Read Psalm 116

Read Psalm 116

116       I love the Lord, because he hears me;

he listens to my prayers.

²     He listens to me

every time I call to him.

³     The danger of death was all round me;

the horrors of the grave closed in on me;

I was filled with fear and anxiety.

⁴     Then I called to the Lord,

“I beg you, Lord, save me!”

⁵     The Lord is merciful and good;

our God is compassionate.

⁶     The Lord protects the helpless;

when I was in danger, he saved me.

⁷     Be confident, my heart,

because the Lord has been good to me.

⁸     The Lord saved me from death;

he stopped my tears

and kept me from defeat.

⁹     And so I walk in the presence of the Lord

in the world of the living.

¹⁰   I kept on believing, even when I said,

“I am completely crushed,”

¹¹   even when I was afraid and said,

“No one can be trusted.”

¹²   What can I offer the Lord

for all his goodness to me?

¹³   I will bring a wine offering to the Lord,

to thank him for saving me.

¹⁴   In the assembly of all his people

I will give him what I have promised.

¹⁵   How painful it is to the Lord

when one of his people dies!

¹⁶   I am your servant, Lord;

I serve you, just as my mother did.

You have saved me from death.

¹⁷   I will give you a sacrifice of thanksgiving

and offer my prayer to you.

^18–19           In the assembly of all your people,

in the sanctuary of your Temple in Jerusalem,

I will give you what I have promised.

Praise the Lord!

Think

In this Psalm the Psalmist is very aware of what God has done for him and he gives thanks.  Promising to offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the assembly of the people.

As a generous expression of your thanks to God for what God has done for you – what can you offer?  Not because you have to – but out of the generosity of your heart.

Pray

With the Psalmist I give thanks for what you have done for me. How can I express my thanks today in a material way?

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¹⁰ 116.10: 2 Co 4:13