Good evening. It would be worth having Psalm 116 in front of our eyes as we have a look at it this evening.
! So it would be great if you got that open. And as you get it ready, let me suggest to you that culturally, we tend to associate certain songs with certain occasions.
Now, I'll choose ones which are neutral, which won't apply to you. For example, if you like rugby, well, you might like rugby, and you're Welsh, we have a national anthem, of course, as do you, but there's a hymn, Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land.
Bread of heaven, feed me now and evermore. From childhood, that hymn, right or wrong, is associated with watching Wales, as a child, play rugby.
A bit more common and untidy is that if you like football, if you like Liverpool, or even if you don't, you may well know that you'll never walk alone is a song that is always associated with that football team.
Now, Psalm 116 is deeply associated in the mind of the writer or any child who ever, ever read it at Saturday school as a Jewish child.
So, Psalm 116 is deeply associated with the Passover festival.
And the last thing that a Jewish home ever did on the last night of Passover, a Thursday, was to have a meal together.
And when they had a meal together, they sang as the last thing they did that night.
Psalms 113 to Psalm 118, as they recorded for us, as the final Passover hymn.
So, when Jesus Christ goes to the last supper, Matthew tells us in chapter 26 and verse 30,
when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
You know the hymn.
It's Psalm 113 to 118.
Right in the middle of those psalms, as we have them captured in those numbers,
would be words that the Lord Jesus Christ would have known since he was a little boy.
He'd have known them inside out, upside down and round and round.
He could sing them any time.
Because every year since he was a kid, his family had sung that song the day before the Passover final celebration on a Friday.
So, my friends, when you ever read or sing Psalm 113 to 118, and tonight we're in the center, 116, and we shall look at it in detail.
You need to get, sorry, that's not fair, I need to get, we need to get, this clear point.
These words that we're looking at tonight were in Jesus' mind as he walked into Gethsemane.
They were in his mind as Judas Iscariot betrayed him.
They were in his mind when he was arrested and beaten.
They would have been in his mind as he hung on a cross.
So, we are about to read through again the very psalm that Jesus knew applied to him on the cross.
The psalm, if you look down at it, refers to the horror of death three times in verses 3, verse 8, and verse 15.
It's a psalm of despair at facing the agony and the horror and terror of death.
But it is also a psalm of rescue.
It's a psalm that cries out that God will rescue his nation and his people, as sung at Passover.
When we read this psalm now together, we therefore need to look at it from a certain perspective.
When the psalmist wrote it, he was looking back to the Passover.
Make sense?
He was looking backwards in history.
As he wrote it, he didn't know.
He was writing forwards to Jesus Christ.
We live beyond the time of Christ.
So, now we can look back
via the cross of Christ
and the Jesus who knew this psalm applied to himself.
And then we can apply it to ourselves on this Sunday evening.
So that we may walk out of that door tonight saying,
I am glad.
I am glad that I have a Savior.
I am glad.
It is my privilege to be a woman or a man who has Christ in their lives.
Psalm 116 is Jesus' song.
The Jesus who knew that as he walked into that cross and grave,
who cried out,
Father,
Father, take this cup from me,
but not my will,
but your will be done.
The very Jesus Christ,
who cried those words,
knew he would go to the cross,
knew it would be anguish,
knew he would defeat death,
and knew that you and I would be in this building tonight,
looking back.
When he says to us,
all right,
you,
sing the song with me,
because it's your song now.
It is your song now,
because of what I've done.
So come on,
let's get into the song,
because if you're a Christian,
it's your song,
through faith in Jesus Christ.
Here we go.
Let's have a look at it in detail then.
Verses 1 to 2.
Please have a look at it.
It's full of emotion.
I love the Lord,
because he has heard my voice,
and my pleas for mercy,
because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
Let's sing this song,
as it were,
as a Christian,
if you are a Christian tonight.
Jesus' death at the cross,
the Passover lamb,
as he sang this song,
going to that cross,
he made it possible for you and me to say this evening,
I love the Lord.
I really do.
I just love him.
Why would we love him?
Look at verse 1.
Because he has heard my voice.
As Jesus cried to his father that night,
he goes on to beat death.
He goes on to beat the grave.
