How does Psalm 116:13 connect with Jesus' sacrifice in the New Testament? Verse in Focus “I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:13) The Cup of Salvation in Psalm 116 • The psalmist has just testified that the LORD “delivered my soul from death” (v. 8). • Lifting the cup is a public, joyful acknowledgment of that deliverance. • “Call on the name of the LORD” expresses faith that salvation comes from Him alone. Jesus and the Cup in the Upper Room • “Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (Matthew 26:27-28) • Jesus identifies the cup with His own sacrificial blood, turning the psalm’s symbol into a concrete, covenant reality. • Luke 22:20 adds, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” • The cup once lifted in celebration of past deliverance now points to the cross, where ultimate deliverance is secured. The Cup of Suffering and Wrath • In Gethsemane Jesus prays, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39) • Here the “cup” represents the wrath of God against sin (cf. Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15). • By drinking that cup, Jesus bears the judgment we deserved, making the “cup of salvation” possible for all who believe. Sharing the Cup Today • “Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16) • Every time believers partake of the Lord’s Supper, they echo Psalm 116:13—lifting the cup, calling on the Lord, and proclaiming that salvation has come through Jesus’ shed blood. • Revelation 7:14 looks ahead: saints in white robes “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,” the final fulfillment of the cup’s promise. Key Takeaways • Psalm 116:13 anticipates a greater salvation than the psalmist could imagine—the redemption accomplished at the cross. • Jesus transforms the symbol into substance: from a thankful toast to a poured-out life. • Lifting the cup of salvation now means trusting in Christ’s finished work and testifying to it before the world. |
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