Psalm 116:1-9, 12-13, 18-19 (NIV) I love the Lord, for he heard my
voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because
he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as
long as I live. 3 The cords of death
entangled me, the anguish of the grave came
over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me! ” 5 The
Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The Lord
protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he
saved me. 7 Return to your
rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. 8 For
you, Lord, have delivered me from death, 0my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, 9 that
I may walk before the Lord in the land of the
living. 12 What shall I return
to the Lord
for all his goodness to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.18 I will
fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all
his people, 19 in the courts
of the house of the Lord—in your midst,
Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.
I will lift
up the cup of salvation. Cup is a word meaning “experience” in
much the same way we say “I am filled with joy or thanksgiving.” The Psalmist
is saying not only was deliverance experienced, but that experience was carried
and presented to God in praise. The
Psalmist turned to God in times of trouble, which is a good thing, but it is
what the Psalmist did in the end that is important. Trouble comes and trouble
goes; deliverance comes and deliverance goes. But, what is important is what is
rendered to God in the end: praise. Praise is the way we acknowledge the
permanence of God amid the temporary experiences of our lives.
Praise takes the temporary experiences of life and
makes them building blocks in our relationship to God. The experiences of
troubles ebb and flow. The experience of deliverance comes and goes. But when
all of those experiences are offered to God in praise, we renew that permanent
bond of truth between ourselves and God that is sometimes forgotten in the good
times and neglected in the bad times. I
will lift the cup of salvation, the Psalmist says. I will offer my
experience in praise. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord.
We express commitment as we offer praise, as we fulfill
our vows, and in doing these things the bond between ourselves and God is not
only strengthened but opened. What we believe depends on what we expose our
life to on a regular basis. Through the reading and hearing of Scripture, from
time spent in prayer, and through worship with others we lift up the cup of our
experience. We fulfill our vows and we connect with God. We need to express our
commitment, even when we do not feel like it, and especially when there is no
other reason for expression except for the importance of that commitment
itself.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October
10, 1993
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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