All right, please turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 116. Psalm 116. Very appropriate Psalm for those of us who've flown 3,700 kilometers across Southern Africa. Psalm 116, the entire Psalm. I commence the reading beginning at verse one. I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy, because he has inclined his ear to me. Therefore, I will call on him as long as I live. 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, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord and righteous our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple. When I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed when I spoke. I am greatly afflicted. I said in my alarm, all mankind are liars. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst. Oh, Jerusalem, praise the Lord. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord our God abides forever. I'm grateful for this university and the community that we have. Our community around us should receive a blessing from the work that we do here, whether it's in Lubor or in all of Uganda. But how do we become that kind of a community that can have an impact of blessing, of mercy and of grace? The truth here in this psalm is that there's a critical lesson for each of us as individuals that we have to learn in order to become a community. in order to serve the community that bears the name of Christ. And the key lesson here as individuals that develop community is gratitude for the grace of God. The psalm we have in front of us shows us how someone learned that lesson in gratitude and as a result, extended that gratitude and that grace and mercy to the community. First and foremost, the psalmist shows us directly the lesson, straightforward, that he learned. And this shows us how to understand the rest of the psalm. The first section, I call it the lesson of grace, the lesson of grace. Verses one and two, I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy, because he inclined his ear to me, and therefore I will call on him as long as I live. Gratitude becomes part of your life when you realize and know for certain that you have experienced mercy from God. Now, mercy can be extended by anyone, but when there is no reason to give that mercy other than love, we call it grace. God owes us nothing. And when we realize that you and I have been rescued by him, our response is radically changed. When you have an encounter with the grace of God, it changes the way you think and the way you act. What normally would be impossible to forgive is forgiven. And when you experience that, you begin a life of grace. And this is what the Psalm wants to teach us. If you know the grace of God in the very center of your soul, then all of your energy focuses on that truth and develops more things to be extended to grace to others from that truth. If he has truly called upon you, then you will certainly call upon him. But how do we manage to listen? What do we need in order to pay attention? What does the Holy Spirit use to get that attention so that we see, know, the grace of God. The spirit needs to be at work. What does the spirit use to communicate? Well, in this case, and often in the cases of any believer, he uses a crisis, a test of faith. And he uses that to get our attention and to clearly communicate to us how desperate you and I are for mercy. And this is why we have the next section, which I call the experience of grace, verses three and four. The snares of death encompassed me. The pangs of Sheol laid hold upon me. I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called upon the name of the Lord. O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul. And what's his response? Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Our God is merciful. You see, death and the fear of death will get our attention like any other. that's the best teacher probably you will ever have. Sickness and pain cause us to focus on our need for change. The wonderful thing about being sick is that you have more time to think. And often our thoughts become angry. We realize how angry we are at other people, at the world, at ourselves. We realize how many things are not in our control. And very often for people, their response is anger. So many of the decisions that we want to make in life depend on someone else, someone who's unreliable, someone who is untrustworthy. But God is faithful to us and that he puts us in a place where we can truly focus and look on his character. That's what should be happening. Yes, you might realize when you've been set aside and to be made quiet for a while that, wow, I'm an angry person. But if the Holy Spirit is at work, it should refocus your thinking, okay, there's so little that I have control over. What can I do about my own thinking, knowing about the sovereignty of God? Well, in this particular case, the psalmist says, gracious is the Lord. Yes, I'm sick. Yes, I'm annoyed and angry at other people, but wow, look at how good God has been to me. In distress, someone can stay miserable and choose to think about what has happened, but it's far better to think about the truth that God can rescue us in any and every situation. That is His grace to us also to give us a fresh perspective, to look at our circumstances differently. And also, at the same time as the psalmist does here, to know that God is righteous. That is, he will act consistent with his covenant commitment to us. He has promised to be our God, regardless of the circumstances that we face. He wants us to realize this as clearly as is possible with our human limits and understanding. And that's why he's going to use a crisis to get our attention. This is not a cruelty. This is a kindness. What did God do in your life to get your attention, to get you to look to him, to grow your faith and to develop it? Indeed, he is merciful. This is why I call the next section the walk of grace. Once you realize this, you need to be walking in grace. Verses six and seven. The Lord preserves the simple. When I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully, generously with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling." And what's his response? What's his reaction? I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. He preserves the simple. What does he mean by simple? It has several meanings, both the Old and New Testament. Here in the Psalm, I believe what he's referring to is the simple person who speaks directly, in a very direct manner. You don't need to guess what he or she is thinking. Their yes is yes, and their no is no. They don't need to think too hard about something. They think simple and direct. This is right, this is wrong, that's it. Like we say about the bachiga, right? We were quoting a bachiga proverb yesterday, right? Ah, the man is a thief, direct, you know? I often tell my friends, I married a bachiga. She's straight. She will tell you. It's good to be direct and simple. And here the psalmist in crisis, he says, Lord, I am naked before you. You know who I am. I need you. I need a rescue. I'm not going to play games with you. I'm going to speak clearly. There's no hidden agenda. The Lord knows you and I clearly. