Psalms 56:12
in Psalms 56Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render thank-offerings unto thee.
KJV
Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 56
Commentary
9 notes on this verseFor before the eyes of God the hand is never empty of a gift, if the treasury of the heart has been filled with good will. Hence the Psalmist says: In me, O God, are your vows which I shall pay, praises to you. As if he were saying openly: Even if outwardly I do not have gifts to offer, yet within myself I find what I may place upon the altar of your praise, because you who are not fed by our giving are better pleased by the offering of the heart.
This site's exposition
Your vows are upon me, O God
on Psalms 56:12-13
Verse 12 treats the vows as a debt now due, paid in thank offerings. Verse 13 gives the ground in the past tense: God has delivered his soul from death and his feet from stumbling. The purpose is to walk before God in the light.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"In me, O God, are Your vows, which I will render of praise to You" [Psalm 56:12]. "Vow ye, and render to the Lord your God." What vow, what render? Perchance those animals which were offered at the altars aforetime? No such thing offer thou: in yourself is what you may vow and render. From the heart's coffer bring forth the incense of praise; from the store of a good conscience bring forth the sacrifice of faith. Whatsoever thing you bring forth, kindle with love. In yourself be the vows, which you may render of praise to God. Of what praise? For what has He granted you? "For You have rescued my soul from death" [Psalm 56:13]. This is that very life which he tells out to Him: "O God, my life I have told out to You." For I was what? Dead. Through myself I was dead: through You I am what? Alive. Therefore "in me, O God, are Your vows, which I will render of praise to You." Behold I love my God: no one does tear Him from me: that which to Him I may give, no one does tear from me, because in the heart it is shut up. With reason is said with that former confidence, "What should man do unto me?" Let man rage, let him be permitted to rage, be permitted to accomplish that which he attempts: what is he to take away? Gold, silver, cattle, men servants, maid servants, estates, houses, let him take away all things: does he by any means take away the vows, which are in me, which I may render of praise to God? […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This is part of the performance of his vows; for vows of thankfulness properly accompany prayers for mercy, and when the mercy is received must be made good. When we study what we shall render this is the least we can resolve upon, to render praises to God--poor returns for rich receivings!
Thy vows are upon me, O God,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Thy vows are upon me, O God. Vows made in his trouble he does not lightly forget, nor should we. We voluntarily made them, let us cheerfully keep them. All professed Christians are men under vows, but especially those who in hours of dire distress have rededicated themselves unto the Lord. I will render praises unto thee. With heart, and voice, and gift, we should cheerfully extol the God of our salvation.
Thy vows are upon me, O God. Vows made in his trouble he does not lightly forget, nor should we. We voluntarily made them, let us cheerfully keep them. All professed Christians are men under vows, but especially those who in hours of dire distress have rededicated themselves unto the Lord. I will render praises unto thee. With heart, and voice, and gift, we should cheerfully extol the God of our salvation. The practice of making solemn vows in times of trouble is to be commended, when it is followed by the far less common custom of fulfilling them when the trouble is over.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Thy vows are upon me - I have promised in the most solemn manner to be thy servant; to give my whole life to thee; and to offer for my preservation sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. Reader, what hast thou vowed to God? To renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful desires of the flesh; to keep God’s holy word and commandment, and to walk before him all the days of thy life. These things hast thou vowed; and these vows are upon thee. Wilt thou pay them?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Thy vows are upon me, O God - The word “vow” means something promised; some obligation under which we have voluntarily brought ourselves. It differs from duty, or obligation in general, since that is the result of the divine command, while this is an obligation arising from the fact that we have “voluntarily” taken it upon ourselves. The extent of this obligation, therefore, is measured by the nature of the promise or vow which we have made; and God will hold us responsible for carrying out our vows. Such voluntary obligations or vows were allowable, as an expression of thanksgiving, or as a means of exciting to a more strict religious service, under the Mosaic dispensation Gen 28:20; Num 6:2; Num 30:2-3; Deu 23:21; 1Sa 1:11; and they cannot be wrong under any dispensation. They are not of the nature of “merit,” or works of supererogation, but they are (a) a “means” of bringing the obligations of religion to bear upon us more decidedly, and (b) a proper expression of gratitude. Such vows are those which all persons take upon themselves when they make a profession of religion; and when such a profession of religion is made, it should be a constant reflection on our part, that “the vows of God are upon us,” or that we have voluntarily consecrated all that we have to God. David had made such a vow (a) in his general purpose to lead a religious life; (b) very probably in some specific act or promise that he would devote himself to God if he would deliver him, or as an expression of his gratitude for deliverance. Compare the notes at Act 18:18; notes at Act 21:23-24. I will render praises unto thee - literally, “I will recompense praises unto thee;” that is, I will “pay” what I have vowed, or I will faithfully perform my vows.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
With God I will praise a word; with the Lord I will praise For the Divine standard of justice and for the Divine standard of mercy I will praise.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָלַ֣י | ʾalai | [are] on me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֣ים | ʾelohim | O God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נְדָרֶ֑יךָ | nedareikha | vows your | H5088 → | 60 times |
| אֲשַׁלֵּ֖ם | ʾashalem | I will pay | H7999 → | 116 times |
| תּוֹדֹ֣ת | todot | thank-offerings | H8426 → | 31 times |
| לָֽךְ׃ | lakh | to you |
עָלַ֣י[are] on me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 times
אֱלֹהִ֣יםO God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
נְדָרֶ֑יךָvows your
nedareikhaH5088 →60 times
אֲשַׁלֵּ֖םI will pay
ʾashalemH7999 →116 times
תּוֹדֹ֣תthank-offerings
todotH8426 →31 times
לָֽךְ׃to you
lakh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 50:14Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Deuteronomy 23:21
If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
- Psalms 107:21–22
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
- Psalms 116:12–14
How can I repay the LORD for all His goodness to me?
- 1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Hebrews 13:15
Through
Psalms 119:106I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 10:29
hereby join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the Law of God given through His servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commandments, ordinances, and statutes…
- Psalms 66:13–14
I will enter Your house with burnt offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You—
- 2 Corinthians 8:5
And not only did they do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us, because it was the will of God.
- Nehemiah 10:29
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 56; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.