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Holy Week · Maundy Thursday · Year A

Psalm 116:12-19

The Cup of Salvation

April 2, 2026

Old Woman Saying Grace ("The Prayer without End"), Nicolaes Maes
Old Woman Saying Grace ("The Prayer without End"), Nicolaes Maes, c. 1656Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
A Dutch interior by a pupil of Rembrandt: an old woman saying grace over a plain meal, while a cat pulls at the tablecloth behind her and she does not notice.What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? Psalm 116 answers with a cup and a vow, and this is the smallest version of that.Nicolaes MaesA pupil of Rembrandt who turned from biblical subjects to Dutch interiors, and painted old women at prayer better than anyone.Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamThe Netherlands' national museum, built around the Dutch Golden Age and reopened in 2013 after a ten-year rebuilding.Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 26:17-30Mt 26:17-30Alt. GospelJohn 13:1-17, 31b-35Jn 13:1-17, 31b-35
EpistleHeb. 9:11-22Heb 9:11-22Alt. Epistle1 Cor. 11:23-321 Cor 11:23-32
Old TestamentExod. 24:3-11Ex 24:3-11Alt. OTExod. 12:1-14Ex 12:1-14
PsalterPs. 116:12-19Ps 116:12-19

Overview & Insights

“I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:13)

Psalm 116 is a thanksgiving psalm that celebrates deliverance from near-death distress (cf. esp. Ps. 30). It consists of a proclamation of praise and an introductory summary (vv. 1–2), as well as recollections of the distress (v. 3), of the cry to God (v. 4), and of Yahweh’s deliverance (vv. 8–11). Contained in this report is hymnic praise (vv. 5–6; so cf. 30:4–5, which also “interrupts” a report of deliverance) that confesses a general principle of praise exemplified in this testimony. The closing section narrates the thanksgiving rituals and ceremony that accompany the singing of this thanksgiving psalm (vv. 12–14, 17–19), along with more embedded hymnic praise and personal testimony (vv. 15–16).

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Commentary

Enduring Word Bible Commentary Psalm 116Enduring Word Bible Commentary Ps 116 Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik on lifting the cup of salvation and paying vows to the Lord.

Psalm 116:12 CommentariesPs 116:12 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries on the cup of salvation and the sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Psalm 116 CommentaryPs 116 Commentary Precept Austin

Verse studies on thanksgiving and the vows of the redeemed.

Commentary on Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 - Working PreacherCommentary on Ps 116:1-2, 12-19 - Working Preacher Working Preacher

Luther Seminary on the Maundy Thursday thanksgiving psalm and the cup of salvation.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 116 - SefariaPs 116 - Sefaria Sefaria

Hebrew text of the thanksgiving psalm with classical Jewish commentary.

The Church Fathers

Psalms 116 - Catena Bible & CommentariesPs 116 - Catena Bible & Commentaries Catena

Church Fathers on the cup of salvation and the death of the saints.

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