Points of Interest - Psalm 116

I. Call to Worship: Psalm 65:1-4 

II. Offering passage: I Cor. 16:1,2 

III. Scripture references: 
A. Psalm 66:18 - "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear." 

B. Is. 59:2 – “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” 

C. Phil 1:22-24 – “But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” 

IV. Quotes: 
A. Commentator paraphrasing our psalmist - ‘in my moment of crisis, I discovered I was a believer, a real believer, not just a nominal churchgoer and that faith I discover enabled me to verbalise my distraught emotions, not just to myself, but to God. I told Him exactly how I felt … in that situation, there was only one thing I could be with God, and that is 
honest, brutally honest … I tell you that I never realised it was possible to feel so much devotion to God until the day I realised He paid attention to me, deliberately turning his ear to my prayer. I love the LORD for He heard my voice’ 

B. Spurgeon - ‘personal love fostered by a personal experience of redemption is the theme of this psalm, and in it we see the redeemed answered when they pray, persevered in time of trouble, resting in their God, walking at large, sensible of their obligations, conscious that they are not their own but bought with a price, and joining all the ransomed company to sing hallelujahs unto God’ 

V. Homework 
A. Take an A4 and write at the top: “I love the LORD because …:” and just start listing away