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Psalm 116 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
“How can I repay the LORD for all the good He has done for me? 13 I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of Yahweh.”
Psalms 116:12-13 HCSB
What is the cup of Salvation? Psalm 116 is the only place it appears in the OT. In ancient times, after the Passover feast, this psalm would be read immediately following the third cup of wine called “the cup of Salvation.” For them, this represented the image of a redeemed life provided by God. OT theology viewed this phrase differently than how we would interpret it. Today, Jesus has fulfilled God’s plan through the cup of Salvation.
The irony here is that Jesus would have taken Passover with his disciples. They would have read this psalm and drank together the cup of Salvation. Moments later, Jesus would literally drink the sup of Salvation (God’s wrath) in order to atone for our sin.
The psalmist asked a question in verse 12. “How can I repay the Lord for all the good He has done for me?” So, what does the NT have to say about this? What would be a similar verse viewing this from New Covenant?
Romans 12:1 HCSB Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.
“You have given God all you have when you have given him your weakness, your sin, your emptiness; that is all that is truly yours; and then it is that you render to him that which he asks for, that he may put away your sin, that he may fill your emptiness and glorify himself in your weakness.”
Charles Spurgeon