Psalm 76:11 Vow and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
Psalm 76; A Song of Asaph deals with three topics: First is deliverance from an enemy in Salem; (vs.1-10) ‘In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. There he break the arrows of the bow, the shield and the sword and the battle. Selah.’ (vs.1-3) Smartly interwoven into the words of deliverance is the second aspect; praise. ‘Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.’ (vs.4) Thou, even thou art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?’ (vs.7) ‘Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee..’ (vs.10) Finally, as a consequence of God’s deliverance, His merciful blessing, the Psalmist calls on his people to submit to God’s sovereignty. ‘Vow and pay unto the Lord your God.’ It is very meet and right for us to do so Friends, cause He’s the victorious God of the entire universe, who continuously showers us with blessings of mercy, forgiveness, loving kindness and unconditional LOVE. However, He doesn’t joke when it comes to promises. Way back when, Moses warned the Israelites: ‘If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.’ (Num.30:2) But Friends, how many times have we done otherwise eh; found ourselves in a sticky situation, then pleaded plaintively with the Lord for help and mercy, promising to do this, that and everything if He bails us out, then conveniently forgetting after He’s saved our skin, thinking that it didn’t matter? But people, it does matter, a whole lot too, cause our God takes promises very seriously; His, as well as ours. Please consider the Preacher’s advice: ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?’ (Eccl.5:4-6) Yes Friends, it’s ever so important that we choose our words carefully, not only before God, but also man. God stands neither fools nor deceivers kindly, as do most men. So it’s much safer just to ask for something without making any promises, although that’s the prevailing style in our society right now; to make outlandish promises without any intentions of keeping them, or finding convenient loopholes to escape from our responsibilities. Just check out all the great promos and ads all around us, the wonderful warranties on inferior products. But try to collect on some of those promises nuh; it’s worse than pulling teeth without anaesthetic. That’s why our society is falling apart people; it has devolved into an untrustworthy, fly by night, scheming, get rich quick, get all you can rat race. It used to be that there was honour amongst thieves. Hn! Now even that has vanished. But beware Friends, our God doesn’t play that game. His whole creation is built on His promises, that’s why we surrender our very souls, put our every bit of trust in Him, so why should He accept it when we break ours? As the Psalmist rightly stated: ‘Thou, even thou art to be feared: and who can stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?’ Nobody! Friends, I humbly suggest that getting God angry at us is a very unwise thing to do. And, per the preacher, don’t break your vow and say that it was a mistake either, cause God’s likely to get mad at you and destroy your handiwork. So let’s remember to think carefully before we vow, whether to God or man. And if we do vow, be honest, take pride in our word and say honourably, like Bruh David: ‘I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.’ (Ps.66:13-14) That’s why the Lord honoured Bruh David; he was man enough to keep his promises. We should all be that honourable Friends. Much LOVE!…let our hearts…guide our tongues…to words of honour… To be continued.
Psalm 76; A Song of Asaph deals with three topics: First is deliverance from an enemy in Salem; (vs.1-10) ‘In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. There he break the arrows of the bow, the shield and the sword and the battle. Selah.’ (vs.1-3) Smartly interwoven into the words of deliverance is the second aspect; praise. ‘Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.’ (vs.4) Thou, even thou art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?’ (vs.7) ‘Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee..’ (vs.10) Finally, as a consequence of God’s deliverance, His merciful blessing, the Psalmist calls on his people to submit to God’s sovereignty. ‘Vow and pay unto the Lord your God.’ It is very meet and right for us to do so Friends, cause He’s the victorious God of the entire universe, who continuously showers us with blessings of mercy, forgiveness, loving kindness and unconditional LOVE. However, He doesn’t joke when it comes to promises. Way back when, Moses warned the Israelites: ‘If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.’ (Num.30:2) But Friends, how many times have we done otherwise eh; found ourselves in a sticky situation, then pleaded plaintively with the Lord for help and mercy, promising to do this, that and everything if He bails us out, then conveniently forgetting after He’s saved our skin, thinking that it didn’t matter? But people, it does matter, a whole lot too, cause our God takes promises very seriously; His, as well as ours. Please consider the Preacher’s advice: ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?’ (Eccl.5:4-6) Yes Friends, it’s ever so important that we choose our words carefully, not only before God, but also man. God stands neither fools nor deceivers kindly, as do most men. So it’s much safer just to ask for something without making any promises, although that’s the prevailing style in our society right now; to make outlandish promises without any intentions of keeping them, or finding convenient loopholes to escape from our responsibilities. Just check out all the great promos and ads all around us, the wonderful warranties on inferior products. But try to collect on some of those promises nuh; it’s worse than pulling teeth without anaesthetic. That’s why our society is falling apart people; it has devolved into an untrustworthy, fly by night, scheming, get rich quick, get all you can rat race. It used to be that there was honour amongst thieves. Hn! Now even that has vanished. But beware Friends, our God doesn’t play that game. His whole creation is built on His promises, that’s why we surrender our very souls, put our every bit of trust in Him, so why should He accept it when we break ours? As the Psalmist rightly stated: ‘Thou, even thou art to be feared: and who can stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?’ Nobody! Friends, I humbly suggest that getting God angry at us is a very unwise thing to do. And, per the preacher, don’t break your vow and say that it was a mistake either, cause God’s likely to get mad at you and destroy your handiwork. So let’s remember to think carefully before we vow, whether to God or man. And if we do vow, be honest, take pride in our word and say honourably, like Bruh David: ‘I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.’ (Ps.66:13-14) That’s why the Lord honoured Bruh David; he was man enough to keep his promises. We should all be that honourable Friends. Much LOVE!…let our hearts…guide our tongues…to words of honour… To be continued.
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