Pick it Up

July 27, 2020

The parallelism in Psalm 116 is clear. Verses 13-14 read, “I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the Name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.” This is repeated word for word in verses 17-18 with a singular difference: It begins with, “I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving,” before continuing with the same “And will call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows to the LORD Now in the presence of all His people,”

The first set is preceded by “taking the cup of salvation,” the second by “offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving.” A deliberate connection between these two thoughts is made by the identical phrases that follow. So the question becomes, “How do we actually take up the cup of salvation?” Picture salvation as wine in a cup. It is there, waiting to be grasped and lifted to the lips. How do we actually do that? By giving thanks even when it is difficult to do so—when gratitude is offered sacrificially, when we give thanks in the midst of heart-rending grief, when the body is wracked with pain, when the soul has been abandoned and betrayed, when it feels as if God himself has forsaken us. Gratitude is the means by which we reach out and grasp the cup of salvation and drink deeply. It is sacrificial, but salvation always is. In the midst of your pain, take up this cup and drink. It will slake your thirst and save your soul.