Hallelujah! The Hymn of Easter--Psalm 116

 

"I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.  

Because He inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live. 

The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.

Then I called on the name of the LORD: 'O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!'

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.  

The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me.  

Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. 

I believed, even when I spoke;

'I am greatly afflicted'; I said in my alarm, 

'All mankind are liars.'

When shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,

I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.  

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.  

'O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.  You have loosed my bonds.

I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.

I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the house of the LORD,

in your midst, O Jerusalem.  

Praise the LORD!!"

Psalm 116 is the fourth verse in the Hallel, song of praise.  The psalmist has been consumed with thoughts of death and hell, he's anxious and distressed.  But he knows what to do to combat those feelings--call on the name of the LORD.   The LORD, who is always right, full of grace, and mercy, leans down, hears his pleas, and grants him deliverance.  This puts the psalmist's soul at rest, because he no longer fears death, tears, stumbling.  He vows to call on the LORD as long as he lives, and to walk with Him in the land of the LIVING!  Of course, the author knows all of life won't be easy-- he lives in a fallen world with other sinners.  But now that he knows where his hope lies, he will lift his cup over and over again, in the Name of the LORD, to be filled with salvation.  The psalmist realizes he has nothing to offer to God in return, but he promises to live a life that points others to Him.  But one more thought on death...it no longer causes him anxiety, because he knows that to live is God and to die is gain.  

Luke 22:14-20

The third cup in the Passover seder is "The cup of redemption".  It's the first cup after the meal, and it is to be paired with unleavened bread.   Psalm 116 is the verse of the Hallel that corresponds with taking this cup.  I can imagine Jesus, singing this psalm as He looks around at His chosen circle.  These twelve simple and lowly men, a representative of all humanity, tied by the chains of death and hell.  They need rescued. So, with His own death imminent,  Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, saying "This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me." And then He takes the cup, saying "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."     From the beginning of time--from the garden, to the prophets,  to the psalmist, to the disciples, to today--the cry has been the same.  We are trapped, we are dying, have mercy on us.  God listened and heard our cries; and true to His character of  steadfast, stubborn, unwavering love and kindness, He saved us.  We have nothing to give but an empty cup, but when we lift it to Him, He fills it with salvation. I love Him.  💓

 "O LORD, I am indeed your servant...  You have loosened my bonds.  I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the Name of the LORD.  I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the LORD's house....Hallelujah!!" (Psalm 116:16-19CSB)