Psalm 50:14. Offer unto God thanksgiving: and pay thy vows to the Most High.
Oh Friends, you all will be so proud of the ole fella because I finally changed the almanac on my office wall from May to October, and also the one in the studio that was showing February. Whew! Such difficult but amazing moments! Yes Friends, the busyness of life does cause us to overlook some small but important details, and that’s when we need to stop for a moment, regroup and smell the roses for a bit. Just let the refreshing perfume of God’s making gently course through our minds, souls and bodies. Then we’ll be ready for action again. And in our western culture, Friday is a day for winding down and getting set to rest and tune up our engines. That’s why on Fridays, everybody’s hopes soar, even though their bodies are tired, and they find the energy to joyfully declare: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But please note we can’t go overboard in the other direction of sloth and laziness either. It’s necessary to maintain a fine balance between both extremes. And for that reason, every Friday we chant our Friday Chant. It keeps us channelled on the straight and narrow path. So let’s chant, with the renewed enthusiasm that a Friday brings. As one loud, enthused voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ And having set the right tone for the weekend, let’s turn to our Bit: ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving: and pay thy vows to the Most High.’ Now yesterday, we looked at scriptures that dealt with the first part of our Bit: ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving:’ Today, we’ll check out some that deal with the second half: ‘and pay thy vows to the Most High.’ Oh my people, the keeping of vows is of the utmost importance in this life, both to our fellow man and to our God. I know the old saying that promises are made to be broken has taken serious hold of this generation. It’s now the rule rather than the exception, for we make and break promises as is convenient to us, without any thought for the consequences. But Friends, please realize that there always consequences, and sometimes very serious ones, to broken promises, especially with our God. The Preacher says it best in Ecclesiastes: ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) 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.’ (Eccl.5:4-5) That’s such an awesome truth my brethren! I sure hope we learn it today and put it into practice right away. And one of the best examples we have of keeping a promise to God is that of Hannah, the prophet Samuel’s mother. She cried out in her barrenness for a son, promising ‘I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. (1 Sam.1:11) And when the Lord blessed her with Samuel, she did just that. (1 Sam.1:26-28) Please read that scripture passage Friends, for it shows us how to properly react to the faithfully kept promises of our God. You already know how we react with anger and dismay to broken promises by our fellow man, can you imagine our consternation if God broke a promise to us? But Friends, all we need to do is consider the truth of the wise and thoughtful saying, ‘do unto others as you would like them to do unto you,’ and put it into effect. It should be the basic rule in our lives my people, not the selfishness and inconsideration that’s running rampant in our world today. And please remember that our God has been very serious about keeping vows from day one. Listen to Moses, from the Book of Numbers, re the law concerning vows: ‘If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond (binding himself by some agreement); he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.’ (Num.30:2) Yes Friends, we ought to keep all our promises, including work contracts, except in very extenuating circumstances. And even then, we ought to let the promised person know why we’re unable to keep it. That’s only common courtesy. Oh sorry, I forgot that such an animal no longer exists in our godless, ‘doh-care’ society. In Deuteronomy 23, on the laws of human relations, Moses further expands on the keeping of vows. ‘When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack (delay) to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow (abstain from vowing), it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.’ (Deut.23:21-23) Again Friends, it’s simple courtesy and good manners. The latter doesn’t exist much today either. And whenever possible, we like to close with the definitive words of Jesus on our topic. Listen closely to Him now: ‘Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself (swear falsely), but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.’ (Matt.5:33) Ah mih people, those are words from the mouth of the Master, therefore they must be gospel truth! So let’s do right and follow them nuh, if as we claim, we’re truly His followers. Remember, the world’s watching us and judging Him by our actions. That means we have to have above reproach behaviour. Much LOVE!…So I will sing praise unto thy name for ever…that I may daily perform my vows… (Ps.61:8)
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