Monday Meditation
October 26, 2015
From the desk of Dr. A.J. Higgins
Life-long Worship
“I will call upon Him as long as I live.”
Psalm 116:2
As he reflected on the goodness of God, the Psalmist here commits himself to life-long worship. In the midst of some distress, he cried to the Lord Who heard and Who helped. While his deliverance was very likely physical and temporal in some form, ours is spiritual and eternal. How much more should we develop the habit of life-long worship.
He celebrated a God Who is:
Righteous
He is mindful of how gracious and righteous God has been in all His dealings with Him. For God to “help” and maintain His righteousness without compromise, was a very costly thing for Him. It meant that the judgment of our sin had to fall upon Another. It meant that the guilt of our sins had to be removed. Our alienation and enmity had to be addressed. All that had to be done without compromising Who He is.
Redeeming
He is a redeeming God Who delivers His own. “I was brought low and He helped me” (v 6) His soul was delivered from death (v 8). Not only has God found a remedy for our sins, but He has provided at His own cost, redemption from our bondage. In our low estate, He found us and loosed the chains of sin and lifted us.
Rest
The psalmist could call upon his soul to return to his rest (v 7) in light of the bountiful dealings of God. He is a God Who gives rest. Each time the Lord Jesus told a person to “go in peace,” He was sending them into a new country, a new kind of existence. Yet to give rest, He would know the storm of Calvary for us.
His Resolve
In light of the grace he had experienced and the deliverance he enjoyed, the singer is resolved to render back to the Lord for all His benefits. He determines to take the cup of Salvation (v 13) and to enjoy its rich blessing. He commits himself, not only to worship, but to consecrated living: “I am Thy servant” (v 16). Consecration is always the result, the outflow of a worshiping heart. His sacrifices were ones of thanksgiving (v 17; cf. Heb 13:15).
His worship would not only be private, but public, in the presence of all the people of God (v 19. It would be in the courts of the Lord in Jerusalem.
Consider:
1. Note the threefold “I will” in verses 13, 14, 17. Apply them to yourself. How would they be manifest in your life?
2. Verse 15 has several translations. One of them is, “The death of the holy costs Jehovah dearly.” If this were to refer to the death of the Holy One, it fits well with the theme of worship in the Psalm.
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