Article November 11, 1916 ISSUE

Rendering unto God

JOHN B. WILLIS

The psalmist's query, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?" speaks for an alert sense both of possession and of obligation; and his answer, "I will take the cup of salvation . . . I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people," is no less interesting for its breadth of practical meaning than for its charm of poetic expression. To be touched and inspired by the divine beneficence, and to fulfil toward all men the instinctive pledges of good doing thus awakened, is to register a great spiritual achievement and prove one's self a Christian.

In his endeavor to this end one is called to think of a good many specific things not named in the psalmist's words though legitimately embraced in his statement. And first we can but recognize the fact that there are no things which can be considered as suitable offerings to God. We can be something for Him, but our salvation is too entirely a matter of grace to warrant any thought of an exchange of values with Him—that we can make any return for His goodness save in our loving obedience and grateful praise. He already possesses all good, while apart from Him we have simply nothing at all.

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