Slices
Prepare
Take time to let the deep prayer of your heart surface. Write it down on a piece of paper. Carry this round with you and pray it through the day.
Bible passage
Psalm 116
1 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,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I trusted in the Lord when I said,
‘I am greatly afflicted’;
11 in my alarm I said,
‘Everyone is a liar.’
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.
14 I will fulfil my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank-offering to you
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfil 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.
Psalm 117
1 Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love towards us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord.
Explore
Psalm 116 is a powerful song of personal testimony; Psalm 117 addresses the whole of humanity. Connecting the two is the character of God who is faithful and loving. We know this through personal experience, but it is a ‘public truth’ not just a private value.
If Psalm 117 tells the nations to acknowledge God, Psalm 116 tells individuals to call on him through the challenges of personal experience. The psalmist seems to have called on God in a moment of desperation (vs 3,4), and God has answered him. His response is to call on God more and more (v 2). He becomes a ‘call on the Lord’ enthusiast (vs 13,17), his faith moving in an upward spiral.
I wonder whether we are sometimes too polite in our relationship with God. Jesus never turned away anyone who came to ask him for things. In fact, he urged some people to articulate a request that was obvious (see Mark 10:51). James tells his readers, ‘You do not have because you do not ask God’ (James 4:2,3), but also warns that we need to ask with the right motives.
Respond
‘What do you want me to do for you?’ How would you reply if Jesus asked you this question? Is it time for you to call on the Lord so you can find rest for your soul (v 7)?
Deeper Bible study
‘Draw near and take the body of the Lord / and drink his holy blood for you outpoured. / … our souls refreshed, we offer thanks to God.’1
The psalmists rarely speak of love for God, let alone open with it. This is despite the truth that love for God is our best response to the ever-faithful one who seeks, saves, protects and nourishes us. These two psalms are part of the Hallel (‘praise’) psalms which Jews recite during the Passover, no doubt because Psalm 116 responds three times to God’s saving us from death. In my church, Psalm 116 is set for Maundy Thursday, the day on which we recall the Last Supper when Jesus transformed the bread and wine of the Passover meal into that profound symbol, that perpetual memorial of his body and blood, about to be given for us.
Jews still use Psalm 116 to remember the Exodus, the blood on the lintels that saved them from death. The most powerful Christian symbol lies in verses 12 and 13, leaping unbidden from the page: ‘What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.’ The best thing we can do for Jesus is to accept the cup of salvation he offers. We do this symbolically when we take, consecrate, break and give the bread and drink the wine, the symbolic cup of salvation. Later in our Mark readings, Jesus speaks of the cup of suffering. We must never forget that the cup of salvation is also the cup of suffering. That is the essence of the message which we take into the world.
The little gem of Psalm 117 shines brightly. Paul used it to show that the gospel was meant for all people.2 As the psalm proclaims, this message is for ever. God endures for ever and so do those who drink the cup of salvation.
Jesus, Lord of the cup of salvation, take us, consecrate us, break us and distribute us. Send us out into your world as your witnesses.
1 Latin, 7th century, tr JM Neale, 1818–66 2 Rom 15:11
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Lamentations 1,2; John 19
Pray for Scripture Union
SU in English-speaking Canada gives thanks for the launch of The Dad and Lad Podcast which features two of SU Canada’s trainers discussing children’s and family ministry. Pray that this will help listeners to put their faith into practice.
