When The Vow Breaks

Psalm 66:8-15

8Let the whole world bless our God

and sing aloud his praises.

9Our lives are in his hands,

and he keeps our feet from stumbling.

10You have tested us, O God;

you have purified us like silver melted in a crucible.

11You captured us in your net

and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.

12You sent troops to ride across our broken bodies.

We went through fire and flood.

But you brought us to a place of great abundance.

13Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings

to fulfill the vows I made to you—

14yes, the sacred vows you heard me make

when I was in deep trouble.

15That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—

the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma.

And I will sacrifice bulls and goats.

Interlude

A man is drowning. “Lord, save me,” he prays. “If you get me out of this, I’ll give you half of everything I own.”

But still the sea churns, and he struggles.

“Sixty percent, Lord, if you save me . . . 70. . . . All right, 80 percent. It’s yours.”

Suddenly the sea calms down, and the man regains his balance and swims safely to shore. As he walks onto the beach, he says, “Now, Lord, about that 10 percent I promised you . . .”

We do it all the time, bargaining with God and then changing the terms. Psalm 66 shows us a person who was in trouble and made vows to God. That may seem like bribery, but God knows that we tend to turn to him in hard times. The question is, what do we do when the danger passes? The psalmist makes good on the vow.

Do you?

Here, in thy courts, I leave my vow,

And thy rich grace record;

Witness, ye saints, who hear me now,

If I forsake the Lord.

ISAAC WATTS

Bible Networking

For more on offerings that please God, see 1 Samuel 15:22 and Romans 12:1-2.

Notable Quotable

“It is not known what corn will yield, till it comes to the flail; nor what grapes, till they come to the press. Grace is hid in nature, as sweet water in rose-leaves. The fire of affliction fetcheth it out.”

F. B. MEYER