11-15-20 Sermon Notes “Give With A Thankful Heart”

Psalm 116 tells the story of a person who has been through a terrible ordeal. Whatever the ordeal was – probably a serious physical illness – God heard the cries of the psalmist, and God saved him or her. How serious was it? The psalmist was in “distress and anguish,” and thought he was about to die. The psalmist says it more poetically than that: “The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’” (vv. 3-4)
The psalmist expresses love for God for hearing his voice and for answering his prayer and delivering him from death. Even when things were at their worst, the psalmist kept his faith in God (v. 10) and despite the attitudes of people around him (v. 11). (It sort of reminds me of how Job’s wife said, “Why don’t you just curse God and die?”) But the psalmist held on. And the Lord “dealt bountifully” with him. Whew!
Now the Psalmist asks a question that many of us don’t ask when we are blessed enough to make it through a rough patch: “What can I give back to you, God?” The passage we will read this Sunday is vv. 12-19…
What shall I return to the LORD
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
14 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
16 O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD! (Ps. 116: 12-19 NRSV)
What the psalmist describes in these verses is a “Thank Offering.” It is sometimes called a “Sacrifice of Thanksgiving” in the Old Testament. It was different from other offerings. It wasn’t an offering to atone for sins, or any “required” sacrifice as is described in places like the Book of Leviticus. It was given by free will…just as a way to say, “Thank you, God, for your bounteous blessings to me! Thank you for helping me through a difficult time!”

God has blessed us in so many ways! What can we give to God? We will talk about some of those things this coming Sunday, and you are invited to join us online or in-person for worship.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Sam