When were you last "scared to death"? Of course, this is a phrase we most often use as a figure of speech and not literally. However, some of us have been very sick or suffered a crisis in which we truly feared for our lives. Perhaps you are in this very place today. In these verses of Psalm 116, the psalmist describes his experiences during times like these, both his struggles and the Lord's responses.
PSALM 116:1-9
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.
Perhaps today your snares, pangs, distress and anguish come from physical pain or suffering. Perhaps your distress is emotional, perhaps your stumbling into sin has harmed yourself and others around you. Of course, we all share the guilt & shame from stumbling into the snares of sin. When we are brought low by the guilt & shame of our sins, we often make several attempts to fix ourselves. How often do we deny, hide or cover up our sins? How often do we try to compensate for our sinful actions by doing a greater amount of "good" things? How often do we simply ignore our sins and try to convince ourselves they're "no big deal"? All of us eventually try these & other things, but they do no good. Nothing we can do will make us "right with God" or with our conscience.
However, in today's psalm we find truly GOOD NEWS, the only good news regarding our sins. Verse four tells us exactly what to do, and how to do it! We call out to the Lord, confessing our sins and pleading He deliver our souls. Verse 5 tells us WHY the Lord desires our prayers of confession; He is gracious, righteous & merciful! In John 3:16 Jesus tells us "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
Jesus loves YOU so much, He took the punishment of all your sins upon Himself when He died on Calvary's horrid cross. Because of His bountiful love for you, your soul can be at rest (v7)! Because of Jesus' resurrection from death on the first Easter morning, He has delivered your soul from death also (v8)! When we confess our sins, we receive God's forgiveness, our sins are removed and our relationship with Him is fully restored!
Thanks be to God for saving us, and allowing us to walk before the Lord in the land of the living!
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