“Thy vows are upon me, O God”

The title of this short study is taken from Psalm 56:12.  But to fully appreciate and apply it one must trace God’s revelations throughout the Psalm.

The negative, fearful and disturbing comments made by the psalmist in v 1 +2 are perfectly sandwiched between God’s “mercy” at the start of v1 and the “most High” at the end of v2. In short no matter what the Christian may go through, no matter what may seem to be swallowing you up the reality is you are surrounded by God’s mercy and majesty, love and power, grace and authority.  Your enemy will never have the foothold in your life that can defeat either God’s mercy or His majesty.  This is why in v3 the psalmist declares that what time he is afraid he will not lose his confidence in God.  What time he is afraid is referring to verses 1+ 2 i.e. swallowed up, fought against daily, oppressed and ganged up on.  No matter how much the problem may give the impression of being in control it is in fact surrounded by the God of mercy and the power and authority of the “most High”.

If you are in difficulty you have one of two perspectives open to you. The one that says there is no hope because people twist your words, think evil against you, join forces to oppose you and watch your every step just waiting for you to fall or trip up (v 5 +6).  The second perspective is the one that declares that God is watching over everything happening in your life, that He understands your tears (your emotions and how you really feel), that the detail of your hurt is meticulously recorded so that no answer is overlooked when you cry out to God, and that as soon as you do so your enemies are on the run because THEY KNOW that God is on your side,  (v 8-9).  Hallelujah!

Which of these two perspectives should you choose to believe?  The psalmist makes his choice by putting the word of God above his problem (v10), by putting all threats under God’s control (v11), and by praising God because he knows that the promises of mercy and the deliverance from the “most High” literally rest upon him at all times (v12).  The divine vows / promises that are ever present in your life include a God that is your healer, a very present help in trouble, a God that will never desert or abandon you, will guide you, instruct you, and perfect that which concerns you.

So whatever is knocking at your door it is time to declare like the Psalmist, “When I cry unto Thee then shall my enemies turn back: this I KNOW: for God is for me…Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto Thee” (v 9 + 12).