“What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people." Psalm 116:12–14 (ESV)
Do we sometimes consider that we need “to render to God” (pay back) for what His has provided to us? Unlike a mortgage, we do not incur a debt to God for what we receive. Except, in a way we do. We learn from 1 Corinthians 15:10, that we are what we are by the grace of God. The Apostle Paul said that he worked harder than any of the others but he knew it was not his power but God’s. If all we do for God is done with His power through grace, we can’t consider it rendering what we owe. The very work we do is another gift from God. So, in our verse today, the paying of vows – keeping our promises to God – are free from being considered a debt payment. That the “payment” is, in reality, an act of receiving another gift from God. Each gift magnifies the ongoing grace of God. As we take up the ‘cup’ or cause of salvation, our effort of obedience, comes to us through His grace. We have nothing we can give God as recompense that He hasn’t first given to us and done for us and enabled us.
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