"Bonds of Glory" -2

"O LORD, truly I an thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds." (Psalms 116:16)

 It takes a little bit of testing in order for us to truly understand what it means to be a servant; you don't just get there without a little taste of what the Master expects of you to do. Not that I have figured it out, but I think being a slave requires that we submit to the will of the Master. A real slave is one that has humility and does what he or she is told to do, usually, without question. In this case, David is not only acknowledging the he is God's servant, but he is committing himself to be that servant. There might be several ways to look at the term, "the son of thy handmaid," but for some reason I get the feeling to speaks about history and those that have gone before him; much like the term from Hebrews 12:1, "so great a cloud of witnesses." There is something that must be said for those that have served before us, as we look to them as not only fellow servants, but those that have graduated to something much higher and esteemed; each having finished the race, giving us a little bit of patience with our own. The "bonds" which David is speaking about are the bonds of death; which again, is what this Psalms is all about, being "Rescued From Death." There is really no other way to explain what the Master expects of us, without first having experienced what it feels like to be loosed from the bonds of death. This is something that is felt through trials and circumstances of being totally and completely unafraid of death; as if there nothing here than can hurt you, because this is not the end and death is only the beginning. Not that I have totally understood or lived it out myself, but I have reached that conclusion through my own circumstance. Death is being free from hurt and pain. It is the beginning of our eternity with Jesus, in the home He has been preparing for us all. Why am I His servant? I get to live in that Mansion in the Sky; that's where I go, when I die...

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne." (Hebrews 12:1-2) NLT