Jesus emptied the cup of sorrows, bitterness, and cursing, and in its place, He filled it with joy, sweetness, and blessing. As we partake of this cup, let us never forget the immense sacrifice he made for us, writes Reverend Vakaroto Ngaro of Ekalesia Avarua.

What shall I render unto the Lord? These words of the Psalmist express his profound gratitude for the Lord’s goodness and blessings. He wisely considered why God had been so gracious to him rather than dwelling on his own problems. He knew that problems were common to all men, but the benefits often only belonged to those who trusted God. His benefits are so many, so various, so minute, that they often escape our observation while they exactly meet our wants.

The Psalmist declares, “I will take up the cup of salvation”. This cup symbolises gratitude and signifies the Psalmist’s desire to receive from the Lord the goodness he deserves.

Before we can do anything for God, we must first gratefully receive from Him. This profound insight is the only way we can repay God, from whom everything comes: by taking even more from Him. We can do this figuratively at the sacramental table, and we can do it spiritually every time we grasp the golden chalice of the covenant, realising the fullness of blessing it contains, and by faith receiving its divine contents into our inmost soul.

There is a significant connection between the phrases “I will take up the cup of salvation” and “call upon the name of the LORD”. The cup of salvation is the cup of blessing, given to the soul. Let the soul take it and drink it, but let it remember that the very partaking is itself of the nature of a pledge of loyalty; it is the oath of allegiance in which one calls upon the Name of Jehovah.

We continue to marvel at how significant it is that Jesus sang these words on the night of His betrayal and arrest, having instituted the cup of salvation under the New Covenant with His apostles (Luke 22:20). Jesus received that cup of salvation from His Father and gave it to His people. Whether the disciples fully understood the meaning of this, it has remained a continuing ritual in the church to this day. It is always symbolic, relating to the body of Christ as well as His blood.

Within a very short time after singing this, Jesus, in Gethsemane, spoke of a cup, and in complete surrender to His Father’s will, consented to drink it. That was the cup of sorrows, of bitterness, of cursing. Having emptied it, He filled it with joy, with sweetness, with blessing. When we take that cup, let us never forget the cost at which He so filled it for us.

“I will pay my vows to the LORD now in the presence of all His people” – The singer publicly declared, perhaps in a sacrificial ritual of gratitude at the temple’s altar, God’s greatness and faithfulness. He would complete what he had determined to do before God. He presently resolved to make the only return in his power, namely, to acknowledge and declare before men the goodness of Jehovah, ascribing all the glory where it is all due. This word “pay” implies that vows lawfully made are due debts; and debt, until paid, is a disquieting thing to an honest mind. How moving it was for Jesus to sing these words, when He Himself was about to become that sacrifice. Jesus thus led the way to the place of execution, where he fully gave all that he had to declare all humanity not guilty in the presence of His Father.

It is also at the foot of the cross where He uttered the lyrics of His prayer, fulfilling all righteousness once and for all. The seven sayings are gathered from the four canonical gospels. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus cries out to God. In Luke, he forgives his killers, reassures the penitent thief, and commends his spirit to the Father. In John, he speaks to his mother, says he thirsts, and declares the end of his earthly life. It is here that the words of the Psalmist became a reality: “What shall I render unto the Lord?”