He goes on to reach you,
so that you can say this Sunday evening,
I love the Lord.
Why?
Because he hears my voice.
He's always listening for me.
Look,
he hears my pleas for mercy.
When life is terrible,
when it's gone wrong,
when it's broken,
who can I turn to?
When I have sinned,
when I've let myself down,
when I've let my parents down,
my family down,
when I'm hurt inside for my failure,
where can I turn?
And he says,
turn to me.
You can always turn to me.
I will never turn away from you.
Isn't that a relief?
If your ability
to turn to Christ
depended on how good you've been
in the last six days,
could you turn to him?
I hazard a guess
that many of us would say,
no, I couldn't.
This is a psalm that says,
you can turn to him
because he paid for your sin.
He's paid for it.
And so,
turn to him.
Plead to him.
Ask him for his help
in your adversity.
And look at verse 2.
Don't you think
this is the most beautiful picture?
If a child is shy,
this is what you do, isn't it?
Of an older person
can't hear you very well.
You incline your ear to them.
This is verse 2.
You say,
tell me again.
What did you want to say?
And this is a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ himself
when you cry out to him
saying,
what's wrong?
Tell me again.
What can I do for you?
What's the matter?
Like a parent loves a child.
I want to help you, darling.
This is the Christ
of the Bible.
This is the Lord Jesus Christ
that Christians come to worship
together on Sundays.
He is the God of compassion.
The God of comfort.
But don't make the mistake
of thinking
he's only there to comfort
well-behaved Christians
or people who got it
perfectly right this week
because no one would be
available for comfort.
Which is why Christians
gather together to remember
that through the death
and resurrection
of the one who sang this song
at Calvary.
You and I
can flee to him
and say,
I love you.
You listen to me.
You care about me.
You listen out for me.
And I will call on you.
Look at the end of verse 2.
As long as I live,
there will never be a day
when you can't call
on Jesus Christ.
Never.
Not once.
In the middle of the night
when everybody's asleep.
Mum and dad are asleep.
Or your husband or wife
are asleep.
Or your,
anyone who really loves you
is fast asleep
and you wake up
and you don't know
what you're going to do.
I've got it wrong.
I'm frightened.
I'm scared.
What shall I do?
Whose year
is always there?
Christ's year
is always there.
He never turns away.
He never rolls his eyes.
This is the wonder
of being
a Christian.
At that cross,
he paid it all
so that you could always
come to him
in all your failures.
That's why the reformers,
the 16th century reformers,
when they talked of grace,
the great Thomas Cranmer,
the English reformer,
he said,
you'll never understand grace
if you don't feel gratitude.
The grace of God
in the death
and resurrection
of Jesus Christ
always engenders
gratitude
in the human soul.
Thank you
that you love me.
Not just my mum,
not just my dad,
not just my friend,
not just my granddad,
that you love me.
Not just the woman
next to me.
You love me.
Me.
Personally, me.
That's why you died.
That's why he's
the Passover lamb.
And verses 1 to 2,
you'll be glad to know
are the overture
that runs throughout
this psalm.
What's the problem
for Jesus
as he goes to the cross?
What's the problem
for the psalmist?
Have a look with me
at verses 3 and 4.
He says,
the snares of death
encompass me,
says the psalmist.
Well,
he's pointing to Christ.
They certainly did
encompass him that night
on the way to Calvary.
The pangs of Sheol
laid hold of me.
I suffered distress
and anguish.
Then I called on
the name of the Lord.
Lord,
I pray deliver my soul.
The picture here,
look,
snares,
being trapped
like an animal.
So let me ask you again,
think of times
in your life
when you feel trapped.
The snare has got you.
Where shall I turn?
Who shall I turn to?
And there's another picture
here in verse 3.
As if life is
closing in on you,
you're walking
into a dark cave
and the rocks are gathering
and there's no way out
and you're trapped.
That's what these words mean.
And what the Lord Jesus,
death and resurrection,
of the song he sang
that night of the Passover,
means for you and I tonight,
is that when the snares
of death encompass us,
yes,
when that day comes,
yes,
when the end is nigh,
no death
will crush us
for eternal life
is ours.
My life will not end
when I take my last breath
in this world
because my Lord Jesus
beat death
and it will not crush me.
