Psalm 116: A doctrinal mesage for Christian Pilgrims
A Song, Which is the Loving Adoration Prayer, Praise Prayer, and Thanksgiving Prayer of a Redeemed Man who has escaped from physical death
Jan, 15, 2023
It is a Bible Doctrinal Hymn of Surviving Undeserved Suffering and Utilizing Escape from Death to Experientially learn that God the Father Sustains Believers during their Undeserved Suffering and, Dying Grace means Victory over Death. Verses 10-14 (for a review of verses 1-9 see Mini-study October 1, November 1, November 15, December 1, December 15
It is important to understand that it is the testimony of one Jewish Pilgrim with a Bible doctrinal message for Christian Pilgrms. The theme is thanksgiving to Yahweh for His everlasting unfailing love, for His mercy and for His delivering the believer from the shadow of death. It divides into four parts:
- In grace, Yahweh-Father answers the prayer of one of His children who is enduring undeserved suffering (cf. Ps.116:1-2).
- The reasons and motives for the believer's thanksgiving prayer is based upon Yahweh having delivered His pilgrim-child fro the very jaws of despair and death (cf. Ps. 116:3-8).
- The pilgrim's commitment to serve Yahweh; and to make his life a dring-offering to Yahweh (cf. Ps. 116:9-19).
- The pilgrim's continued worship of Yahweh from a faithful servant's perspective (Ps.116:14-19).
I believed, therefore I spoke, 'I am greatly afflicted'
— Ps.116:10 NKJV
"I believed" (Heb. aman) is "primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain" — (Strong's Concordance #541). In the Hebrew, aman is in the Hiphil stem, which means that it is a firm, fixed, stable and sure. Thus, it means to be true and faithful. When the Psalmist proclaimed that he "believed", he spoke from a faith belief that was firm, fixed, and sure. He was expressing a faith grounded in the Scriptural teachings concerning the Doctrine of Theology Proper (Doctrine of God). In its contextual usage, the Psalmist is using it to express his confidence in Yahweh and this allowed him to deal with his adversity trials and tests.
And he said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD' In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong"
— Job 1:21, 22 NKJV.
The Psalmist was sorely tempted to think that Yahweh had abandoned him and left him to stand against his enemies without any divine help. But not only di he not abandon his faith in Yahweh, he gave public testimony of what Yahweh had done for him. "Therefore I spoke" (Heb. dabar) includes both his prayers and his testimony to others. If he had not had strong faith in Yahweh and in His Word, he could not have given such courageous testimony while enduring severe pain and suffering.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
(Prov. 3:5 NKJV).
Living by faith (cf.Rom. 1:17) means living by nonmeritorious faith in God th Father as a prayer-hearing, sin-forgiving, and promise keeping God (cf. Heb. 11:6) and nonmeritorious faith in the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). It is nonmeritorious faith because the value is not found in the exercise of faith; but the value is always in the object of faith. It affords great encouragement to continue to call upon Yahweh-Father in all times of need. "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth" (Ps. 145:18 NKJV).
"The Lord is nigh unto all them, to answer their prayers for relief, that call upon him in truth; sincerely, or with an upright heart, trusting to him, and waiting upon him in his way"
— Matthew Poole, Commentary Vol II (nd) p 165).
When the Psalmist-Pilgrim testified in the midst of severe trials and test, his testimony came forth from his heart and reflected his belief in God.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
— Rom. 10:10 NKJV
"I am greatly afflicted" means that he was sorely troubled, griveously threatened, uncharitably maligned, maliciously persecuted, and cruelly troubled for having given testimony to the truth about Yahweh.
