Help!

Psalm 116

¹ I love the Lord because he hears my voice
and my prayer for mercy.
² Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath!
³ Death wrapped its ropes around me;
the terrors of the grave overtook me.
I saw only trouble and sorrow.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Please, Lord, save me!”
⁵ How kind the Lord is! How good he is!
So merciful, this God of ours!
⁶ The Lord protects those of childlike faith;
I was facing death, and he saved me.
⁷ Let my soul be at rest again,
for the Lord has been good to me.
⁸ He has saved me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
⁹ And so I walk in the Lord’s presence
as I live here on earth!
¹⁰ I believed in you, so I said,
“I am deeply troubled, Lord.”
¹¹ In my anxiety I cried out to you,
“These people are all liars!”
¹² What can I offer the Lord
for all he has done for me?
¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
and praise the Lord’s name for saving me.
¹⁴ I will keep my promises to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ The Lord cares deeply
when his loved ones die.
¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
yes, I am your servant, born into your household;
you have freed me from my chains.
¹⁷ I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
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 house of the Lord
in the heart of Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

This psalm could be titled “The search for peace”. In trouble, paralysed (v3), the writer can only cry out of his desperation “Lord save me.”

I notice he doesn’t cry out “Lord how did you let this happen to me” or “Lord don’t you care about me”. His was a cry to our God who loves us and responds with love when we call on him.

There was nothing the writer could bring to earn God’s favour and help – simply a cry “Help”. Our loving God responded, because he loves it when we come to him. What did his response look like? Verses 5 and 6 show us that he responded with compassion not condemnation, with protection not punishment, with salvation not judgment.

The result is peace – verse 7.

God saved us when he sent Jesus, the rescue he had planned from the beginning. The answer to my search for peace is Jesus.

Dear Lord, I am so grateful that you respond to your people when they call for help. You are the God who turns his ear when I call on you. Thank you. Amen

Written by Claire Moore