Skip to content Oasis of Praise: Living Thanksgiving from Psalms 116–118 Aug 12 · 14 min ...more
Oasis of Praise: Living Thanksgiving from Psalms 116–118
August 12, 2026 · 14 min
God's faithful rescue, the cup of salvation, and the call to pay vows in public as testimony that strengthens our faith.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand August 12, 2026 · 14 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
God's faithful rescue, the cup of salvation, and the call to pay vows in public as testimony that strengthens our faith. ...more Show the full description Show less God's faithful rescue, the cup of salvation, and the call to pay vows in public as testimony that strengthens our faith.
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Psalm 116: Personal Thanksgiving and Deliverance 0:10 Good morning and welcome once again to the Oasis of praise as our journey continues today. We're in Psalm 116 through 118. 3 great Psalms of praise and0:21 thanksgiving. Verse 24 of chapter 118. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Now we're in the midst of the Hillel Psalms. These are sung by the families on0:33 the night of the Passover. And now you might notice something different about Psalm 1 17. What is it? That happens to be the shortest Psalm, but it's also the middle chapter in the Bible and it contains a0:45 truth that is actually the hinge of the Old and New Covenants. We're going to look at that in a moment. All right, let's start with chapter 1 16, which is a song of personal Thanksgiving as the writer expresses his love0:56 for the Lord, recounting past distresses, reflecting upon his deliverances, then concluding with a resolve to praise the Lord yet again. Verse 1, I love the Lord because he1:08 has heard my voice and my supplications, because he has inclined his ear to me. Therefore, I will call upon him as long as I live. God's faithfulness to us should cause us1:20 to continue to look to him, and we must not forget God's faithfulness to us in the past. In fact, we should thank him so as to strengthen our faith for the current1:32 challenges that we face. I I thank the Lord regularly, almost every day, for the the church that I went into as a young boy. Never been to church1:44 before. Many of you have heard my story. And I went to a vacation Bible school at Grace Bible Presbyterian Church. And I thank God for the men who founded that and for the pastor who is still alive1:56 today, pastor Albert Cook. I I I'm grateful because had God not had I not been there, I would not have met God. And so he was faithful through his2:07 servants to bring me to a place of encountering him through his son, Jesus Christ. And so what it does when we when we're grateful to God think about this for a moment. This is theory,2:19 but I think based on scripture. If we express our gratitude to God, if we're if we're if we're eager to thank God for what he has done for us, I think he's gonna give us2:31 more reasons to be thankful. So if you want something to be thankful about, be thankful because God will give you even more to be grateful for. Verse 3. The pains of death surrounded me and the2:43 pains of Sheol laid hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord. Oh, Lord, I implore you, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes,2:55 our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple. I was brought low and he saved me. Return to your rest, oh my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.3:07 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed, therefore I spoke. I am greatly afflicted. I3:19 said in my haste, all men are liars. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me? Now remember the benefits of the Lord in chapter 1 0 3. Remember what they were? Forgiveness of sin, healing of3:31 spiritual afflictions, redemption from death, crowns he crowns us with loving kindness and mercy, with his compassion. He satisfies our needs. He renews3:42 our strength. Those are the benefits that God has extended to us. Verse 13, I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the the name of the Lord. The cup of salvation here is thought to3:54 be a reference to the drink offering or thanks offerings to the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all of his people. You know, we've seen this before and this is very important.4:06 Alright? Don't miss this. I will pay my vows in the presence of the people. I won't forget what God did and move on. I will publicly thank him in the presence4:18 of his people. Look at verse 17. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of4:30 all his people. In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of you, oh, Jerusalem, praise the Lord. Why is this important? It brings glory to God and it builds4:42 the faith of others by pointing them to the Lord. Now, as I mentioned, Psalm 1 17 is the shortest chapter in the Bible and it happens to be the middle chapter in the canon ofPsalm 117: Universal Call to Praise 4:54 scripture. It is a call to praise the Lord, and the reason for that praise is given. Verse 1. Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Laud him, all you peoples. For his merciful5:06 kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. The call is for all people, not just the Jewish people, not just the children of Israel,5:18 all people to praise the Lord with joyful celebration, that is what laud him means, joyful celebration, and give honor to him by speaking and declaring his greatness.5:31 That's what we're we're blessing his name. We're lauding him by by speaking and declaring his greatness. Now, Paul quotes this actual this short Psalm along with other Old5:43 Testament passages in Romans chapter 15 as he writes of Jewish and Gentile believers being united glorifying God together.5:55 That's the hinge bringing the 2 together. Alright. Psalm 1 18 is a Psalm of jubilant thanksgiving that was sung by worshipers in their procession to the temple. It was6:07 the last Psalm that Jesus sang at the last supper with his disciples. There are 3 parts to this Psalm. 1st part, verses 1 through 4, a present call to praise God.Psalm 118: Jubilant Praise and Victory 6:19 And the 2nd part, verses 5 through 21, a past calls to the Lord for deliverance. And then the 3rd is verses 22 through 29, future provisions of the Lord.6:31 Oh, give thanks to the lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say his mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the6:43 lord now say his mercy endures forever. Now, we saw a very similar structure or call in Psalm 1 15. 