Loosened Bonds

In Psalm 116 we pray:
O Lord, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.

Maybe you're like me, and go on reading the part of the psalm about thanksgiving, and thinking about how we are glad that He has freed us. But instead, stop and think about those lines right there for just a moment.

I am Your servant. I am God's slave. I am bound to Him. BUT "You have loosed my bonds." Does that make sense? We have been loosed. And yet we are His servants, His slaves. It almost sounds contradictory, until ...

a person knows whereof Paul speaks:
And having been set free from sin, you become slaves of righteousness.
And also:
Now having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God,
you have your fruit to holiness,
and the end, everlasting life. (Romans 6)


A person might almost be tempted to think that the apostle knew the Old Testament and was expounding upon it. But if you thought that, you'd have to think the Old Testament was about the same God, the same promises, the same mercy, ... the same Jesus. :-)