WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT GOD
Psalms 116:1-2, 5-9 NKJV
1 I love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.
How do you talk when you talk about God? And talking about God is a good thing. You are not changing Him, but you are setting up in your own heart and mind who He is and who He is to you.
Our psalm for today does not list an author. It sounds like David, but then again, the Holy Spirit is the One providing the inspiration, so all of the psalms will sound similar in tone. I love how this psalm helps form a framework for how we are to talk about the Lord.
I love the Lord. We can stop there and be good, it is good to talk about our love for the Lord. I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my supplication. Other translations say He has heard my voice and my appeal for mercy. What a good thing that God hears our voice. He is not deaf. He is not ignoring me. This is something we can say about our God. He hears us and is listening for us. We don't normally say someone inclines their ear, but we can say, as the CSB says, "he has turned his ear to me." Aren't you glad God has not turned away but is turned toward us? So, we can say, I will call on the Lord as long as I live.
Here are more great things to say about God. My God is gracious and righteous. He is right about everything, regardless of what I see or feel. My God is compassionate. And my God protects those who are simple. Don't let simple throw you. Simple means inexperienced and lacking insight. I don't know about you, but I face things every day lacking insight and needing the Lord's protection. Often from myself. So, we can say the Lord is guarding me and helping me, especially when I don't know what to do.
I was brought low, and He saved me. Another version reads, "I was helpless, and He saved me." So, we can say, when I feel helpless, He is there for me. He never abandons me; He saves me.
And I love verse seven. We can take this verse and use it to speak peace to our souls. Speaking to our souls, our emotions, and our mental state, we can say, return to your rest soul. Be at peace soul and emotions, because the Lord has dealt bountifully with me. Be at peace, for the Lord has been good to me. Saying these things will help much more than you think. This is taking the powerful living word of God and applying it as we would medicine to our lives.
We can say that You, Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. What great things to say about God. More than simply saying praise the Lord, which is fine, speaking from the framework of these verses magnifies the Lord in our lives and makes who He is more of a reality to us. Again, this does not change God, but it does begin to shape or reshape our image of Him.
And I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Down here on earth, I am living my life with the Lord in mind. I live for Him, learning to walk as He walked. I am not alone; I walk before the Lord.
APPLICATION
Years ago, I sensed the Lord impressing me to talk as David talked. David, speaking from inspiration, gave us words to talk by and words to live by. To apply this, take this psalm or any psalm that speaks to you and begin to talk this way about God. He truly has dealt bountifully with us!