10. ...a vow

10. ...a vow

In our listening to - and recollection of - the Vow we must be extremely careful to work with a system of thought of a reciprocal favour making; as if one asked from the Lord a particular favour, and to make sure that He will answer favourably on your request, promise from your side that you would do Him also a favour. You arrange an exchange transaction with the Lord; a kind of “quid pro quo.”

With such an approach one would commit oneself against the honour of the Lord. You would in fact show that you would by way of a vow put pressure on the Lord to do something that He would otherwise not have done. You turn His arm, by way of speech. Then you make of your vow evidence of disbelief rather than belief. Fact is: we need not to convince the Lord from our side with an offer of a “contra achievement” to be merciful on us, and we must not imagine that we can compensate Him for any favour that He shew to us.

This falls once again under the warning in Ecclesiastes 5: God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth; therefore, let thy words be few.

After He fulfilled this word of vow to us, we owe Him no contra achievement. We are indebted thankfulness only, to Him, thankfulness with all we are and have. We must not imagine that we can pay Him anything more than gratitude. What was implored in the Vow from Him, was nothing more than what He Himself in any case promised to every believing prayer. And what is promised in the Vow, is nothing more than what every believer is in any case indebted to Him, also when his prayer, as he sees it, stays not answered.

Whatever we could have meant to want or to can do as gratitude to Him, is spiritual haughtiness and an assault on his honour. With it we in fact say: “No thanks, we do not ask favours, we can pay. We are no beggars! We are not ‘wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked’(Revalation3:17)!” “We can pay our way!”
However, of our debt in gratitude to Him we have also never paid enough! This is a debt that cannot fully be paid.