There is a root
through the cave.
These images are graphic.
Ropes,
a net,
a trap,
a burial.
And the creator
of the universe says,
I'm going to go
through that
so that you,
when you go through it,
will know that
I beat death
and my darling,
you are mine
and I'm taking you
through as well.
I love you.
You see,
the refrain is verses
one and two,
the chorus is verses
one and two.
I love you.
I'm listening for you.
I've got my ear out for you.
Talk to me.
Throw all your weight
on me.
I've crushed the door
down for you.
I am your Lord
and Savior.
It's a beautiful psalm.
Beautiful.
Who is this Lord
Jesus Christ?
Look at verse five.
Look at these wonderful
characteristics.
He's gracious.
Gracious is the Lord
and righteous.
How could God
forgive Israel
in the old covenant?
Because he made
a covenant with them
and he said,
I am your covenant God.
And at Passover,
they celebrated
that the righteous God
put the punishment
on the Passover lamb.
That's what the righteous God
did in the Egyptian Passover.
But he's a gracious God
because the punishment
goes on the lamb
to liberate the people
from their sin
so they can walk free
to the promised land.
And at Calvary,
as we look back
through this psalm
that Jesus sung,
he knew he was singing
in verse five
that the righteous God
wouldn't kill a lamb
but would kill
his own son.
And the kind
and gracious God
would rescue you
and me
because our price
was paid at Calvary.
And the price
for your rebellion
and mine
is paid at that cross.
And because it's paid,
I am free.
There is no condemnation
for those who are
in Christ Jesus.
and Christ knew this
as he went to the cross.
And you and I
sit in this room tonight
as the recipients
of the price paid
at Calvary
for the righteousness
of God
and for the compassion
of Christ
that saves us.
How could somebody
not be a Christian?
It's mad
not to have this hope.
When life
kicks you in the teeth,
we die once
and for all
in the end
until we go to heaven.
Everybody does it.
It's 100% success rate
at this stage.
Mortality.
But you know
we suffer death
by a thousand cuts
don't we every year?
The pain of rejection,
an argument,
a fight,
a failure,
a getting it wrong,
a fear
of what's coming tomorrow.
Death by a thousand cuts
and we're asked
in this psalm
to run to Christ
and say
you felt it all,
Saviour.
You felt it all.
I'll come to you.
You went through it
and you understand me
and you're my Lord
and I'm running to you.
Help me.
And there he is
like this.
Come here,
lovely.
Come here.
Come to me.
I love you,
he says.
That's how the line starts,
doesn't it?
I love you,
Lord.
And in 6 to 11,
you could say them
for yourself
when the adversity comes
because they're words
for the believer
in Christ.
Let me read them.
The Lord preserves
the simple.
I don't think
that means
the stupid.
You know,
sometimes where I come from
we say simple
means a bit dim.
I don't think
it means that.
Well,
I know it doesn't.
Here's what it means.
It means those
who don't pretend
to be cleverer
than they are.
It means the woman
and man in this room
tonight who says,
well,
I'm not sure
I can follow your accent
as a Welsh bloc
here in the Highlands,
but I get the general
drift of the talk.
This psalm
was the psalm sung
on the night
of the Passover festival.
The one who was
the Passover lamb
sung it.
And he sung it
knowing
that he would die
for me.
And he sung it
knowing that he would
break the cords of death
for eternal life
for me.
And he sung it
knowing that one day
on a Sunday evening
in Stornoway,
a few people
would gather together
to try and make sense
of their lives
last week and next week
and say,
Lord,
are you with me?
And he says,
dear,
I'm with you always.
I went through
Calvary for you.
Do you think
I'd leave you this week?
Whatever you do wrong,
not a chance.
Not a chance,
he says.
The Lord preserves
the simple.
When I was brought low,
could you say this
this week?
Can you look back
this month?
When I was brought low,
he saved me.
Return my soul
to your rest,
for the Lord
has dealt bountifully
with me.
For you have delivered
my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
I will walk
before the Lord
in the land
of the living.
I believed
even when I spoke
I am greatly afflicted.
I said in my alarm,
all mankind
are liars.
My friend,
if you feel afflicted
this week,
if your soul
is disturbed,
if you feel
human beings
have let you down,
look at 11
liars.
