In one of the great Psalms of thanksgiving, the writer asked a most pertinent question. “What shall I render unto the Lord for all of His benefits toward me” (Psalm 116:12)? We may observe two elements in this question. The psalmist acknowledges having received many benefits, or blessings, at the hand of the Lord. For the believer, to be the receiver of blessings from the Lord is a fact beyond question. That is one facet of a proper perception of reality. However, for the unbeliever, or even for the nominal believer, such things come in the course of nature, or as a matter of deserving them. But to fail to see that such benefits and blessings come from the Lord is to lose touch with reality. The other element of the question is that the writer expresses a sense of obligation to the Lord and reveals a desire to do something in response to the amazing goodness of God to him. It is the reflex of the godly heart to desire to do something in response to the perceived goodness of God. It is not so much a matter of repaying as it is to gratefully acknowledge what God has done.
In the verses following the one quoted above, the psalmist goes on to say what he will do. There are at least four assertions by the writer as to what he will do. First, he says, “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord” (vs. 13). It is to acknowledge God as the Lord of salvation. It is to seek the very thing which the Lord provides. Second, he says, “I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people” (vs. 14). It seems that the Psalmist is saying that the fact he had received benefits from the Lord created in him a duty to do something in response to those blessings. The psalmist is expressing his intention of fulfilling that obligation to which he had alluded in verse 12. Third, he says, “I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord” (vs.17). In commenting on this expression, Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, “Being thy servant, I am bound to sacrifice to thee, and having received spiritual blessings at thy hands I will not bring bullock or goat, but I will bring that which is more suitable, namely, the thanksgiving of my heart. My inmost soul shall adore thee in gratitude” (The Treasury of David). Finally, the writer repeats an earlier statement and expands upon it. He says, "I will pay my vows unto the Lord in the presence of all His people, in the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, 0 Jerusalem. Praise ye the Lord" (vs. 18-19). As Spurgeon said, “A good thing is worth saying twice.” He is reminding himself to go on and do what he had already said he would do, and he will do it in the midst of the people of God.
All these activities are a part of thanksgiving. They go to define what it is to be thankful. It would do well for all of us, at this Thanksgiving season, to ponder what God has done for us. We are so prone to overlook so many of the things God has done for us. And, further than that, that sense of thanksgiving should then be reflected in the way we conduct our lives. Does your life have room for the things expressed by the psalmist? That is a good question for all of us to ponder.