Psalm 76:11 – A Vow for Holiness

Psalm 76:11 “Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared.”

One of the great sins of any man is to not take God and the things of God seriously. We see it all about us with coarse jokes and disrespectful attitudes toward our God. In today’s culture it is wide spread this dismissive attitude toward the Holy One. I think in the New Testament Age that sometimes we mistake God’s mercy and grace for a “hall pass” to do whatever our own spirit determines is right. I see it all the time outside the Body of Christ, but all Christians are challenged to reverence God and the things of God as we live holy and faithful in this world.

Our devotional text for Psalm 76 points us toward this area of thinking when Aspah writes that we are to make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. In other words we must follow through on what we have committed to God. Aspah further writes that neighboring lands are to bring gifts to the Lord because He is to be feared, respected, and reverenced as the Creator, Sustainer, and Savior of all men at all times in all places.

That this God of the Universe loves us enough to hear our prayers and guide our ways is an overwhelming and inspiring thought. Why is it then that we lose our way in this world and make such wrong choices that create such pain and dislocation in this life?  I attribute it to the fact that we are ignorant of the power, love, and mercy of God, and lead arrogant and presumptuous lives that do not accept our accountability toward Him. Many people either take Him for granted or are unimpressed with His relevance in the lives of modern men choosing to treat God as a used up relic that can be thrown away and discarded as wholly unnecessary to the modern age.

I want to provide a teaching point that is so true to the holy life:  our very life is a vow or commitment before God and we must live obediently before Him just as our devotional text states. So how should we live to fulfill our vows before the Lord?

I have five propositions for us to vow and fulfill before our Lord:

(1)    I will follow where God leads me. I will listen to His voice and obey His commands!

(2)    I will take courage and act on my faith. Don’t stand around and do nothing because of fear!

(3)    My expectations for each day in my life will be focused on God and the things of God. I will not fall into the trap of self-focused expectations for my life!

(4)    Joy will be in my heart as I obey truth and share Christ with others. Christians are never sour in their hearts because they possess the sweet spirit of Jesus!

(5)    I will not be governed by the love the world or anything in the world. The holy person does the will of God and lives forever (1 John 2:17).

If we wear the name of Christ then we must be wholly dedicated to pursuit of the holy life by fulfilling our vows before the Lord. TODAY I CHOOSE TO BE A HOLY PERSON WHO LOVES AND SERVES PEOPLE WITH THE LOVE OF GOD IN ME. AMEN!