If you feel
betrayed,
it doesn't mean
that the Christian
doesn't weep.
It doesn't mean
that the Christian
isn't in anguish.
Of course,
it can't mean that
because it's the human condition.
But it does mean this.
The one who went
before us,
the perfect one,
the one who paid
the penalty at Calvary,
the one who beat death,
he,
he knows how you feel.
And he's right with you.
He is never going away.
He is never going to stop
putting his arms around you
and saying,
I'm here.
That's what we're meant
to understand
in this psalm.
The greatest need
of being a human being
is met in Christ.
The greatest hope
for meaning this week
and comfort
and deep joy
in all circumstances
is to know Christ
is your Saviour
and Lord.
We see him
as the one
who rescues us
ultimately
from the cords of death
and this week
from death
by 20 cuts
which hurt us
on the way
through the week.
and finally
with that in mind
let's look at the last
few lines
from 12 to the end.
if what I've said
and my interpretation
of the psalm for you
this evening
is true
what do you think
for the psalmist
what do you think
the obvious question is?
surely it's question
in verse 12
what shall I render
to the Lord
for all his benefits
to me?
Lord
if you love me
this much
if you love me
and you know
what I've been up to
and you know
things that my mum
and dad don't know
my husband or wife
may not know
you know what's
in my head
if you died
for me
and you will
never leave me
because the covenant
is met in your blood
and I can come
to you any time
even in my failure
and anguish
at life
Lord
what shall I do
for you?
if somebody loves you
this much
humanly
you'd say
what can I do
to give it back
to you?
now
here's the brilliant
climax of this psalm
it's the brilliant
climax of the Christian life
what can you do?
here's what you can do
verse 13
I will lift up
the cup of salvation
and call on the name
of the Lord
what?
oh
here's what I do
I go to God
and I say
hey
you saved me
didn't you?
you love me
don't you?
well I'm going to
call on your name
and I'm going to
ask for your help
this week
is that the response
that he wants?
surely
he wants us to
try harder
be better
keep more rules
and he said
no
don't be soft
here's what I want
you to do
keep coming to me
and saying
Lord I can't keep it up
can you help me?
I'll never succeed
by my own efforts
will you help me?
he loves
nothing more
than for one
of his children
to come to him
and say
I can't do this
but you can
please help
we lift up
the cup of salvation
do you see what we do?
we don't do anything
we just ask for more help
oh my gosh
fancy the chance
of going into
a new week
and saying
keep helping me
Lord please
keep helping me
I can't do it
and he loves it
he's waiting
for you to ask
there's not 15 things
he wants you to fix
it's a posture
that says
help me
help me more
than ever before
and you see
that unfolds
for the rest
of the passage
how do you pay
your vows
to the Lord
verse 14
and repeat it
in verse 18
well this is how
you do it
verse 16
you say
Lord
I'm your servant
you've
you've loosed
my bonds
do you see it
in 16
how do we go
to the Lord
for help
we say
Lord
you took my
chains off
you set my
heart free
you gave me
a new life
in Christ
what shall I do
for you
oh it's easy
I come back to you
and thank you
for cutting my
chains loose
and I ask you
to help me
I lift up
the cup of
salvation
Lord
you took the
chains off
keep freeing me
up please
I can't do it
without you
this is the
response of the
Christian
no vanity
no hubris
no arrogance
no self-sufficiency
complete dependency
on the saviour
who's listening
and loving
and yearning
to be your
greatest ally
and friend
in all your
adversities this
week
I put it to you
that Christians
come to church
to keep reminding
themselves
that this is
life
Satan himself
will keep saying
to you
you're not good
enough
hopeless
rubbish
Christian
nowhere near
as good as
him or her
you're a
disgrace
you shouldn't
be here next
week
give yourself
a couple of
weeks
sort yourself
out
and then
you might
get a year
ring from
God
the lie
of hell
it's the
lie of hell
your saviour
wants you to
come to him
at all times
whatever's going
on
because his
