What Shall I Render to the Lord?

Psalm 116:12-17 - What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? 

   I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. 

   I will pay my vows to the LORD now in the presence of all His people. 

Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints. 

   O LORD, truly I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds. 

   I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

What does all this mean? As I read this this morning I thought of all the people who have gone before the Lord and received their salvation. They have met with God, recognized Him, called upon Him, chosen His free gift of salvation and now serve Him.

What happens when this free gift is received? The main thing is outright acknowledgement of God our Father, Creator, Redeemer. We recognize Him as sovereign over all. We see His hand in all things. Our hearts and minds change through Him. We grow in the knowledge of our Lord. We begin to know truth. Yesssss. We recognize how flawed our thoughts and hearts once were. And this is all good.

We will pay our vows...we will bring to Him a heart of thankfulness for what He has done in us. We will rejoice in our salvation, which only comes from Him. In this world we can be successful, but it ends when our lives end. Salvation through Christ brings a different, lasting type of success. Wise Solomon came to this conclusion:  “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3,13-14)

There truly is nothing more important in this life than to walk with God. Only one who has chosen this course can understand this. 

At first it seemed curious the statement: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints. In the context of the other verses, I see this as the rejoicing that God and the angels do when one comes to Christ. We are now His saints and we have given up our old lives, the old man has now become new. We have died to ourselves and have become alive in Christ. This is precious to Him. 

I am reminded of the one stray sheep Jesus referred to:

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!" I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:4-7)

I imagine He leaves that sheepfold daily for that one lost sheep. That prodigal son or daughter. That one Saul who would be made Paul. He knows them all by name. 

When we give in to His calls, His outstretched hand, He loosens the bonds of this world and its lies and death. As the song goes: 

All I once held dear, built my life upon

All this world reveres and wars to own

All I once thought gain I have counted loss

Spent and worthless now compared to this...

Knowing You, Jesus

We become His! The price of His death was paid for us. Can we even fully understand this? God Himself came down from the throne of heaven to live on this earth that He might die for all mankind...all who would seek and serve Him. Who does that? This is hard: He is God to those who do seek Him. If one does not, He is not their God and we are not His child. He died for all, but not all will receive. Not all will give up that old life for a new, sure, everlasting life. 

So, He continues daily to call. Daily He reveals Himself. He works to break hard hearts, that none would perish. He longs to hear the call of the seeking heart and the final words of joyful thanksgiving for the free gift, His salvation. Will you render your life to the Lord? To render means to give up and yield, break down. Will you render to the Lord for the benefits He offers you? His gift. His life. Freedom in Christ. Everlasting life.

Psalm 107:8-11 - Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons—because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High...