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Scripture Text (NRSV)

 

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19
 

116:1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.

116:2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

116:12 What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me?

116:13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,

116:14 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.

116:16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds.

116:17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD.

116:18 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,

116:19 in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

 

Comments:

 

i heard this read at a recent funeral of a man who died quite young. when he first learned he was very ill, and had very little time left, he asked the Lord not for healing, because he felt that he didn't "deserve" to be healed, but simply for more time --- to get his affairs in order and repair relations within his family that he had neglected. The Lord answered his prayer with two more years. he became a committed christian and crammed more living into those two years than most people acheive in a lifetime. he asked that this psalm be read at his funeral. he asked that those who came to the funeral not ponder, " why did this man die?", but why he lived?" it was an amazing time.


Some say this was the hymn that Jesus and his disciples sang before they went to the Garden on the night he held the passover in the upper room. It is indeed a prayer/hymn that recognize God's awareness of one's present situation. It is a hymn of great trust in a God that is not to busy to listen to the crys of a trusted follower/disciple/son/daughter

We out of our graditude for what God has done chose our response. We will take the cup of salvation indicated that we will receive the cup of blessing that is no other than Jesus Christ. We will keep our vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. We will not let God down, but be his faithful witness by practice, example, and the giving in return a fair portion of all that he has given us. Even beyond a tithe.

In the courts of his house, the court of the Gentile, the Court of Women, the Court of Isreal. The lobby, the vestibue, the nave the santuary, the choir room. In the midst of Jerusalem. In the midst of your city, town, state, home, workplace, etc.

There we will Praise the LORD! YES

rb


This is the passage I am going to focus on tomorrow. I figure folks have heard the road to Emmaus many times already. And I have never understood why the lectionary starts shooting in Acts readings before Pentecost.

How do we in the church handle answered prayers (as in this Psalm) versus prayers that are not answered in ways we can either understand or don't like the answer. Those are my thoughts as I consider Psalm 116 (which I plan to read in its entirety versus the lectionary abbreviated version).

Chaplain Tom Paine USAF


h but isn't the test or proof of love when wants or needs are not met? That is why scripture calls God's love steadfast. That is the love that took Jesus to Calvary. Isn't that the love to which people of faith are called. Unfortunately, the psalmist here talks of loving God when you've got what you want, or what you'll be contented with.

KK in Illinois


I love the Lord because he have heard my voice and my supplications...

Two days after the pain started I went to the public clinic near the apartment. However the doctor could not understand my language. They gave me a hard time because I could not bring a translator with me. But who could I bring to the doctor to describe the pain in such a delicate part of my body? I can not bring one of my friends kids who knows English because it was not appropiate. I just wanted some medicine but they did not understand...

Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live...

I did not have anyone to call. It was so embarrasing. I tried to tell my neighbor but the first think she asked me was if I was having an affair with someone. I do not want to explain my sexual life! I just want some medicine for the pain...

The snares of death encompassed me, the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distressed and anguish...

The pain became even worst, I could not sleep or stay sitting for too long... I just wanted to cry and cry in my room but I could not cry too loud because I did not wanted the other people who live here to know that I was sick. If they find out they could send me out and then I would not have any place to live...

Then I called on the name of the Lord; "Oh Lord, I pray, save my life!"

My cousin came to visit me and found me very sick. I could not take it anymore I was so scared I thought I was dying. But she knew the telephone number of a Latino pastor in the neighborhood. "She will help you" she said. The pastor brought me to the clinic right away and requested them to see me. She translated for me without asking embarrasing questions. She paid for the medicine and brought me home. She wiped my tears, she sang for me and prayed for my health...

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful...

I am not sick anymore. Maybe what the woman said about God's love was right. I have always believed in God. Since I was a child I was baptized in the church. But this is the first time a pastor come to my house, the first time someone sings for me in my own language...

I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people...

I can not wait to call my cousin to tell her what happenned. I already told everybody in the house, even the three guys that only come to sleep in the living room at night. Some believe it was the white doctors medicine, but some of us believed it was the prayer. The truth is that no one had come to pray for any of us before...

O Jerusalem, Praise the Lord!

Latina


Latina,

We are incredibly blessed to have you share yourself with us. Thank you for your stories, and your gentle insistance that the gospel be more than "correct teachings."

Rick in Canada


Latina-

Found in your story the essence, the heart, of a soul which struggles against such weight

but doesn't lose heart and finds heself offering a song of thanksgiving..

grateful.......don


This week as I stood with a family in the Intensive Care Unit surrounding a loved one while the medication that was keeping their loved one alive was turned off, I couldn't help thinking of this passage. (The patient's body just could not absorb any oxygen and the trauma was irreversible.)

My guess is that it is the saint and not the death that is precious to the Lord. What a wonderful thought that we weren't the only ones keeping the death vigil. The Lord was present and was waiting an watching as well. And the moment that we release the hand of our loved ones, God is there to take the other hand and lead them home.

What could our response be to this holy precious moment? Precious Lord, take his hand, lead him on, let him stand!

Grateful for His Amazing Grace, John near Pitts.


Thanks for your words of encouragement. Thanks for letting me share too. Sometimes it takes time to find the courage to write in this forum, but your sweet words always make me feel a lot better. Thanks.

Latina in VA