“Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,

who are drunk, but not with wine:

Thus says your Lord, the LORD,

your God who pleads the cause of his people:

“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;

the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;

and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,

who have said to you,

‘Bow down, that we may pass over’;

and you have made your back like the ground

and like the street for them to pass over.” vs21-23

God promises to take the cup of wrath out of our hands, and we shall drink it no more. This is a sweet promise, and it is good and gracious.

First, we’ll drink the cup of wrath no more as sinners who come to Christ. He has afflicted us and shown us our sins. He has stripped us of all hope in false religion, and taught us that we are fools - blind and deceived. He has rejected our own righteousness and made sin distasteful, as hell hung over us as a cloud.

Few people are convinced these days, but you are blessed of the Lord to desire Christ. You know that you need Him, and He will not cast you out. He has taken the cup of trembling away: you are forgiven. Imagine the woman caught in the act of adultery, trembling before the Lord, only for Him to say, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, sin no more.” He’s chased our accusers away by taking the wrath of God upon Himself, so that He can pardon and still be holy. He will give you grace to obey.

Secondly, as chastened saints, we’ll drink of Babylon’s bondage no more. This is the true teaching of the text: Israel was in bondage for her sin, but she had learned her horrible lesson, and now it is time to come out.

He puts in us the FEAR OF THE LORD, so that we never depart from Him again. Jer 32:40, “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” He causes us to see how wretched we are without Christ, and that He will chasten us. We thought He favored us, so we could do as we please. We thought that we could serve Him in our own strength. We thought that our lives could be satisfying by chasing the world - envy, pride, vainglory - while holding onto Christ. We thought the kingdom was about ourselves.

Now we know better! He’s given us the rod and made us learn the hard way. He’s taken away peace, removed comfort, and allowed us to eat the fruit of our ways. Yet, the time of trouble is over! The Lord has opened the gates of righteousness and revealed Christ. He lovingly chastened us, and now He lovingly sets us free; it is not because of ourselves but because of His mercy. Like He stayed His hand while destroying Jerusalem, it’s time for Him to restore peace. 2 Sam 24:16, “But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!”

We’ll never depart because we fear Him now - fear being without Him, fear disobedience, and we fear enough to stay near to Christ. We have our falls, but we come back quickly. We do not walk around satisfied, if we don’t have His presence. Instead, we run back and knock on the door, asking, seeking, and begging Him to give us what we need, which is the Holy Spirit. We know that He’s our only comfort in this world and the only power that we have to overcome sin.

Thirdly, we’re to receive this promise now! Don’t let it delay, and don’t let it slip. This is the only hope that we have for freedom!

It may seem too gracious, but He’s shown the hard hand to show us mercy. You may feel most unworthy, and we are, but Christ is worthy for God to be good to us. Pain and misery may seem your portion, but He has a better plan. He is tender in mercy and compassionate on the miserable. You may have gone further in sin than you ever imagined or ever thought a Christian could go! Have you, however, learned not to trust in yourself and to trust in Christ? If so, then you are delivered.

Fourthly, if we don’t receive this promise, then we must stay in our chains. “The cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath,” is still in your hands! There is no possibility of escaping the net. Vs20, “Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net; they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of your God.” God won’t change His plans. He’s not a foolish parent to give in and withhold discipline. No, He will correct until we yield and take His mercy. He will hurt us, until we receive His blessing. You cannot outlast Him or force His mind. There’s only peace in believing [Rom 15:13].

Fifthly, the promise of relief comes with obedience following. We swore that we’d serve Him, if He delivered us. Guess what? Deliverance has come, and we are to pay our vows!

“I will enter Your house with burnt offerings;

I will fulfill my vows to You—

the vows that my lips promised

and my mouth spoke in my distress.” --Ps 66:13-14

Live to serve God’s glory. Give yourself wholeheartedly to Him. Feast on Him daily and proclaim Him to others. Live to make Christ known.

Your life is not your own: He didn’t deliver us to serve ourselves. Haven’t we learned that comfort and obedience go hand in hand? He’s willing to show mercy, so that we live uprightly, but He will not give peace for us to live in sin. This is a false peace of the flesh, and it’s been chastened out of us. Now, like weaned children, we yield to Him [Ps 131:2].

Yield, and enjoy the goodness of life. Abundant life, which is serving Christ by faith, is real.