Psalm 76:11

11 Make ye a vow, and yield ye to your Lord God; all that bring gifts in the compass of it. To God fearedful, (Make ye a vow, and pay ye it to the Lord your God; and let those who be all around bring gifts to him. To him who is to be feared,)

Psalm 76:11 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 76:11

Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God
Not monastic vows, which the Papists would infer from these and such like words; nor ceremonial ones, but spiritual sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, such as men sometimes make in times of distress, or when delivered, ( Psalms 66:13 Psalms 66:14 ) ( Jonah 1:16 ) and which when vowed ought to be paid, ( Ecclesiastes 5:4 Ecclesiastes 5:5 ) , not to creatures, angels, or saints, but to God, from whom the mercy desired must be expected, and from whence it comes, ( Psalms 50:14 ) , these words are an address to such who were delivered from wrath, either of God or man:

let all that be round about him;
who surround the throne of his grace, gather together in his house to attend his word and ordinances, who are his servants, and constantly and faithfully adhere to him; among whom he grants his presence, they are near to him, and he to them. It is a periphrasis of the assembly of the saints; see ( Psalms 89:7 ) . The Targum is,

``all ye that dwell round about his sanctuary;''

the allusion is to the situation of the camp of Israel, and the tabernacle in the wilderness, ( Numbers 2:1 ) compare with this ( Revelation 4:4 ) ,

bring presents unto him that ought to be feared,
or "to the fear" ^F6, which is one of the names of God; see ( Genesis 31:42 ) and who is and ought to be the object of the fear and reverence of men; the "presents", to be brought to him are the sacrifices of prayer and praise, yea, the whole persons, the souls and bodies, of men; see ( Psalms 72:10 ) , compare with this ( 2 Chronicles 32:22 2 Chronicles 32:23 ) . The Targum is,

``let them bring offerings into the house of the sanctuary of the terrible One;''

of him that is to be feared, with a godly fear by good men, and to be dreaded by evil men, as follows.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (arwml) "ad verb terrori, timori", Vatsblus; "numini", De Dieu, "venerando et timendo huic numini", Michaelis; so Ainsworth.

Psalm 76:11 In-Context

9 When God rose up into doom; to make safe all the mild men of earth. (When God rose up to judge; and to save all the humble of the earth.)

10 For the thought of man shall acknowledge to thee; and the remnants of thought/the leavings of thought shall make a feast day to thee. (For all their anger, people shall still praise thee; and they who be the remnants/who be the survivors shall make a feast day to thee.)

11 Make ye a vow, and yield ye to your Lord God; all that bring gifts in the compass of it. To God fearedful, (Make ye a vow, and pay ye it to the Lord your God; and let those who be all around bring gifts to him. To him who is to be feared,)

12 and to him that taketh away the spirit of princes; to the fearedful at the kings of earth. (to him who breaketh the spirit of princes, or of the leaders; to him who is feared by all the kings of the earth.)