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. And that's why you can be so direct and straightforward and simple with your master, with your creator. Once you know that, You and I are called to encourage the soul to be at rest and peace for the covenant relationship is not just about surviving death, but it's living life in fullness in a way that he has called us to. This is just not stopping the crying, the suffering, the pain, but an encouragement to faith. and to move strongly in the path that he's chosen for you. Notice here that he did not just survive the experience, but the Lord kept his feet from stumbling. That is, the Lord strengthened his faith. He didn't almost lose his faith. He became stronger spiritually as the result of the experience. For a believer, a crisis isn't just something you survive, like you jump in the water and you almost drown and you come up desperately for air. No, in that struggle, your strength, your faith is strengthened. You're changed by it. That's a big difference between an unbeliever and a believer. Children of the covenant who experience this have an opportunity to learn and to be changed by it. That's why we choose to walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I'm in the presence of God as I walk, but I'm doing so in community with my fellow human beings. And they will see my faith. They will see my trust in the grace and the righteousness and the mercy of God. The Lord has a purpose for you in learning and growing through experience. And by it, you will know greater faithfulness. This is why we have the next verses, the point of grace. the point of grace, verses 10 and 11. I believed even when I spoke, I am greatly afflicted. I said in my alarm, all mankind are liars. See, here in the midst of his crisis, he's honest. This is my brain. This is what I was thinking when I was going through this. Here is the crisis where his feet could have stumbled, where his faith could have been destroyed. While he was sick, he was angry, he was frustrated. He didn't hide his suffering before the Lord, but instead he confessed and said that he was in serious trouble. This was far more than the fear of death. He's also confessing the misery of life. On top of his own physical suffering, he feels the great weight of emotional suffering and tiredness in dealing with his fellow human beings. Don't you get tired of being lied to? There are days when we get sick, we wake up, we're very tired for all the work, and we say, Dear Lord, I am tired. Everyone around me is a liar. Who can I trust? I'm sick of this life. When death has come very near, he realizes in that moment, it becomes so clear to him that he's a bitter, angry person. And in that intense moment, he no longer trusts anyone. For all men are liars, and that threat of death removes any pretense, meaning it removes any language of being fake. It becomes simple and straightforward. God, I'm an angry, bitter person. I don't trust anyone. I do not know how to participate in this covenant community you placed me into. See what's happening here? He's beginning to wake up and where he's truly at spiritually. The French philosopher Voltaire, on his deathbed, said that he was abandoned by both God and man. That is, in his greatest crisis, where he should have been calling on the name of the Lord, all he could think about was his great suffering and failure to create community and lack of love for his fellow human being. He died totally alone. How sad. He didn't know how alone he was until at the moment before he died. how terrible and ugly his existence had become. The young lady who took care of him in the weeks before his death, watching him die without faith actually encouraged her to become a Christian. She became a Christian as a result of taking care of him. My friend, for us, this is the last place where we want to wind up. I'm abandoned by both God and man. Nope. We must know the grace of God. We must know forgiveness. We must know mercy. We must know love. So the response then is grace. And this is what I call it, the response to grace. Verses 12 and 13. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. If you have truly experienced the grace of God in your life, then you know what it means to be truly alive. Bitterness and disappointment no longer have a hold on you. For now, you are free to act and respond to the great gift of life, forgiveness that is in Christ. Now, of course, it's natural to think that after this great gift, we would want to do something in return in order to respond. But that's not the first response that he has here, for he lifts up the cup of salvation. What does he mean by that? What is actually doing? He's lifting up an empty cup to the Lord. Yes, that means in actual humility, he is asking the Lord for more. More, you say? How can he do this when he's been given such a great and wonderful and mighty gift? What overwhelming power has given you life when you deserve death? It is the ultimate humbling experience. Then you know how great your sin and misery is. You know how much more of grace and mercy of God you need in your life to know, I need more love. I need more perspective. I need more from you, O God. Because now I know who I really am. It's not an act of arrogance or pride. It's saying, Lord, now I see the mess that I'm in. Please show me more. Grow my faith. Strengthen me. Make me different. When an overwhelming power has given you life, when you deserve death, it's amazing. What can you do? What can you give back to the creator and redeemer of the world? Nothing but an open and a humble heart. If we are repenting from anger and bitterness of life, we need to keep coming to the Savior again and again, asking for faith and strength to keep forgiving others and working for His kingdom. This is what creates community. This is why now we can make a vow to the Lord in the presence of all His people. Who would dare make a vow before the Lord when everyone is a liar? including you and me. But in humility, you and I can make this vow, because God is faithful to grow to sustain his people and guide them into faith and greater faithfulness. Our life then has a God-given purpose. This is why we have the next verses, which I call the purpose of grace. Verses 15 and 16. