Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 6 (6)
Pray Psalm 116.1-3.
I love the LORD, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
The pains of death surrounded me,
And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
Sing Psalm 116.1-3.
(Mit Freuden Zart: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above)
I love the LORD because He hears my cries and pleas for mercy.
Because He bends to me His ear, my prayers shall ever thus be.
The snares of death encompassed me; hell’s grip could not unloosened be;
distress and anguish pressed me.
Read Psalm 116.1-19; meditate on verses 12-14.
Preparation
1. What had God done for the psalmist?
2. How did he respond to this?
Meditation
The psalmist praised the LORD for hearing his prayer and for the many blessings of deliverance and salvation he had known (vv. 1-4). He knew the LORD to be gracious and righteous, merciful and strong, bringing salvation to those who look to Him out of their distress (vv. 5-7). To be saved is thus to have new life among others who are also saved (vv. 8-10), and though all the world may be liars (v. 12), yet God is true, and He is to be praised. To Him we commit ourselves as a sacrifice of thanksgiving every day (vv. 15-19).
“Cup” has a great deal of significance in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, all of which seems to be foretold in verses 12-14 of our psalm. There is the cup which we give in serving others (Matt. 10.42). Jesus railed at the hypocrites as cups that were outwardly clean but inwardly filthy (Matt. 23.25, 26). Clean cups is what God is seeking. Jesus gave Himself to us in the cup of communion (Matt. 26.27). And He accepted the cup of suffering from His Father (Matt. 26.42).
Jesus is all these cups, and in response to God’s abounding grace, the psalmist directs us to drink Jesus to the full, lifting our daily cups of salvation, sanctification, and service to honor and acknowledge Jesus as Lord and to invite others to join us in raising our cups together, that we all may be filled with the fullness of God (Eph. 3.19).
What can we possibly want than more of what we already have—more of Jesus and His power to make us more like Him!
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
We do love the LORD.
And because He has heard our voices and our supplications, because He has inclined His ear to us, to listen to us and care for us, we have been trained to call upon Him, always, daily—as long as we live (Ps. 116.1, 2).
All this bounty causes our cup to overflow with His goodness.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (Ps. 23.5).
His cup of remembrance leads us to our cup of service.
“I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the Name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD…” (Ps. 116.13, 14).
“Make vows to the LORD your God, and pay them;
let all who are around Him bring presents to Him
Who ought to be feared” (Ps. 76.11).
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood.
This do, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11.25).
And if the death of God’s saints is precious to Him (Ps. 116.15),
imagine how precious the death and sacrifice of His Own dear Son was to Him.
And for that we must be fearfully appreciative; and actively responsive.
Jesus’ gift to us came at a terrible cost to Him:
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
and by His stripes we are healed…
the LORD laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53.4-6).
“O LORD, truly I am Your servant…You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and will call upon the Name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD now…” (Ps. 116.16-18).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2.8-10; Ex. 20.1-17).
The Cup of Salvation is one to be cherished and used; remembered and used; washed and used—it is how we “drink Jesus to the full, lifting our daily cups of sanctification, service, and sacrifice to honor and acknowledge Jesus as Lord and to invite others to join us in raising our cups together, that we all may be filled with the fullness of God.”
Reflection
1. How will you drink from the cup of salvation today?
2. How will you drink from the cup of sanctification today?
3. How will you drink from the cup of service today?
I will take the cup of salvation; I will offer the drink-offerings appointed by the law, in token of thankfulness to God, and rejoice in God’s goodness to me. I will receive the cup of affliction; that cup, that bitter cup, which is sanctified to the saints, so that to them it is a cup of salvation; it is a means of spiritual health. The cup of consolation; I will receive the benefits God bestows upon me, as from his hand, and taste his love in them, as the portion not only of mine inheritance in the other world, but of my cup in this.Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 116
Pray Psalm 116.4-19.
Rejoice and give thanks for God and His salvation, for all the ways His grace reaches you each day, and for the strength to serve Him faithfully.
Sing Psalm 116.4-19.
(Mit Freuden Zart: All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above)
I called to God, “O LORD, I pray, my soul redeem with favor!”
The LORD is gracious in His way, and righteous is our Savior.
His mercy to the simple flies; He lifted me up to the skies—
I rest in Him forever!
Full well the LORD has dealt with me; my soul from death He delivered.
My weeping eyes, my stumbling feet, He has redeemed forever.
Forever I before His face shall walk with those who know His grace,
and dwell with them forever.
Afflicted, I believe His Word, though lying men would undo me.
What shall I render to the LORD for all His blessings to me?
Salvation’s cup I lift above and call upon the God of love
and pay my vows most truly.
How sweet to Him when saints depart—make me Your servant, Savior!
From sin You loosed my wand’ring heart; I praise Your Name forever!
On You I call, my vows to pay; here in Your Presence I would stay,
Your praise to offer ever.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Psalm 65 reminds us of what a joy it is to know the Lord. Our book, Enjoying God, can help you know more of that joy more of the time. It’s available as a free PDF by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
