308 Psalm 116 How do I love Thee April 26 2020

Opening
prayer

O Lord
our God, who’s blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking
of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his
redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Introduction  

No one is really sure  who wrote this psalm. Matthew Henry
points to David - other’s say that it was written after the Jews returned from
Babylon, and yet others still think it was penned at a late date after 
the end of the exile.

Biblical scholar Joseph Rotherham thinks it was written by
Hezekiah when he was facing death & childlessness, so therefore the Davidic
line was in peril, danger of extinction. - He was facing a dark & very
lonely hour - 

Now there may be many, as I’m sure there are, that are strong
& healthy and it’s easy to forget how much sorrow & grief there is, the
tears that are shed each and every day.

There may be some listening here that in your heart, your home,
wherever you may be at, sadness, sorrow abounds; grief has its grip on you.

There was a young man here who a few years ago on his way to
school was killed in a traffic accident; in 1966 a young woman, a classmate of
mine, in her junior year of high school was also suddenly killed in a traffic
accident.

Forty-four years apart yet the reactions were identical - greif,
tears, sadness. Both, their sudden deaths brought to family & friends
sudden greif, sadness & tears.

A young fifteen year old girl had suffered a spinal injury that
left her semi-invalid for some years though she did recover before she married
Robert Browning. This young woman was hesitant in burdening her husband in
having to care for a disabled wife. Yet her love for fim was expressed in a
book of sonnets named Sonnets of the Portuegese, the titlis a story in itself -
in Sonnet #43 she wrote the words that have become immortal, “How Do I Love
Thee, Let Me Count The Ways”

“I love thee to the
depth and breadth and height My soul can reach,” 

Transition

In somewhat the same way the writer of Psalm 116 expresses the
deep affection he has for the Lord. 

I Love Lord, then goes on and counts the ways:

The writer of this psalm knew all too well the grind of grief
& sorrow.

What brought the writer to his knees in mourning no one truly
knows, there are no details given but one can surmise that he was close to
death. The terror of sheol surrounded him, (the grave).

The opening statement shows his confidence of mind in the Lord. He
loves the Lord because He hears him - You also can rest assure that when you
call on Him, He does hear your call - 

When your child called out to you you heard that child. Even if it
was a whimper. I’ve heard stories of mothers with that sixth-sense would know
when their child needed them.

How much more the Lord, the Almighty omnipresent, all-knowing, compassionate
God hears you, His child, when you call out to Him?

He inclines His ear, says the psalmist, “so I will call to
Him as long as I live. He inclines, He bends down, turns aside to pay
close attention to his sorrows and his gief.

God is aware, His has noticed the writer's case & granted him
an answer of peace - , As Matthew Henry puts it,God is ready & willing to
hear prayer; He lays His ear to the mouth of prayer, even if it’s just a
whisper in groaning that can’t be uttered.

We are assured that the Holy Spirit helps us when we don’t know
what to or how to pray because He helps us in
our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit
intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart,
knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27).

The Lord hears all of us, He pays attention; as
He said to Jeremiah, I have given heed and listened, . . . 

It is wonderful, again I’ll use Matthew Henry’s
word, condescension in God to bend down & hear prayer.

what are human beings that you are mindful of
them,

mortals that you care for them? (Psalm 8:).  

I love the Lord, He heard my voice & my
supplications - I love
the Lord because He bent-down, He came down to my level to hear me, to
listen to me to what I had to say.

The experts in parenting and body language
consider crouching, coming down to a child’s level an “active listening”
technique. 

I love the Lord because He will incline His ear,
. . . I like the NLT’s translation . . . I will pray as long as I have
breath (NASB, as long as I live).

I love the Lord because -- Our love seems always
a consequent love. John should know; he was the disciple whom Jesus loved and
says, we love because He first loved us, (1 John 4:19). 

We can’t out do God’s love or do better - He
doesn’t love us because we love Him first - He loves us because
He loved us first. God’s love is not a consequence of our love, His love is a causeless
love, it is opposite of our love. In Deuteronomy God says to Israel, The Lord
loves you . . . because He loves you. That’s in 7: 6 - 8, you may look it up.

God loves us because . . . He loves us. It is
what He is - It’s not what we are but what He is that makes Him
love us. My goodness, I’m grateful for that.

But with us it’s, “I love Him because … He heard
us . . . because He came down to our level, through that mystery was born a
man, paid the penalty for each and every one of us, you, everybody and gave His
life because He loved us first.

We have the Psalmist’s assurance, his
overwhelming gratitude for the faithfulness of the Lord God.

Can you, will you call on, pray to, really pray -
that is talk to the Lord God? Not just say you will but really pray to Him.

Remember, the veil was torn, because of the cross
of Christ, His death, all have access to the throne of the Almighty Lord God.

As bad as it may sound, grief, sadness, tears,
sorrow are going to be a part of life. Sin entered into the world, man is born
in sin, man’s heart is evil above all things and really, no one can understand
it, (Jeremiah 17:9), yet God, Our Father who is in heaven will bend own to you
individually and listen intently to your supplications ---

since we have a great High Priest who has entered
heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High
Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same
testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious
God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we
need it most. 

If you haven’t received the mercies of God, open
the door to let Him into your heart; know that He is eagerly waiting for you to
ask Him in. Call to Him, He will heed and listen; He will lay His ear to the mouth of prayer, even if it’s
just a whisper in groaning that can’t be uttered.

We’re assured that the Holy Spirit helps us when we don’t know
what to or how to pray because He helps us in
our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit
intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart,
knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27).

I always say there is no magic incantation, set
prayer. Peter yelled out when almost drowning, “Lord save me” - the thief
hanging next Jesus on the cross said, “Lord remember me when you come into your
kingdom and Jesus replied to him, “Truly I say to you today you will be with me
in Paradise”.

If you have never asked Jesus the Lord God into
your heart, talk to Him now. Today is the day of salvation. 

The Lord is patient with you, with you not
wanting any to perish but that all come to repentance, (change), but He will
come like a thief in the night. You don’t want to get caught short……….