Why I Love Him

Why I love Him

“I love the Lord because He has heard my voice and my supplications..." Psalm 116

In one of the most beautiful psalms, the writer lists a number of reasons for his love of God. He loves the God who listens to him; he knows that God will always hear him. The psalmist loves God because He delivered him from trouble, sorrow and death. In addition, he prayed for his soul’s salvation and received it from a gracious, righteous, merciful God. Now he knows that he will have the gift of eternal life. Physical death is not fearsome; it simply brings the dying saint closest to God.

The Lord also raised him up when he was downtrodden, and restored his peace. His tears have been dried and he no longer falls in his Christian walk. The psalmist is clearly fascinated with God’s treatment of him. What is also remarkable about this psalm is the psalmist’s response to how God treats him: He asks himself “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me?” And he probably realized that he can really give God very little in comparison to what God has already given him.

But he still gives an answer – he will gratefully accept God’s gift of salvation and continue working on his relationship with God. He will always offer thanksgiving and praise and remain in close touch with God through prayer and obedience. As he puts it “I will pay my vows unto the Lord”, and he will do this for all to see that he trusts God and walks with Him. We should not be surprised that the psalm ends by encouraging readers to praise God.

Some of our reasons for loving God are the same as some of the psalmist’s. He certainly didn’t list all, and there must be some personal blessings that we can add to our list (if we think about it). It is also important that we too should ask ourselves the same question: What shall I render unto the lord for all His benefits toward me?” Think about it and answer.

Al Jones