WHAT SHALL I GIVE HIM?
Psalm 116: 1-19
|
A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
This psalm began as an individual thanksgiving. Then it was sung by the people who have come to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. This psalm was thus regularly recited as a thanksgiving and as a testimony before the worshipers in the Temple, while the restored sinner paid his vows to God.
My first memories of this Psalm are associated with its singing as an offertory in a small country congregation. Their grateful thanks for all that Christ had accomplished for them was summarized in the ancient stanzas of this hymn. In that spirit, let us consider the teachings of this thankful psalm whose theme is concerned with the question "What shall I give Him?"
Spurgeon follows a threefold division of this psalm by David Dickson. The first eight verses are concerned with the psalmists love for God which brings him to prayerful praise. The second section in verses nine to thirteen are concerned with the life of the psalmist who seeks to show his eternal gratitude for all that God has accomplished. The third section in verses fourteen to nineteen emphasize the psalmist's promise to be continuous in praise, service and the fulfilling of personal vows.
We begin our considerations of this psalm with a translation issue in the very first verse. Spurgeon notes that we might read the first verse this way: "I love because Jehovah hears my voice". I am reminded of one of my students who when asked why he was interested in a particular girl replied that she listened to him and paid attention to him. In the same way we are assured that our God hears our prayers, He listens and our love is made secure in His faithful relationship.
The second part of verse one tells us the content of the psalmists prayer. He had asked the Lord for mercy. And in a restatement of the first phrase, verse two reaffirms the turning of the Lord's ear to the psalmist. Because of that hearing, the psalmist promises to call on the Lord as long as he lives.
Verse three tells us of a very common experience. "The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow." These verses remind me of a children's sermon I used several years ago. I had gone to the barn to do chores and I discovered our resident Tom cat in some dreadful difficulty. In the summer we have a fly problem in the barn. The usual solution to this problem is to hang strands of sticky fly paper in various places. That particular summer I had bought a giant fly strand which was seven feet long and eight inches wide. During the night a large white moth had been caught. Our Tom cat, being an inquisitive sort had climbed up on the ledge to bat at the creature. By the time I got to the barn he had forgotten about the moth.
The whole wad of fly paper had caught a bigger prey! As soon as I stepped through the door, I heard this mournful meow and watched as this large wad of fly paper with straw and dirt all over it rolled over. In the middle of the mess was our favorite tiger tabby. What a mess. Well, I grabbed hold of one end and began to pull gently. The sound of the meows grew frantic. As various limbs of the cat were delivered he began to struggle free. All I had to do was hang on to one end of the paper where it was safe and he did all of the pulling! By the time he got loose his hair looked like a mismanaged French Poodle cut, but he was free. It was a few days before he was friendly again.
Now, imagine if you will a strip of fly paper big enough to entangle you in the middle of a dark room. Now there is fiction fit for a nightmare! Now you understand the nature of sin and its hold upon people. Now, verse four begins to make sense: "I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, save me!" The witness of our psalmist in verses five and six, also sums up our experience. He has heard our earnest plea for mercy. He is gracious, righteous and full of compassion. In our need, he saved us. The psalmist relaxes because of the Lord's goodness to him. His soul he reminds himself may now be at rest.
Verse eight summarizes what the Lord has done for our psalmist. His soul is delivered from death, his eyes from tears, his feet from stumbling. Now, the psalmist has a resolution for living. And is this not why we are saved for a purpose? So that we, like the psalmist may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
In verses ten and eleven our psalmist shares his testimony of faith. He believed in the Lord and because of His belief he understood His affliction. The word affliction here should be understood as being helpless like our poor Tom cat caught up in the fly paper. The psalmist was dismayed in his perfectly human circumstance. And in that dismay he discovered the eternal truth that all the natural ways of men are wicked. This discovery is always painful, and every Christian eventually has to wrestle with the wisdom of this world. The worldly wisdom is so much ingrained that it takes a divine hand to undercut our entanglement in the folds of sinful flypaper. And yet, that is exactly what the Lord accomplishes when we begin to trust Him.
This saving trust brings us to our third division today. Here the psalmist comes to the essential theme of our psalm today. In verse twelve, our psalmist sincerely asks: "What shall I give Him?" Remember, how much the Lord has done for each and every one of us in giving us salvation. What can we mere humans possibly do to repay Him for all His goodness?
In verse thirteen the psalmist proposes to lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. In ancient Israel a cup of wine was raised up in Thank offerings. In our Christian era we know full well what this particular cup means with the coming of Jesus Christ. The cup is His blood, shed for our salvation. The psalmist also promises to fulfill his vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people. I am reminded of a friend who came into Christ's church when his littlest child was deathly sick. He prayed that the Lord would restore her health. If He would he promised to begin to attend Christ's Church. In time, he found a truer faith. He kept his vow and the Lord blessed him beyond his expectations. One day, my friend stood up before a congregation and took the vows of membership.
We must also remember that the ancient Hebrews had a regular system of offerings given when the Lord allowed them to fulfill certain vows. Now, these vows were not obligatory. They were not a common expectation. Jesus, in the New Testament condemns the abuse of vows. Paul, the greatest of the Apostles on occasion shows his willingness to use this form of Jewish piety only if it does not clash with his Christian conscience. Our psalmist observes that even the death of His saints is precious. Yet, the psalmist gratefully is still alive to serve Him.
And for that precious opportunity he will thank the Lord for cutting the cords or chains of sin. He will go to the Temple and sacrifice a thank offering and thereby call upon the name of the Lord. In the midst of the temple worship He will give public thanks for all that the Lord has done. Is this not what we all do each and every week when we assemble. By your presence here do you not give thanks for the salvation freely given to you by the hand of the Lord's mercy? As often as you do this, you by your very presence fulfill the last phrase of this psalm even when it is not spoken: What is that phrase? See it there at the end? This is how we repay the Lord for all his goodness! This is the answer to the theme question of our psalm: "What shall I give Him?"
Praise! Praise by your mere presence, praise by the songs on your lips, praise in the thankfulness of your prayers, praise in fulfilling your vows of membership, and praise in your obedience to the commands of the Lord our God. May you faithfully give to the Lord our God today, the praise of your heart and mind. Amen.
|
|
Resources Used: |
|
|
Kidner, Derek. |
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms. | |
|
Spurgeon, C.H. |
The Treasury of David. | |
|
IBS: The Holy Bible, New International Version (1984) | ||
|
Psm 116a |
14 April 91 & 12 September 97 | |