(11) Vow, and pay . . .--This clause seems to be addressed to the Israelites, the next to the heathen.

Verse 11. - Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God. The people of Israel are now addressed. Under the circumstances, they are sure to have made vows to God in the time of their great trouble, before the deliverance came. Now, when the deliverance has come, let them pay these vows. Let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared; literally, unto the Terrible One. By "all that are round about him" the psalmist seems to mean, not Israel only, but those other oppressed ones who had shared the benefit of the deliverance (comp. ver. 9). That presents were brought by some of these is recorded by the writer of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 32:23).

76:7-12 God's people are the meek of the earth, the quiet in the land, that suffer wrong, but do none. The righteous God seems to keep silence long, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. We live in an angry, provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man. What will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out. He can set bounds to the wrath of man, as he does to the raging sea; hitherto it shall come, and no further. Let all submit to God. Our prayers and praises, and especially our hearts, are the presents we should bring to the Lord. His name is glorious, and he is the proper object of our fear. He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he shall slip it off easily, as we slip off a flower from the stalk, or a bunch of grapes from the vine; so the word signifies. He can dispirit the most daring: since there is no contending with God, it is our wisdom, as it is our duty, to submit to him. Let us seek his favour as our portion, and commit all our concerns to him.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, Psalm 66:13 and which when vowed ought to be paid, Ecclesiastes 5:4, not to creatures, angels, or saints, but to God, from whom the mercy desired must be expected, and from whence it comes, Psalm 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 Psalm 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" (f), 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 Psalm 72:10, compare with this 2 Chronicles 32:22. 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.

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