Two cups
"For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs." (Psalm 75:8)
"And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'" (Luke 22:20)
July 26, 2025
Dear friends,
Twice a month men gather at church on Saturday morning to pray for persecuted Christians around the world. When we read of the suffering of God's people around the globe at the hands of those who hate our Lord Jesus and the God of the Bible, we grieve. How long, O Lord? How long must they suffer? And when we see so much injustice and hypocrisy and the abuse of power at the hands of world rulers, we are deeply saddened. Will they get away with all of their greed and treachery?
This morning, as we were praying through Psalm 75, we came upon this verse: "For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs" (verse 8).
This imagery, that of drinking a cup of foaming (spiced) wine from God's hand, portrays the fullness of God's wrath being poured out upon unrepentant mankind (see Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15; Revelation 14:9-10; 16:19). Wine is a beverage of celebration but is also used as a picture of judgment because it can bring about staggering, confusion, and death.
All of the judgment we deserve is contained in that cup of God’s wrath. Nobody, ever, will "get away" with anything. Judgment -- full (complete), foaming, and well mixed (fair and deserved) -- will fall upon each and every one of us -- citizen or ruler, rich or poor, privileged or not, powerful or weak, conservative or progressive -- upon all who have turned away from God and his Son, the Christ, and who persist in unbelief and unrepentance. Everyone will get what they deserve. And we deserve the cup of God's wrath, in its full, fair, and undiluted strength.
The problem is, most of us don't think we deserve a judgment that severe or final. We think it is for those other people, in that political party, in this or that group, of this or that color, or nationality, or who have too much money or power. We think God's wrath is for the sinners who sin differently from us, because their sins are much worse than ours (we think). We foolishly believe that history will just go on forever and people will get away with all manner of evil things.
Yet the Scripture says the cup of God's wrath is full and foaming and ready to be poured out.
Yet there is mercy, and grace abounds even where judgment is called for. In Luke chapter 22 we see Jesus making a reference to two cups. One is "the cup" that Jesus must drink. He prays, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42). He said, "...shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11) This is the cup of his suffering, of Jesus standing in the sinner's place, drinking the full cup of God's wrath. As he dies upon the cross, Jesus becomes the believer's Substitute and Representative in the matter of God's wrath. He drinks the cup of God's judgment in our stead.
The second reference to a cup in that chapter occurs during the last supper. Before he goes to the cross, he passes to his disciples the cup, not of wrath but of communion -- the cup of the new covenant in his blood (Luke 22:20). It is not the cup of judgment, but of fellowship. To receive and drink from this cup is to declare that our hope and trust are in the Lord Jesus, that we have fled the wickedness of the world to seek refuge in the Savior. So, in boundless grace and mercy, he passes to us the cup of the new covenant, the cup of forgiveness and fellowship with God forever.
Two cups! One of wrath, and one of forgiveness and fellowship. Which will you drink from? In the end, our destiny will be connected to one of these two cups.
IN OTHER NEWS.
-- The apologetic strategy of the ancient church. (Mike Kruger)
-- I did not know the story of Arthur Taubman until very recently. (Cardinal News)
-- Digital efficiency can thwart the depth of our thinking. (Analog Office)
-- Sally Lloyd Jones writes about "Building a Collection of Classic Children’s Books."
-- "Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken," an old hymn with new melody. (Indelible Grace)
FINAL QUOTE.
"When we merely say that we are bad, the 'wrath' of God seems a barbarous doctrine; as soon as we perceive our badness, it appears inevitable, a mere corollary from God's goodness." (C. S. Lewis)
That’s it for this week!
Sandy
Afterwords is an occasional newsletter on topics of interest to me (Sandy Young) since my retirement from full-time pastoral ministry. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.