalm, the writer says that he will fulfill his vows to the Lord (Psalm 116:14 & 18). Once we have accepted Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are free from the jaws of eternal death, and we should focus the remaining time we have on earth in whatever capacity God has called us.
An interesting point in the study of Psalm 116 is that the Jews traditionally sang this Psalm after their Passover meal. At the Last Supper, which was the last Passover Meal that Jesus shared with His disciples, they would have sung this Psalm. Think of Jesus singing verses 12-14 as He raised the cup of salvation; 12 What shall I return to 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.
This incident was the night that Jesus washed the disciples' feet and commanded that His followers love one another. "Love" is in the psalmist's first two words in this verse of Scripture, and he calls on himself (verses 12-19) to respond to the love of God that we know today through Christ Jesus. In this day and age, the term love could mean a thousand different things. We love our spouse; we could say that we love our hobbies, we might love certain foods, and, in some cases, maybe we even love our chosen profession. Understandably we do not love our hobbies and jobs in the same manner as we love our husbands and wives. The Palmist's love refers to the Love one has for our creator, sustainer, and Savior, the Lord Christ Jesus.
In this life we will never truly comprehend the love that God has for His children. However, the closest we can come to discover the depth of the love of God towards us is found in John 3:16-17, "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (also read John 15:12-13).
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