1st, a call to the nation, covenant people, then to the6:55 priest, and then to all people who fear the Lord. This has universal application to all who believe. Alright. Not just the the Jews, not just the Jewish7:07 people, not just the children of Israel in the time of its writing, but all who fear the Lord, not just those who accepted their ways and were a part of their community, even then, the the those who converted,7:19 but this is to all people who believe. Biblical scholars see Gentiles within those who fear the Lord, so this has application as I said. I mean, I find it interesting here, this is a point that that I saw7:32 in this pattern, the structure, that the political and civil leaders are not specifically identified in this list, but the priests are. Now, priests are.7:44 Now the absence is not explained in this text. Okay? So this is, the but it does what I'm about to say reflects a broader understanding from scripture. Government and culture are7:55 downstream from worship. If a nation or a people have the proper spiritual alignment with God, the political and the cultural will follow. Everything within a8:07 society flows from its view of God in that relationship with God. So that's why it was so important that the priest the priest were really the the the the responsible for8:19 the direction of the nation and the people. I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me?8:31 The Lord is for me among those who help me. Therefore, I shall see my desire on those who hate me. What a great encouragement. I was in a I was in distress. I called upon the Lord. He answered me and8:43 helped me. So what can man do to me? Verse 8, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men. It is better to trust in the lord than than to put confidence in princes.8:55 I tell you what, we can't be challenged with those words too often. We need to hear that. We need to repeat that over and over. It's better to trust in the lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in9:07 the lord than to put confidence in princes or government. Verse 10, all nations surrounded me, but in the name of the lord, I will destroy them. They surrounded me. Yes. They surrounded me, but in the name of the lord, I9:17 will destroy them. They surrounded me like bees. They were they they were quenched like a fire of thorns, for in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. You push me violently that I9:29 might fall, but the Lord helped me. The lord is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation. Notice, there is power and there is authority in what? In the name of the9:41 lord. The the lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. The stone which the wielder the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.9:54 This was the lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Now Jesus applied this to himself in Matthew chapter 21 verse 4. Jesus said to them, have you never read in the scriptures, the10:06 stone which your builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Verse 24. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be10:18 glad in it. This is a well known verse. Now some scholars interpret this as being applied to the time of the gospel dispensation that was made available by the rejection and then elevation10:30 of Jesus Christ. It could also be applied to the to the Christian Sabbath as a day appointed to celebration and rejoice in the fact that Jesus has been made that chief10:41 cornerstone. It is, it is good to remind ourselves of what God has done, and by that, rejoice and be glad. Verse 25, save now, I pray, oh Lord, oh10:53 Lord, I pray. Send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. These words were spoken of Jesus. You'llTestify: Share God's Word Impact 11:05 recall that blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Now the Psalmist closes as he began by praising the Lord. Look at verse 28. You are my God and I will praise you. You are my God11:17 and I will exalt Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. I mentioned this, yesterday. Today, or, actually, tomorrow, we begin11:29 Psalm 1 19. We're gonna be in there for a few days. Long chapter, longest chapter in the Bible. But this is a great time because the chapter 1 19 is all about the word of God. And I wanna challenge you11:40 to let others know what God's word has done in your life. So we're gonna provide an opportunity for you to to upload a 32nd video answering this statement, filling out the statement,11:52 god's word has changed my life because. What has god's word done in your life? And and we wanna share that with others. You can put it on your social media as well as sending it to us, but I'm gonna put some of12:04 them in our my daily devotional here so others can see what god's word has done in your life. And as the the psalmist, we see we've seen this multiple times. Not only do you wanna give thanks to god12:16 in our private time with him, but we wanna thank him before the whole congregation. We wanna thank God for what he has done through his word. So God's word has changed my life because so text12:28 Psalms to 67742. That's That's Psalms to 6 7 7 4 2, and I'll send you a link. And, and then you can upload your 32nd video, and we'll share it on our platforms. And and I would encourage12:40 you to do that as well. Share it on your platforms. Give testimony. Give testimony. Testify to what god has done through his word in your life. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you12:51 for the power of your word to transform lives, and and it is it is what sanctifies us. It's what keeps us from the evil 1. Lord, so I pray you would13:03 continue us on the on this journey through your word. May the Holy Spirit continue to open our eyes and our understanding of your word and how it applies to our lives in this world in which we live. And use us to reach13:15 others with the truth of your word. For we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Until next time, keep standing on the word.13:25 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at FRC dot org slash Bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:37 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Psalm 116: Personal Thanksgiving and Deliverance4:45 Psalm 117: Universal Call to Praise6:15 Psalm 118: Jubilant Praise and Victory11:00 Testify: Share God's Word Impact
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