Notes from Norman

DELIVERANCE AND DISCIPLESHIP (3)

Thoughts on Psalm 116
continued

Verses 12-14

How do you respond to God’s goodness? (1) You lift up the “cup of salvation. ” The translators have different ideas about what that means. About half of the translations suggest that it means to “take” the cup of salvation. I would guess they are thinking about receiving it. The other half seem to think it refers to expressing gratitude for salvation. In The Message, Eugene Peterson even suggests it means to toast God for the blessing of salvation (2) You call on the name of the Lord. You turn to him. You acknowledge his presence and his power. (3) You fulfill your vows. You keep the promises you made to God. (4) You do it in “the presence of all his people.” There is no place for secret discipleship.

Verse 15

This verse certainly indicates the psalmist had some kind of understanding that God would bless people even in death. Interestingly enough the text has often been used to offer comfort to people when their loved ones die. However, we nearly always read it in isolation from the context. In so doing we fail to see the inward struggle in the mind of the psalmist which is indicated by verse 9.

Verse 16

Despite all his fears, the psalmist is not afraid to claim that he is God’s servant. He doesn’t express a wish. He affirms a fact. The Lord is his master, and his Master had delivered him from that which he dreads the most. It’s my opinion that the Master didn’t have a fully developed theology of life beyond the grave. Nevertheless, he was willing to entrust that to God. How much more we ought to be willing to trust God when we have a fuller knowledge of God’s blessings beyond the grave.

Verses 17-19

He responds to the mercies of God and three levels. 1) He will sacrifice “thank offering.” 2) He will call on the name of the Lord. 3) He will fulfill his vows. He will do all of this publicly – “in the courts of the house of the Lord,” in the midst of Jerusalem. He would not be satisfied with secret discipleship. Some people think that if we concentrate on God’s blessings more than God’s warnings, we will grow permissive and lazy. Of course there are those who settle for what Bonhoeffer called, “Cheap Grace.” The psalmist was keenly aware of God’s grace, but it propelled him into responsible action. It will do the same thing for us when we properly understand grace.

(end of series)

posted by Norman @ 6:37 AM