love saved
you and will
continue
to give you
hope
lift up the
cup of salvation
and say come
again Lord
come again
I need you
now
I need you
today
that's what
we offer
him
and in
17 he
tells us
it's called
it a
sacrifice
of
thanksgiving
I'll offer
to you
a sacrifice
of thanksgiving
and note the
words that come
immediately
afterwards
do you see
them
and call
on the
name of
the Lord
it's the
same thing
for the
third time
it's going
to God
this week
and saying
Lord
I'm giving
you myself
I can't
do anything
I'm not
good enough
I'm too
prone
to failure
but I know
this Lord
I am
thankful
and I'm
bringing myself
to you
again this
week
help me
look after
my kids
properly
help me
respect my
parents
properly
give me
the best
chance
when no one's
watching me
to behave
in ways
that bring
me joy
because I
know you
want them
but Lord
I'm lifting
myself up
to you
help me
Lord
I can't
do it
without you
so I
give myself
to you
this is how
we thank
him
the total
absence
of vanity
and arrogance
that I can
make it
happen
and the
total
willingness
for him
in his
marvellous
love
in a way
that he
knows me
that no one
in the world
knows me
to work
with me
and to
change
me
this is
what Jesus
Christ
achieved
at Calvary
this is
what he
will do
this week
by his
spirit
in my
life
and yours
and this
is what
he knew
he would
achieve
on the
night
before
going to
the cross
as he
sang this
song
so that
we could
sing it
today
that's why
we sing
the psalm
today
and finally
look closely
please
at verse
one
and the
last
phrase
in verse
19
if you
have
doubt
or
uncertain
that
this
can
be
the
meaning
of
this
psalm
well I
draw your
attention
to verse
one
which
starts
I love
the
Lord
we
meet in
church
on
Sunday
time
after
time
for
corporate
worship
that
the
believer
in
Jesus
might
walk
out
of
the
building
and put
their
head
on a
pillow
tonight
and be
able to
say
I love
the
Lord
and what
is the
last
phrase
in this
psalm
do you
see it
I
praise
the
Lord
the
truths
of the
gospel
are
meant
to
move
from
the
head
to
the
heart
so
that
your
heart
sings
for
joy
that
this
is
my
savior
and
onto
my
hands
that
changes
my
day
to
day
behavior
the
greatest
human
need
is
love
and
the
greatest
love
is
captured
in
this
psalm
by
the
savior
of
ultimate
love
who
paid
my
penalty
and
will
never
stop
loving
me
this
is
the
Christian
hope
this
is
the
Christian
life
may
it
be
your
experience
even
tonight
as a
result
of the
marvelous
Lord
Jesus
Christ
and his
commitment
to you
and to
I
Amen
well thank
you Graham
for that
wonderful
reminder
of
the love
the Lord
has for
us
and what
better way
to finish
our service
and to
sing
some
verses
from
this
psalm
116
we're
going
to
sing
from
verse
1
down
to
verse
9
it's
a
sing
psalms
version
you'll
find
this
on
page
154
of
the
psalm
books
psalm
116
we're
going
to
sing
verse
1
to
9
I
love
the
Lord
because
he
heard
my
voice
and
listened
when
I
cried
to
him
for
aid
I'll
call
on
him
as
long
as
I
prayed
we
stand
to
sing
from
verse
1
to
9
to
God's
please
him
as
long
as
I
shall
live
because
he
turned
to
hear
me
when
I
pray
the
hearts
of
death
let
down
let
handle
me
upon
me
I
and
wish
of
the
game
with
grief
and
trouble
I
was
overdone
then
on
the
name
of
God
I
called
Lord
say
miracle
And full of grace
Both righteous and compassionate
The Lord protects
All those of childlike faith
When I wasn't with me
He rescued me
Restore my soul
God has been good to you
For you, O Lord
Have saved my soul from death
My feet from stumbling
And my eyes from tears
Last I made it for you
While I have breathed
Let's close in prayer
Let's pray
Lord, our gracious God
We do thank you for every way that you
Listen to our cries
And that we will be able to say
I knew this evening I love the Lord
Because he has heard my voice
And may we be able to go away from here
With that sense of praise to you
That you remember us in all our needs
And that you will remember us
Even in this week ahead
As we put our trust in you
So may you guide us then by your spirit
We ask your blessing now on us
That grace, mercy and peace
From God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
May rest upon and abide with us all
Now and forevermore
Amen