The Lord Has Been Good to Me

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

The Lord Has Been Good to Me

Date: Aug. 24, 2022

Passage

Psalm 116:1-117:2 (ESV)

1   I love the LORD, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2   Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3   The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
4   Then I called on the name of the LORD:
    “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5   Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
6   The LORD preserves the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
7   Return, O my soul, to your rest;
    for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
8   For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling;
9   I will walk before the LORD
    in the land of the living.
10   I believed, even when I spoke:
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11   I said in my alarm,
    “All mankind are liars.”
12   What shall I render to the LORD
    for all his benefits to me?
13   I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the LORD,
14   I will pay 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 saints.
16   O LORD, 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 call on the name of the LORD.
18   I will pay 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, O Jerusalem.
  Praise the LORD!

1   Praise the LORD, all nations!
    Extol him, all peoples!
2   For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
  Praise the LORD!

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 116:116:7

  in the courts of the house of the LORD,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
  Praise the LORD!

The Psalmist here expresses great relief and joy after being rescued from a severe trial and pours out thankfulness to the Lord. The trial was so severe that they were overcome with distress and sorrow (3) and saw other human beings as no help at all (11). As severe as the suffering was, the realization of God’s goodness in delivering them was equally great. Their soul returns to a peaceful state of resting in God (7). It’s good for us to remember times in our lives when God brought us out of a crisis. We can testify, “When I was brought low, he saved me” (6).

When we are thankful, we naturally start to think about what we can do for God (12). It is an appropriate time to recommit ourselves to serve faithfully (14). When our service has the nature of a thanksgiving offering, serving becomes our joy (17). The purest and best gift we can offer God is praise, and so the ending of both Psalm 116 and the short Psalm 117 is “Praise the Lord.”

Prayer: Prayer: Father, thank you for the times you rescued me and restored peace in my soul after much trouble. I want to serve you faithfully as my thanksgiving offering. I will praise you continually!

One Word: One Word: Praise the Lord for his goodness

Misery of Disobedience

Genesis 34:1-31

Key Verse: 34:30

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My numbers are few, and if they gather themselves against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, both I and my household.”

Today's Question

What does the beginning of the Lord's prayer teach us?

See answer and references