Psalm 116: I Love the Lord

Deacon Tim Mortag teaches through Psalm 116: I Love the Lord on 7/8/2026 for our Wednesday service.Psalm 116I Love the Lord1 I LOVE the LORD, because He has heardMy voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. 3 The pains of death surrounded me,And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;I found trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called upon the name of the LORD:"O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!"5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;Yes, our God is merciful. 6 The LORD preserves the simple;I was brought low, and He saved me. 7 Return to your rest, O my soul,For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.8 For You have delivered my soul from death,My eyes from tears,And my feet from falling. 9 I will walk before the LORDIn the land of the living.10 I believed, therefore I spoke,"I am greatly afflicted." 11 I said in my haste,"All men are liars."12 What shall I render to the LORDFor all His benefits toward me? 13 I will take up the cup of salvation,And call upon the name of the LORD. 14 I will pay my vows to the LORDNow in the presence of all His people.15 Precious in the sight of the LORDIs the death of His saints. 16 O LORD, truly 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 will call upon the name of the LORD. 18 I will pay my vows to the LORDNow in the presence of all His people, 19 In the courts of the LORD's house,In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.Praise the LORD!When anxiety, sorrow, or the shadow of death closes in, Psalm 116 shows how God’s listening ear turns desperate cries into lasting love and rest.God Hears the Cry from the Edge of DeathThe psalmist recalls the pains of death and the grip of Sheol yet declares love for the Lord because He heard the plea and inclined His ear. This teaches believers that honest prayer in hard times is never wasted. God preserves the simple and lifts the lowly, inviting us to keep calling on Him for the rest of our lives.Return to Rest After DeliveranceAfter rescue from tears and falling, the soul is commanded to return to rest because the Lord has dealt bountifully. The practical call is clear: once God has delivered you from affliction, stop living in lingering fear and walk before Him in the land of the living with renewed peace and faith.What Can I Give Back for All His Benefits?Faced with salvation’s cup, the psalmist vows thanksgiving, open praise among God’s people, and a life of service as one whose bonds have been loosed. Today this means responding to answered prayer with public gratitude and steady obedience rather than private relief alone.Final SummaryPsalm 116 moves from the brink of despair to joyful worship, proving that the same God who hears in the night also restores rest and invites lifelong response. Let this truth challenge you: the next time trouble surrounds you, call on the name of the Lord, receive His mercy, and then take up the cup of salvation with thanksgiving in the presence of His people.