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, I am your servant. I am your servant to the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds. At first, it may seem like these verses don't belong here. Why are we talking about death? But they're a perfect lesson and a purpose learned in grace. Remember earlier that when confronted with death, this psalmist realized he hated life because he had no trust in his community. Life had no meaning and purpose when there is no love and trust. But now that life has new meaning because of a love for God and a purpose for his kingdom and grace, every moment is a gift. Life can be lived for its purpose, even to the point of death itself. Even death can have a perfect purpose for the believer. Now, death no longer becomes a source of anger and frustration, but it's the place of freedom. You see, when we stay angry at people and the things we cannot control, we become a slave to that emotion, that power. Through the grace of forgiveness, we are free to serve the purpose that God has for us, whether in living or in dying. And this is what the Apostle Paul had learned in Philippians chapter 1. I'll read a few verses from Philippians chapter one where Paul knows this in power. Verse 20 to 23. I begin the reading. Paul says, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not at all be ashamed, but that with full courage now, as always, Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. For if I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I will choose, I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better. But if I stay here, that is benefit for you." Notice his response. He says, living or dying, it's all for the glory of God. I have nothing to fear. I'm totally free to move forward wherever God takes me. This is the response of grace, which I think we find in verses 17 through 19, where the psalmist says, I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Notice, he said that twice now. In the courts of the house of the Lord in your midst, O Jerusalem, praise the Lord. If you truly have the grace of God in Christ, then our only response is thanksgiving. All other forms of faithfulness and purpose in Christ's kingdom flow from this. If you get a chance, I would strongly encourage you to read and study the Heidelberg Catechism because the last section of the catechism is called of thankfulness. We know our sin and misery. We know what salvation is. We know what we're taught in the Apostles' Creed, in the Ten Commandments, and in the Lord's Prayer. These things are flowing from thankfulness, flowing as a result of this. Thankfulness is not a specific experience, but it's a state of mind, it's a mentality, it's the way you think because of the true state of the soul. Your soul calls on the name of the Lord for purpose and direction because you love him, even to the point of making a promise, a vow to commit to service and work for the kingdom community. Not for yourself. You see, when frustration and anger begin to take hold of you, and you now have the power to say, no, I am tempted to be bitter and angry, but no, my business now is to offer my life as a sacrifice of thanksgiving for the kingdom community. I will choose to forgive. I will choose to love. You now must choose to settle your differences with your fellow students, with your fellow neighbor. people in your own family. You must choose to work together so that the community benefits from the grace of God that you have received. And this is what leads the community into worship. That's what these final verses are all about. Out of the result of grace, out of the result of thanksgiving in your heart, what moves you is to glorify and praise the name of God. That is the most natural response of the change. Notice that in the presence of all God's people, we bring our thanksgiving in the courts of His house. That is the very place of worship where we all bow down and offer ourselves fully. For we wholly lift up as a community our cup before the Lord and say, Lord, give us more grace. Thankfulness then is the starting place of worship. For we humble offer everything that we are to the Lord who brought us here and brought us to himself." Every crisis then has an opportunity. Either it will crush you and cause you to hate life and others, or give you a greater love for God and to grow in grace. Bitterness will not only destroy you, But the church that you've been placed into, and the church and the community, we are extending grace in the life of others. Therefore, our test in crisis, our test in faithfulness is to grow in grace. By extending grace to others in our church family, in our community, they will know that the grace and the mercy of God are powerful and real. That's what the Lord Jesus was saying in the Sermon on the Mount. Shine your light before others. I conclude with Ephesians two, eight through 10. For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Amen? Let's love our community. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the grace and mercy that is ours in Christ. We do not deserve it. Every single one of us has a crisis in our life of bitterness and of anger, and it's so easy to hate our community, to hate our fellow man. But because you have poured into us through your Holy Spirit, love and grace, help us to live it, help us to know it. In spite of all of these crises and these temptations, help us to grow in forgiveness and love for our fellow man, especially for the household of faith. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.