Calling Upon the Name of the Lord

Calling Upon the Name of the Lord

What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.

Psalm 116:12, 13

Bad habits are good to break. Good habits are good to keep. Yesterday, we considered our text from a purely evangelistic perspective. We laid emphasis upon the second phrase of the verse in a primarily Gospel way. Today, we are going to look at it as the logical continuation of that which we have begun. We initially, ‘call upon the Name of the Lord,’ for salvation. We cry out, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ Having received the answer to that heart-cry, we become the children of God. We are now ‘heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.’  We are now members of the Royal Family. God is our Father and Christ our Elder Brother. We are therefore, as the children of God, free to ‘call upon the Name of the Lord.’ As we consider what we may ‘Render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward us,’ we may consider that nothing thrills the heart of a parent more than the child who desires fellowship and communion. How delightful it is when our children want to spend time with us; when they show the desire to be where dad is and see what he is doing. Surely it rejoices the Heart of God when His children show interest in His Person and not just in the things that He can do for them. In return for ‘all the benefits’ which God has bestowed upon us, is it not most appropriate that we should ‘call upon the Name of the Lord’ for fellowship and communion? Will this not draw us closer each day to the Father, Who loves us, and the Christ, Who has saved us?

Our Gracious and Loving Father,
we delight in our fellowship and communion with You.
We desire each day to commune with You more consistently,
and to fellowship with You more deeply, until we feel the very heartbeat of God.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning