Delivered!

Psalm 116: 1-11

1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;

    he heard my cry for mercy.

2 Because he turned his ear to me,

    I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death entangled me,

    the anguish of the grave came over me;

    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.

4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:

    “Lord, save me!”

5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;

    our God is full of compassion.

6 The Lord protects the unwary;

    when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul,

    for the Lord has been good to you.

8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,

    my eyes from tears,

    my feet from stumbling,

9 that I may walk before the Lord

    in the land of the living.

10 I trusted in the Lord when I said,

    “I am greatly afflicted”;

11 in my alarm I said,

    “Everyone is a liar.”

Whoever wrote Psalm 116 went through some difficult experiences to give us these verses. In fact, he almost died.

But the Lord heard his cry and delivered him, and that's why he wrote, "I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me" (vv. 1,2).

Picture God leaning down to His little child, getting close enough to hear. Sometimes I have to get close to people who are speaking because my hearing is not as good as it used to be. God can hear as well as He always has, but He gets close to us--not to hear us better but to help us. The psalmist tells us, "I was brought low, and He saved me" (v. 6). God comes down where we are to deliver us and make us all that He wants us to be. "For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling" (v. 8).

The psalmist discovered the grace of God. "Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me" (vv. 5,6). God delivered him from death and stopped his tears. He strengthened and guided his feet so that he did not stumble.

We, too, have all this help through Jesus Christ. He is the source of grace and mercy. The psalmist said, "The pains of death surrounded me" (v. 3), but he did not die spiritually. Jesus died in his place.

Do you need God's deliverance today? Rejoice that He hears and helps you. All you need comes from His bountiful hand. He is gracious and merciful. Call upon His name; He will deliver you.

Extracted from www.backtothebible.org