Holy Week · Maundy Thursday · Year B
Psalm 116:12-19
The Cup of Salvation
March 25, 2027
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 116 Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik on lifting the cup of salvation and paying vows to the Lord.
Psalm 116:12 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries on the cup of salvation and the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
Psalm 116 Commentary Precept Austin
Verse studies on thanksgiving and the vows of the redeemed.
Commentary on Psalm 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
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
Why is Psalm 116 sung in Holy Week?
Delivered from the snares of death, the psalmist vows to lift the cup of salvation and pay his vows, words fitting for the night of the Last Supper.
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