CWA - Psalm Lent 5 - Kieth Bernard Kuschel
Psalm 116
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” 5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, 9 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.10 I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; 11 in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.” 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.15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. .16 Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.18 I will fulfill 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, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.
Something really important = a matter of life and death
IA1 I was overcome by distress and sorrow(3). Most of us have felt that way at one time or another in our lives. What caused you to feel that way most recently? Diagnosed with a terminal disease. Chronic health issue. Loss of capacity. Loss of job. Loss of a loved one. Not knowing what to do next. Coronavirus.
2 All of those cause distress and sorrow. But there is one that is behind many of those mentioned. It could be called the ultimate cause of distress and sorrow. What is that? Death. The Psalm writer knew that. He wrote this: 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me. Why does any disease cause distress and sorrow? Because it could lead to death. Why do accidents cause distress and sorrow? Because they could lead to death. Why does loss of job or not knowing what to do next cause distress and sorrow? Because your life might end without accomplishing even the basic things like providing the necessities of life for your dependents.
B1 Is there any help for the distress and sorrow caused by death? The Psalm writer thinks so: 8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death. How does He do that? Jesus answers that question directly in the Gospel lesson: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives believing in me will never die.” Jesus experienced death as punishment for our sins. We are rescued from death as punishment for our sins because He did that. Jesus rose from the dead. He conquered it for us. We will rise from the dead because Jesus did that for us. That is how God delivers us from death.
2 8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death. Does knowing that take away our fear of death? NO. Anything we haven’t experienced is scary. Does knowing that make it at least possible for us to handle the thought of death a little bit better? YES. Because we know we have been delivered from it even before we have experienced it.
3 8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death. Does knowing that make it easy when a loved one dies? NO. It is always extremely difficult to think about facing life without someone who has been part of your life for a very long time, maybe your entire life. Does knowing that make it at least possible for us to handle the death of a loved one a little bit better? YES. Because we know that loved one who, when alive, trusted that Jesus lived and died and rose to give him or her forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life has been delivered from it. The Psalm writer reflects that thought when he wrote: 8 For you, Lord, have delivered .............. my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I shed tears, but not forever and not out of despair. I don’t stumble and fall into believing the thought, whenever it comes up, that God must not love me otherwise He would not have allowed my loved one to die.
C1 God continues to love me even when I am dead. Did you hear what the Psalm writer wrote? (15)Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Well, I guess that leaves me out. I am a sinner. I am not a faithful servant. Not so fast. You are covered with Jesus’ holiness. You are a member of God’s family. God considers your life to be a thankoffering to him. He considers you to be a faithful servant. This verse is talking to you.
2 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Precious. We are valuable to the LORD. What do you do with things that you consider to be precious? You protect them. You hold onto them tightly. We are so valuable to the LORD that He had His Son live and die and rise to give us forgiveness, holiness and eternal life. He is not going to let anything, including death release His strong grip on us. Maybe St Paul had this Psalm in mind when he wrote: “Neither death.... nor anything else will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our LORD.” (Rom 8:38-39). Does knowing that helps us handle death a little bit better? YES
IIA1 How do we respond to God’s deliverance? We 13 “will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord...19 in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.” When we can, we gather together in a public gathering place with others who believe what we believe about Jesus. We lift up for all to see the concept that God has granted us salvation through Jesus. Others hear that Jesus lived and died and rose to give them forgiveness, holiness and eternal life. The Holy Spirit leads them to believe that Jesus is their Savior. Our lives of calling on the name of the LORD help others have eternal life in Jesus Christ.
2 How do we respond to God’s deliverance? I utter “my cry for mercy.........I.will call on
him as long as I live. ......3 I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” When my life is filled with distress and sorrow because of terminal disease, chronic health issues, loss of capacity, loss of job, loss of loved one, not knowing what to do next, I cry out to the LORD for mercy repeatedly over the entire course of my life on this earth. Anyone who rubs shoulders with me hears those cries. They are informed that my Lord, “hears my voice, turns His ear to me, is gracious, righteous, full of compassion, protects the unwary, and saves.” The Holy Spirit leads them to believe the same. Our lives of crying out to the LORD help others have lives willingly dependent on the LORD. I
B1 How do we respond to God’s deliverance? 18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.” Some of you have vowed to the LORD to love, be faithful to, cherish, support and help in sickness and in health another human being. When asked why you fulfill your vow, you indicate that you want to thank the LORD for the special person whom He has given to you as a life long companion. In doing so, your lives have directed others to the LORD who wants to bless their lives similarly.
2 Some of you have vowed to the LORD to live as if fitting for a child of God, and in faith, word and deed remain true to the Triune God, even unto death. When asked why you fulfill your vow, you indicate that you want to thank the LORD for giving you the ability to speak, the resources to live, the ability to reproduce, a wonderful body with almost limitless capacities, and the people through whom He blesses you. In doing so, your lives have directed others to the LORD who wants to fill humans’ lives with blessings.
3 Some of you have vowed to the LORD to shape your live with God’s Word, to hear the Word of God proclaimed every week, to use the LORD’s Supper whenever it is offered, to study the Word with your fellow Christians at every opportunity. When you fulfill that vow, you are directing others to realize that God’s Word is the tool He has chosen to dispense His blessings of forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life because of Jesus into people’s lives. In doing so, your lives have directed others to the LORD who is the source of those blessings for life.
C1 How do we respond to God’s deliverance? We “sacrifice a thank offering to” the LORD. If we would be living when this Psalm was written, we would literally be involved in sacrificing. We would bring animals and/or plants and have part of them burned by the priests on the altars at the worship location. The remainder of the animals and/or plants was used for the physical support of the priests and the operation of the worship location. What is the modern equivalent to the plants and animals which supported the worship of and proclamation of the true God? Money.
2 We sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD when we dedicate a percentage of our income each year to bring the message to others that Jesus lived and died and rose to give them forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life. You have the privilege of dedicating a percentage of your income to bring Jesus to others. We suggest 10% in keeping with God’s Old Testament directive. In doing so, your lives have helped others have life in Christ.
LORD Jesus, You are right. It’s matter death and life. Your death helps us handle death. Please use our lives to help others have life.