18
I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19
In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
My Thoughts
The psalmist declares his commitment to fulfill vows made to the Lord publicly, within the courts of Jerusalem, emphasizing the importance of communal worship and thanksgiving. Commentators note that such declarations of praise not only reflect personal gratitude but also encourage collective acknowledgment of divine mercy. The psalm underscores that gratitude should be expressed openly and joyously, inviting others to join in the celebration of God’s goodness, ending with a heartfelt call to “Praise ye the Lord.”……Bill
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Commentaries
Charles Spurgeon
“I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.” He repeats the declaration. A good thing is worth saying twice. He thus stirs himself up to greater heartiness, earnestness, and diligence in keeping his vow,—really paying it at the very moment that he is declaring his resolution to do so. The mercy came in secret, but the praise is rendered in public; the company was, however, select; he did not cast his pearls before swine, but delivered his testimony before those who could understand and appreciate it.
“In the courts of the LORD’S house:” in the proper place, where God had ordained that he should be worshipped. See how he is stirred up at the remembrance of the house of the Lord, and must needs speak of the holy city with a note of joyful exclamation—
“In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.” The very thought of the beloved Zion touched his heart, and he writes as if he were actually addressing Jerusalem, whose name was dear to him. There would he pay his vows, in the abode of fellowship, in the very heart of Judea, in the place to which the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord. There is nothing like witnessing for Jesus, where the report thereof will be carried into a thousand homes. God’s praise is not to be confined to a closet, nor his name to be whispered in holes and corners, as if we were afraid that men should hear us; but in the thick of the throng, and in the very centre of assemblies, we should lift up heart and voice unto the Lord, and invite others to join with us in adoring him, saying,
“Praise ye the LORD,” or Hallelujah. This was a very fit conclusion of a song to be sung when all the people were gathered together at Jerusalem to keep the feast. God’s Spirit moved the writers of these Psalms to give them a fitness and suitability which was more evident in their own day than now, but enough is perceptible to convince us that every line and word had a peculiar adaptation to the occasions for which the sacred sonnets were composed. When we worship the Lord, we ought with great care to select the words of prayer and praise, and not to trust to the opening of a hymn book, or to the unconsidered extemporizing of the moment. Let all things be done decently and in order, and let all things begin and end with Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.
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Enduring Word
I will pay my vows to the LORD: The repetition of this phrase (also in Psalm 116:14) keeps us at the altar with a public sacrifice of thanksgiving. There, in the courts of the LORD’s house, the psalmist would proclaim his praise and gratitude toward God. (Guzik)
i. Now in the presence of all His people: “Once more the lonely suppliant, who had waded such deep waters without companion but Jehovah, seeks to feel himself one of the glad multitude in the courts of the house of Jehovah, and to blend his single voice in the shout of a nation’s praise. We suffer and struggle for the most part alone. Grief is a hermit, but Joy is sociable; and thankfulness desires listeners to its praise.” (Maclaren)
Praise the LORD: The psalm ends with Hallelujah, both as a declaration of personal praise and a call to God’s people to join with the proclamation. (Guzik)
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Barnes
Praise ye the Lord – Hallelujah. A call on others to join in the praise of God. The psalmist felt his own heart drawn to the service of praise by all the mercies of God; he desired, as an expression of his own feelings, that others should unite with him in that sacred exercise. When our own hearts are filled with gratitude, we wish that all others may partake of the same feeling.
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John Gill
In the courts of the Lord’s house,…. This is added by way of explanation of Psalm 116:18, what he meant by “the presence of all his people”; the assembly of the saints met together in the house of the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle, in the courts of it, where the people got together to worship God;
in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem; the Lord’s house or tabernacle; for as yet the temple was not built, and the courts of it were in the midst of the city of Jerusalem. And this shows, as some interpreters have observed, that this psalm must have been written after David came to the kingdom, and had got this city into his hands, whither he brought the ark of the Lord. The whole signifies that he would praise the Lord publicly, as well as privately; and he concludes the psalm thus,
Praise ye the Lord; calling upon the Lord’s people, in his house and courts, to join with him in this work of praise.
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Matthew Henry
He will make conscience of paying his vows and making good what he had promised, not only that he would offer the sacrifices of praise, which he had vowed to bring, but perform all his other engagements to God, which he had laid himself under in the day of his affliction (v. 14): I will pay my vows; and again, (v. 18), now in the presence of all his people. Note, Vows are debts that must be paid, for it is better not to vow than to vow and not pay. He will pay his vows,
[1.] Presently, he will not, like sorry debtors, delay the payment of them, or beg a day; but, “I will pay them now,” Eccl. 5:4.
[2.] Publicly; he will not huddle up his praises in a corner, but what service he has to do for God he will do it in the presence of all his people; nor for ostentation, but to show that he was not ashamed of the service of God, and that others might be invited to join with him. He will pay his vows in the courts of the tabernacle, where there was a crowd of Israelites attending, in the midst of Jerusalem, that he might bring devotion into more reputation.
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Cross-References
Psalm 96:8 (KJV)
8 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name:
Bring an offering, and come into his courts.
Psalm 100:4 (KJV)
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise:
Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Psalm 118:19 (KJV)
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness:
I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord:
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Geneva Bible 1560
Psalm 116:18-19
18 I wil paie my (k) vowes unto the Lord, even now in the presence of all his people,
19 In the courtes of the Lord’s house, even in the middes of thee, ô Jerusalém. Praise ye the Lord.
(k) I will thank him for his benefits: for that is a just payment, to confess that we owe all to God.
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