Psalm 116
July 17, 2022
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“In the Old Testament, action begins with eyes. So when Yahweh expressed His love for Israel, He told Moses, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of My people’ (Ex. 3:7).”

“Paying attention is the first step of incarnation, of going into someone else’s world.”

~ Paul E. Miller, contemporary author

“To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability…”

“Who can save a child from a burning house without taking the risk of being hurt by the flames? Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious peace of mind? In short: ‘Who can take away suffering without entering it?’”

~ Henri J.M. Nouwen (1932-1986), Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian

“Lament isn’t the opposite of praise. Lament is a path to praise…”

~ Julius Kim, contemporary author, pastor, professor, and current president of The Gospel Coalition

“The author makes a point which his fellow psalmists often illustrate: that to feel crushed, or disillusioned, and to say so, is no proof that faith is dead; it may even vouch for its survival, as pain betokens life. Indeed, as pain cries out for healing, trouble frankly faced cries out for God.”

~ Derek Kidner (1913-2008), from his commentary on Ps. 116

“When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows. How can this not be the best thing for the world? For us?”

~ Ann Voskamp (1973-present), contemporary Canadian author

Sermon Passage

Psalm 116 (ESV)

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!