Psalm 116: Christ and the Cup of Salvation

Christ and the Cup of Salvation

Psalm 116 

Establish the need: Have you ever hear people mock with “Where, now, is their God?”

Purpose: When we see others mock where is God we must continue to trust in God for two reasons:

• Response to God (v.1-2)
  • The Messiah’s lowly experience (v.3-8)
  • The Messiah’s future hope (v.9-15)
• Response to God (v.16-19)

 

Reminder:

• The last twenty four hours Jesus sang according to Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26.[1]
• This would have been Psalms 113-118.
• That is because the Jews sang Psalms 113-118 during the Passover.
• Psalms 113-118 was called the “Hallel” Psalms.[2]
• The Jews sang Psalm 113-114 before the Passover meal and afterwards they sang Psalm 115-118.[3]
  These songs would have been the Scriptures that Jesus have thought about as He was the worship leader for the Passover meal that was His Last Supper with His followers before He would be crucified the next day.
• Yet these would minister to Him and therefore also minister to us!

The Hallel Psalms broken down:[4]

 

Corporate Psalms                                            Personal

Praise                     113                                         116

Call to Nations     114                                           117

Praise                     115                                         118

 

Psalms 113-115 never uses “I, me, my.”[5]

But Psalms 116-118 uses “I, me, my” 72 times.[6]

Thus we are going to begin to see salvation described in very personal terms

Also the Psalm applies to all Christians but is especially relevant for Christ as He read and sang it.[7]

 

The Messiah’s lowly experience (3-8)

1. Passage: “The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!” 5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. 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 rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling.”
2. Proof
   1. A life threatening situation: “The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me” (v.3a-b)
      1. There’s a danger of death.
      2. There’s a danger of Sheol, which often can mean death, grave or even an afterlife underworld.
   2. The individual’s reaction:
      1. Immediate reaction: “I found distress and sorrow.” (3c)
      2. Deeper reaction is one of trusting in God and crying out to Him for help: “Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I beseech You, save my life!” (4)
         1. Like Psalm 113 and Psalm 115 there is the mention of the importance of God’s name.[8]
         2. Now we see the name of God is important for deliverance!
   3. A focus on God’s character: “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate” (v.5)
      1. Three characteristics: “Gracious . . . righteous . . . compassionate”[9]
         1. Gracious” = dispensing unmerited favor. This corresponds to “my supplications” (v. 1), which are literally “my pleas for grace.”
         2. “Righteous” = acting with justice and rightness in full accord with divine standards (in other words, above and beyond mere human standards) in keeping His covenant.
         3. “Compassionate” = being merciful out of love.
      2. These characteristic of God is also at display during the Exodus and here its as if there’s another Exodus taking place.
   4. The kind of person that God saves: “The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me” (v.6)
      1. The Hebrew word for “simple” is usually seen negatively and has the idea of a “naïve” individual, who is ignorant or easily seduced. [10]
      2. Yet God saves those who see their weakness.
   5. Result 1: Spiritual rest: “Return to your rest, O my soul, For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you” (v.7)
      1. This is not talking about physical rest since in verse 9 it talks about the person walking.
      2. Rather it is best to see it as spiritual rest for the soul.
      3. The spiritual rest is given bountifully by God: “For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you”
   6. Result 2: Rescued in three areas (v.8) [11]
      1. “8 For You have rescued my soul from death” (8)
      2. “My eyes from tears” (8): Sorrow and/or fear caused the psalmist to weep.
      3. “My feet from stumbling” (8): In Psalm 56:13 (the only other use in the Old Testament of this word for “stumbling”) David uses the same imagery when describing the way the Lord preserved his life from the Philistines at Gath.
   7. For Jesus singing at the last Supper this would have meant a lot to Him.
      1. Jesus’ life would be threatened.
      2. Jesus likewise would have hope of true rest that followed after His death.
3. Practice
   1. Do you turn to God in trials?
   2. Do you realize Jesus has experienced the above? Let His example encourage us too if we trust in God for salvation!

 

 

The Messiah’s future hope (9-15)

1. Passage: “I shall walk before the Lord In the land of the living. 10 I believed when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.” 11 I said in my alarm, “All men are liars.” 12 What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? 13 I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the Lord. 14 I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones.”
2. Proof
   1. Despite the terrible situation earlier notice the reversal: “I shall walk before the Lord In the land of the living.” (v.9)
      1. There is a signal of change of mood with this verse.[12]
      2. Whereas verse 3 we see the guy is about to die now he is living!
   2. The speaker’s reflection of the past trial: “I believed when I said, “I am greatly afflicted.” 11 I said in my alarm, “All men are liars” (v.10-11)
      1. This shows the trial faced was real because he can confess “I am greatly afflicted” (10)
      2. The person also learned about the dark side of human nature as a result of his trial: “All men are liars” (11)
   3. A question: “What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me?” (v.12)
      1. The benefits from God obviously is life despite the risk of Shoel and death.
      2. Notice God saves first before we respond with obligation out of gratitude.
   4. Our need to call upon the name of the Lord: “I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the Lord.” (v.13)
      1. The Cup of Salvation is referred only here in the whole Bible.
      2. We see here salvation has the imagery of a cup being used.
      3. Salvation though is important as later Psalm 118 would use the same word for salvation here.
      4. What does lifting up the cup of salvation mean for us? The second line clarify that it means calling upon the name of the Lord.
   5. Our response to God is to show love and commitment to Him:: “I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.” (v.14)
   6. Again God cares for us: “Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones” (v.15)
   7. For Jesus singing at the last Supper this would have meant a lot to Him.
      1. There’s encouragement here in this section is one of life after death!
      2. There can be no cup of salvation if it wasn’t for the work of Jesus.
      3. The Cup of Salvation would have taken special deep meaning for Jesus when He read this verse during the Last Supper and when He said: “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22:20)
      4. How did Jesus know it was the Father’s Will for Him to die? Remember Jesus’ prayer the night before about “the cup?” “saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Yet the Word says believers will lift up the cup of salvation and that can only happen with Jesus dying on the Cross!
3. Practice
   1. Do you appreciate the cost of having the cup of Salvation? It involves the death of Jesus.
   2. Do you love God back for saving us from our sins and saving us from hell?
   3. Have you trusted in God and Christ for salvation?

 

 

Response to God (1-2, 16-19)

1. Love the Lord: “I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications. 2 Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.” (1-2)
2. Serve God: “O Lord, surely I am Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds” (16)
3. Offer thanksgiving: “To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the Lord.” (17)
4. Give to God: “shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people” (18)
5. Praise God: “In the courts of the Lord’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!” (19)

 

[1] Phillip Ross, Anthems for A Dying Lamb, (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus), 3-4.

[2] Source: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_113.pdf.

[3] Source: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_113.pdf.

[4] Phillip Ross, Anthems for A Dying Lamb, (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus), 11.

[5] Phillip Ross, Anthems for A Dying Lamb, (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus), 11.

[6] Phillip Ross, Anthems for A Dying Lamb, (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus), 11.

[7] Source: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_116.pdf.

[8] Phillip Ross, Anthems for A Dying Lamb, (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus), 102.

[9] What follows below in from: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_116.pdf.

[10] Source: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_116.pdf.

[11] What follows below in from: https://drbarrick.org/files/studynotes/Psalms/Ps_116.pdf.

[12] Phillip Ross, Anthems for A Dying Lamb, (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus), 104-105.