Good Counsel for Every Day of Our Lives

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms

January 18, 2023

Good Counsel for Every Day of Our Lives

“Precious in the sight of the Lord

   is the death of his faithful ones.”

Psalm 116:15 (NRSV)

When I was serving as a pastor, I often included Psalm 116 in funerals and memorial services. As I noted in my mediation for Psalm 115, God is not limited to just our mortal lives to fulfill His promises. From God’s eternal perspective, through our mortal death, He gives us rest from our sufferings, our labor and for some, the weariness of long lives. Eternal life is life uninterrupted by death:

“Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.

 O death, where is your victory?

    O death, where is your sting?”

1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Psalm 116 is also a psalm for the living. The psalmist had a near death encounter and is giving thanks to God for saving his life. However, all Christians have had a near death encounter. Apart from Jesus we were near death, “For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).

The Apostle Paul concludes 1 Corinthians 15, his great proclamation of the victory won by Jesus over sin and death, with a call to “be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The writer of Psalm 116 includes this same theme through four “I will” statements:

“I will lift up the cup of salvation

    and praise the Lord’s name for saving me.

I will keep my promises to the Lord

    in the presence of all his people.

I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving

    and call on the name of the Lord.

I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

    in the presence of all his people—“

Psalm 116:13-14, 17-18 

My Takeaway: I believe these four “I will” statements are good counsel for every day of our lives.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.