The Gratitude Question Text: Psalm 116:12-14
Introduction: The Central Problem of a Grace-Soaked World
We live in a world that is drowning in divine benefits, and yet is populated by men who are, for the most part, spiritually bone dry. God pours out His common grace like a torrential downpour, sun, rain, food, breath, laughter, family, and yet modern man stands in the middle of this deluge holding a thimble, complaining about the humidity. He is the recipient of a generosity so vast he cannot begin to calculate it, and his response is a sullen entitlement. The question of our text is therefore one of the most jarring and necessary questions a man can ask himself. It is the great gratitude question.
The psalmist has been brought low, to the very gates of death. He has been entangled by the cords of Sheol, and in his distress, he called upon the name of Yahweh. And Yahweh, being gracious and righteous and merciful, heard him and delivered him. He delivered his soul from death, his eyes from tears, and his feet from stumbling. And now, standing on solid ground, with the sun on his face and breath in his lungs, he asks the only sane question that can be asked in such a situation. "What shall I give to Yahweh in return for all His bountiful dealings with me?"
This is not the question of a man trying to pay off a debt, as though he could ever balance the books with God. This is not a business transaction. This is the overflowing response of a rescued heart. When you truly understand grace, you do not ask, "What is the minimum I must do to stay out of trouble?" No, you ask, "What can I possibly do to show my gratitude? How can I live a life that is one loud 'thank you' note to the God who saved me?" Our secular age has no category for this. It sees all relationships as transactional, a quid pro quo. But the gospel economy is entirely different. It is an economy of sheer gift. And our response to that gift is not repayment, but worship. The psalmist here shows us the grammar of that worship.
The Text
What shall I give to Yahweh in return
For all His bountiful dealings with me?
I shall lift up the cup of salvation
And call upon the name of Yahweh.
I shall pay my vows to Yahweh,
Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.
(Psalm 116:12-14 LSB)
The Question of Grace (v. 12)
We begin with the central question that grace always provokes.
"What shall I give to Yahweh in return For all His bountiful dealings with me?" (Psalm 116:12)
Notice the premise of the question. The psalmist is not wondering if God has been good to him. He is overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it. The Hebrew speaks of God's "bountiful dealings," His completed acts of grace. This is a man who has taken stock. He has done the math, and he has come to the staggering conclusion that he is on the receiving end of an infinite generosity. This is the starting point of all true worship. If you are not staggered by the goodness of God to you, it is because you have not been paying attention.
We must learn to count our blessings, not as a trite cliche, but as a spiritual discipline. We must see that every beat of our heart is a gift. Every meal is a feast of common grace. Every friendship is a taste of divine fellowship. And above all these, for us who are in Christ, there is the incalculable gift of redemption. He has not just delivered our feet from stumbling, but our souls from Hell. He has not just wiped tears from our eyes, but sin from our record.
So the question is, "What shall I give in return?" The modern evangelical response is often a flurry of activity. "I'll teach Sunday School! I'll go on a missions trip! I'll be a better person!" And while some of those things might be good, they miss the psalmist's point entirely. He is not asking what he can do to earn the favor he has already received. He is asking how he can properly acknowledge it. The answer is not about what we can give to God, but rather what we can receive from Him.
The Cup of Thanksgiving (v. 13)
The answer to the question is surprising. It is not about giving, but about taking.
"I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of Yahweh." (Psalm 116:13)
How do you thank God for all His benefits? You take another one. You lift up the cup of salvation. This is a picture of a thank offering. After a sacrifice was made, there would be a communal meal, and a cup of wine would be lifted up in a toast of thanksgiving and praise to God for His deliverance. The psalmist's answer to "What can I give?" is "I will take the salvation He offers, and I will praise Him for it."
This is profoundly counter-intuitive to our pride. Our pride wants to contribute. Our pride wants to bring something to the table to make the transaction feel a little more even. But grace demolishes our pride. God's response to our question of "What can I give you?" is "Let me give you some more." The way we glorify God for His salvation is by joyfully and thankfully receiving it.
For us, this verse points directly to the Lord's Table. What is the Lord's Supper but the lifting up of the cup of salvation? We hear the words of institution every week: "this cup is the new covenant in My blood." It is the cup of reconciliation. It is the cup that proclaims our salvation, bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus. When we come to this table, we are not bringing our good works to God. We are coming with empty hands to receive from Him yet again. We lift that cup, we drink it, and in so doing we "call upon the name of Yahweh." We proclaim His death until He comes. Our participation in communion is a direct answer to the question of verse 12. "What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits?" I shall take the cup of salvation. I will receive the body and blood of His Son, and I will publicly identify myself with Him.
The Public Vow (v. 14)
Receiving salvation is not a private affair. It is a public declaration that results in a public life.
"I shall pay my vows to Yahweh, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people." (Psalm 116:14)
When the psalmist was in the pit, staring death in the face, he made promises to God. "Lord, if you get me out of this, I will serve you. I will praise you. I will live for you." We call these "foxhole prayers." Now that God has delivered him, it is time to make good on those promises. He is going to pay his vows.
But notice the crucial element here. He insists on doing it publicly. "In the presence of all His people." This is not something to be done in a corner. Gratitude that is not expressed is not gratitude at all. God loves it when we give glory to Him. This is not because He is a needy megalomaniac, but because He loves what it does in His people when they see, know, and taste His goodness together. A private faith is a contradiction in terms. The Christian faith is corporate from start to finish.
When you were baptized, you made a public vow. You were marked out as belonging to the Triune God in the presence of the congregation. When you partake of the Lord's Supper, you are publicly reaffirming that vow. You are paying what you owe. And what do you owe? You owe Him everything. Your vow is a vow of allegiance, a vow of fealty. You are saying, "I am not my own. I was bought with a price. And I want everyone to know it."
This is why corporate worship is not an optional add-on for the Christian life. It is the arena where we pay our vows. It is where we lift the cup of salvation together. It is where we collectively answer the great gratitude question. We need to get much better at the practice of boasting in the Lord, of bragging on Him when He has answered our prayers, of telling the stories of His faithfulness in our lives. This is how we pay our vows in the presence of all His people, and it builds the faith of everyone who hears.
Conclusion: The Logic of Grace
So what is the logic of grace presented here? It is simple. God, in His mercy, rescues us when we are helpless. This overwhelming, unearned deliverance prompts the question in our hearts: "What can I possibly give back?"
The answer is not to try and pay God back, which is impossible, but to thankfully receive even more from Him. We are to take up the salvation He offers, symbolized in the cup. This is the heart of worship: receiving the gift.
And this receiving is not a quiet, personal transaction. It is a public act. It is a vow of allegiance that we make and pay before the watching world and, most importantly, in the midst of the covenant community. Our gratitude must have a voice. It must be declared. We are saved by grace, and we respond to that grace by lifting the cup and paying our vows, all in the presence of His people, to the glory of His name.