I said in my haste, 'All men are liars'
— Psalm 116:11 NKJV
"This verse stands in dramatic contast to verse 10. While the Psalmist believed in Yahweh, he determined that he couldn't believe in men. He found peple to be liars -- false witnesses. He could have no confidence in them" — Allen Ross, Biblical Commentary Psalm 116
Certainly not! Indeed let God be true but every man a aliar. As it is written: 'That you may be justified in your words and may overcome when you are judged'
— Rom. 3:4
"In my haste -- literally, 'terror,' or 'agitation,' produced by his affliction" (Jamieson, -Fausset-Brown Commentary Vol. II (1866) p 356). The Psalmist declared that all men, yes, even his former friends and companions, prove deceitful and perfidious. He was abandoned because all human help failed him. since he was in dangerous circumstances and had no one that he could depend on to stand by him, in his deperation, he turned completely to his personal God Yahweh Elohim of Israel who would not and could not fail to come to his aid. His prayer of faith demonstrated that he had entered Yahweh's Fortress of Faith-Rest (cf. Ps. 91).
The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him"
— Nah. 1:7 NKJV
What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me?
— Ps. 116:12 NKJV
We have here a rhetorical question. A contextual analysis of this Psalm proves that the writer is a spiritually mature believer. Thus, he has received many grace benefits from Yahweh and that he could never find any equivalent valued gift to give to Yahweh to express his thanksgiving and appreciation. What does any man have that Yahweh nees. Yahweh-Father is th Author, the Planner, the Designer, and the Architect of all Creation. Since He is the infinite ultimate source of creation, He could not need anything that exists in finite creation.
"Since partial obedience is not good, so partial thanks is worthless: not that any saint is able to keep all commands, or reckon up all the mercies of God, much less return particular acknowledgement to every single mercy; but as he 'hath respect unto all the commandments' (Ps. cxix.6), so he desires to value high every mercy, and to the utmost power give God the praise of all. an honest soul would not conceal any debt he owes to God, but calls upon itself to give an account for all his benefits. The skipping over one note in a a lesson may spoil the grace of the music; unthankfulness for one mercy diparageth our thanks for the rest, (William Gurnall, (1616-1679) Sermon: Psalm 116)"
The Pilgrim-Psalmist. "wisely leaves off worrying about the lies other men have told him and their failures to stand by him in time of need. When he ceased to be occupied with other people and fixed his eyes on Yahweh, His mental attitude is immediately stabilized. He directs his thoughts an prayers to his personal God. It is of little use to be harping on the string of man's imperfection and deceitfulness; but instead, it is infinitely better to praise the perfection and faithfulness of God.The question of the verse is a very proper one: the Lord has rendered so much mercy to us that we ought to look about us, and look within us, and see what can be done by us to manifest our gratitude. We ought not only to do what is plainly before us, but also with holy ingenuity to search out various ways by which we may render fresh praises unto our God. The Father’s grace benefits are so many that we cannot number them. Our ways of acknowledging the grace blessings the Father has bestowed on each one of us ought to be varied and numerous in proportion to our blessings. Each person should have his own peculiar mode of expressing gratitude. (Spurgeon, The Treasury of david 1970)."
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning
— Jam. 1:117 NKJV
All of the Father's blessings come to us through our position in Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ
— Eph. 1:3 NKJV
He has not only given to every born-again-from-above Christian (cf. John 3:3-7), a complete salvation grace blessing spiritual package, in accord with the believer’s positional standing “in Christ” (cf. Eph. 1:3-14 with John 14:20), but, He has also promised to supply all of the believer’s material life needs (i.e. logistical grace blessings).
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
— Phil. 4:19 NKJV
When the Father sends each one a special benefit, then each one of us should inquire, "What shall I render? What form of service would be most becoming in me?” As we consider the details and circumstances in the life of the Psalmist, we see that, in prayer, he has called upon Yahweh for help in His time of need (cf. Ps. 116:4). His prayer is answered, and he discovers that the only thing that He can give to God to express his appreciation is to express his thanks to God.
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name
— Heb. 13:15 NKJV
I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord
— Ps. 116:13 NKJV
The “cup of salvation” speaks of the abundance of blessings that came to the believer through Yahweh’s delivering him from physical death. A cup is a drinking vessel; and thus, it is a utensil whose value is found in what is placed inside of it. In Scripture, we have the “cup of abundant blessings”.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over”
— (cf. Ps 23:5 NKJV)
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
— I Cor. 10:16 NKJV
We have the "cup of consolation" (cf. Jer.16:7 NKJV)
Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mothe
— Jer. 16:7 NKJV
We have the “cup of God’s fury” and the “cup of trembling." (cf. Isa. 51:17 & Jer. 25:15)
Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the LORD The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out
— Isa. 51:17 NKJV
For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: 'Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it'
— Jer. 25:15 NKJV
We have the “cup of horror and desolation”.
You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria
— Exk. 23:33 NKJV
We have the “cup of Yahweh’s right hand.”
You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also-drink! And be exposed as uncircumscised! The cup of the Lord'sright hand will be turned against you, And utter shame will be on your glory
Hab. 2:16 NKJV
We have the "cup of drunkeness".
“‘Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem’
— Zech. 12:2 NKJV
We have the "cup of the Lord" contrasted with the "cup of devils".
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons
— I Cor. 10:21 NKJV
As Christians, we are warned not to abuse the "cup of hte Lord"
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord
— I Cor. 11:27 NKJV
We have the "cup of His indignation".
He himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb
—Rev. 14:10 NKJV
We have the "cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath".
Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath
—Rev. 14:10 NKJV
The reference in Psalm 116:13 is taking in hand the "cup of salvation". The psalmist has already received his deliverance from death; and thus, when he speaks of taking a "cup" into his hand, he is referrring to the Drink (libation) Offering).
And its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hin for each lamb; in a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the LORD as an offering.
— Num 28:7 NKJV
The first Scriptural reference to someone bringing the Drink Offeringto Yahweh was when Yahweh appeared to Jacob as God Almighty (Heb. El Shaddai), the All Sufficient God and He (Yahweh Elohim of Israel) has renewed the Covenant with Jacob that He had made with Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:1-4) confirmed to Isaac (cf. Gen. 17:19-21), and to Jacob (cf. Gen. 28:10-14).
And God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.’ Also God said to him: ‘I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.’ So He called his name Israel
— Gen. 35:11-13 NKJV
Jacob expressed his appreciation to God by setting up “a pillar of stone” and pouring out a “Drink Offering” to God; and he “poured oil on it”.
Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.
— Gen. 35:13-14 NKJV
The Drink Offering is not mentioned among the Levitical Offerings: Burnt Offering (cf. Lev. 1:1-17; 6:18-13), the Meal (Grain) Offering (cf. Lev. 2:21-16; 6:14-23), the Peace Offering (cf. Lev. 3:1-17; 7:11-38 ), the Sin Offering (cf. Lev. 4:1-35; 6:25-30), and the Trespass Offering (cf. Lev. 5:14-6:7; 7:1-10).
“a pillar of stone. A customary covenant witness. A drink offering consisted of wine poured on the pillar (cf. Num. 15:5, 7)”
— Charles C. Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible (1995) p61
Under divine instruction, Moses first included the Drink Offering in Levitical Offerings as a part of the Law of Continual Daily Sacrifices.
Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. With the one lamb shall be one-tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering. And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.
— Ex 29:38-42 NKJV
In the Law they used to make a banquet when they gave solemn thanks to God, and to take the cup and drink in sign of thanksgiving
— Geneva Bible Notes Psamlm 116:13 (1599)
It would now appear that the Pilgrim-Psalmist has now reached Jerusalem or he is drawing near to it. When Moses was given divine instructions regarding the Altar of Incense, the Levitical Priests were forbidden to offer anything on this altar but the divinely prescribed incense. The Drink Offering was specifically included in these instructions.
You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it
— Ex. 30:9 NKJV
The Altar of Incense typified Christ as our intercessor (cf. Lev. 30:1-10 with John 17:1-26; Heb. 7:25). As our High Priest, it is through the resurrected glorified Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, that our worship and praise is presented to the Father (cf. Heb. 3:1; 4:14 with 13:15). Our prayers of adoration, praise, thanksgiving, intercession, and petition must pass through Christ’s High Priestly Office; and thus, receive His stamp of approval as He presents them to the Father (cf. John 14:13-14; 15:7, 16; 16:9, 23-24, 26, 30 with Heb. 4:14-16). When we are filled with the Spirit (cf. Eph. 5:18), as our internal intercessor (cf. Eph. 2:18), the Spirit guides us (cf. Rom. 8:14), and helps us with our prayers (cf. Rom. 8:26-27). Thus, we can pray in accord with the Father’s directive will (cf. I John 5:14-15). When the Levite Priest poured the Drink Offering upon the continual daily sacrifices, they typified the Christian believer-priest offering his continual sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Father, by means of Christ, and through the power and guidance of the Spirit.
Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you
— I Thess. 5:17-18
I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the Lord
— Ps. 116:13 NASV
“‘And call upon the name of the Lord’ invocation of the name of the Lord takes in all worship and service to Him, public and private, external and internal; and particularly prayer, which is calling upon the name of the Lord in the name of Christ, with faith and fervency, in sincerity and truth: and the sense of the Psalmist is , is that he would not only give thanks for the mercies he received, but continue to pray to God for more; and this was all of the return he was capable of making” (John Gill, Expostion of the old Testament Vol. II (1853 p324). The Pilgrim-Psalmist invoked Yahweh's name with a desire not only to be thankful for all of the grace, mercy, and peace that Yahweh Elohim has given to him; but also from a desire to receive more of the same blessings from his personal God. Under severe trials and tests of undeserved suffering, He had learned that the only return that Yahweh desired was true thanksgiving and a desire to ask Him for more grace benefits.
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
— Ex. 15:11 KJV
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”
— Deut. 33:22 KJV
The magnificent truth is that the only way we have of discharging our debts to our personal Redeemer-God is personal love for Him and through the worship of Him in which we express our adoration, our praise, and our thanksgiving. Believers ask the question, “What about service to Him?” The answer is simple, true service to God is the direct result of true love for God. The primary issue is not the service; but the motivational love behind it.
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God
— Rom. 12:1,2 KJV
Salvation is not God’s ultimate goal for the believer! Salvation is simply phase-1 of the Christian life (cf. John 3:1-7). Phase-2 is the Christian way of life from salvation until physical death or the Rapture of the Redeemed Universal Church (cf. II Cor. 5:1-8 with I Thess. 4:13-18). The Father’s grace plan for Phase-2 (the Christian Life in Time) is for the believer to be consistently filled with the Spirit (cf. Eph. 5:18) and to develop spiritual maturity through the daily study of the Word of God (cf. II Pet. 3:18 with Ps. 42:1, 2; Prov. 8:32-36). The spiritually mature believer manifests maturity through utilizing Bible Doctrine as his consistent standard for making decisions on a daily basis (cf. Matt. 4:4; Lu. 4:4). The Bible Doctrinal theme for Romans 12 is the introduction to the spiritually mature believer’s interim life in the temporal material world through the utilization of the Father’s Royal Family Honor Code. At the moment of salvation, each believer became the Father’s spiritual child (cf. John 1:12; I John 3:1). In the Dispensation of the Grace of God the Father (cf. Eph. 3:1-12), at the moment, a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior (cf. John 3:16-18; Acts 16:30-31 with Eph. 2:8-9), the Father gives them a human spirit (cf. Rom. 8:16), places His seed in it (cf. I John 3:9), the Spirit regenerates the human spirit (cf. John 3:3-7), the believer immediately receives a complete Salvation Grace Blessings Package (cf. Eph. 1:3), and this grace blessings package includes becoming a member of the Father’s Heavenly Royal Family (cf. Eph. 2:6; 3:14-15). The Pilgrim-Psalmist was a spiritually mature believer in the Dispensation of the Hebrews [from the circumcision of Abraham (cf. Gen. 17:1-14) to Pentecost (cf. Acts 1:8-9 with 2:1-47). His personal testimony Psalm of Praise contains Practical Bible Doctrinal information that allows the spiritually mature believer to recognize the need to maintain a daily attitude of worship through expressing adoration, praise, and thanksgiving to God (cf. II Tim. 3:16-17 with 2:15); and the believer manifesting the Royal Family Honor Code toward other believers (cf. Rom. 12:1-15:33). (Psalm 116 continued) .