Psalm 116:8-9
Delivered!
For you have delivered my soul from death my
eyes from tears my feet from stumbling. I will walk before the LORD in the land
of the living.
God of power
and mercy, through the Passion and resurrection of Your Son You have freed us
from the bonds of death and the anguish of separation from You. Be with us on
our pilgrimage, and help us offer you ad sacrifice of praise, fulfill our vows,
and glorify you in the presence of all your people through Jesus Christ our
Lord.[2]
The words of the Psalm were sung by Jesus sand His
disciples on the night of His betrayal and arrest. (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26)
We are moved by the thought that Jesus sang these
words with His disciples on the night of His betrayal and arrest. Knowing all
the suffering set before Him Jesus sang with confidence in spite of His coming
death, His coming tears, and falling under the weight of the cross soon to
come.
These words are a song of thanksgiving, a poem;
written after a difficult time in life that had been endured, survived, and overcome.
You do well to remember and bear witness to these
times in which the LORD has been active in your daily life. When you find yourselves in the midst of
difficult times it is of utmost importance to remember that these times can be endure, survived and overcome due to
the LORD’s care and provision.
The promise is that because of what the LORD does –
listen to your prayers and supplications, answering your prayers and promising
you life out of death, means simply that this life that you live today is
transformed as well. That is worthy of our thanks and proclamation.
You love the LORD because the LORD delivers on His
promises. And you keep the faith even in troubled times because the LORD delivers.
1. He delivers
you from a sentence of death.
You know the scripture well, “The wages of sin is death. “ (Romans 6:23a) That dying thief spoke
correctly when he said to the other criminal. “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds, but
this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:40-41)
This is what St. Paul teaches when he says, “For all who have sinned without he Law will
also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be
judged by the law.” (Romans 2:2) “For
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Every man and every woman; every boy, every
girl - each person in this very room – we all find ourselves in the same boat.
All have sinned. Weighed in the balances of the LORD’s perfect scales of
justice; all are found wanting. Where shall we go to find clemency and healing?
Behold Christ’s cross.
He did this by Himself; suffering an unjust arrest by Himself being
killed most unfairly. Jesus – the most righteous one – the only perfectly
righteous one – He would be arrested, tried, and put to death when it was clear
He was entirely not guilty.
On His cross, your sins became His. Your troubles -
His burdens. He died your death only to rise again. Look to His cross for your
every burden in life. As the world spins, the cross stands!
Tell others your pain; you won’t receive the care you
expect. Tell Jesus, and you’ll see He know your sorrows better than you do.
Tell others your sins; they will litigate and judge you. Tell Jesus and see how
He has taken them all away.
He did this for your, for you and for all the
perplexed people of this world. Justice is done. All the wrongs and the sins
are paid for. By Jesus ‘holy blood on the cross. Now your fears and your
worries have a place to go to find answer. To the cross of Christ.
2. The Lord
delivers you from sorrow replacing it with pure just.
Trials might come. In fact, they will come. But
remember the encouragement of St. Paul when he wrote: “No temptation has overcome you that is not common to man. God is
faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the
temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to
endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Yes, challenges might come but they will be attended
with help. For your destiny is to be with Christ in time and eternity. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes
and death shall be on more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, no0r
pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
3. The LORD has
delivered you from stumbling giving you a firm foundation upon which to stand.
You walk in His wake as He orders your days and
directs your path. With the psalmist we can say, “I waited patiently for the LORD, he inclined to me and heard my cry. He
drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet
upon a rock, making my steps secure.” (Psalm 40:1-2)
4. Thus, the
Psalmist will say, “I
will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. “
These were the grateful words of the Psalmist after
His deliverance. They were also the confident words sung in faith by Jesus and
His disciples before every agony of the coming cross. So also, these words
become your song. A refrain, which never ends. A hymn, which is eternal.
Jesus could go to the cross with full confidence that
having been rescued from falling feet, He would once again walk in the land of
the living. Full of faith you trust in
the LORD in every circumstance. Even in the depth of His distress, Jesus prayed
this prayer in full confidence and faith. And by grace, and through faith so
will you. For you know what faith stands for – “Forsaking all, I Trust Him.”
Fare thee well child of God. Fare the well! Godspeed
and God Bless! In Jesus’ Name, I say this. Amen.
Passive Sentences – 9%
Readability – 81.9%
Reading Level - 5.0
[1]
Luther’s Seal © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[2]
Collect for Psalm 116, For All the Saints, A Prayer Book For and By the Church,
Vol. 1 © 1994 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
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