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“I will pay my vows to the LORD, in the presence of all His people.” (Ps 116)

᛭ INI ᛭

Vows are a promise with the LORD’s name attached. They’re also called an oath. They’re a pretty big deal. Covered by the second commandment. “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God.” “The LORD will not consider him innocent who misuses His name.”

The Lord has sworn an oath. He’s taken a vow, and will not change His mind. “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” (Gen 3:15) “The LORD has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” (Ps 110:4) “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” (Ps 2:7) All of those oaths are about saving you in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, Your Savior.

The Lord keeps on taking oaths, swearing by His own name, to save you. He’s taken an oath at your baptism. His name attached to you. There He vowed that you are His, that you are cleansed in Jesus’ blood, clothed in His righteousness, and covered in His empty tomb.

He fulfills the vows of His Word. “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed, and you will know the Truth,” Jesus is the Truth, “and the Truth”—Jesus Himself—“will set you free.” (Jn 8) “The Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3)

He fulfills His vow with “the cup of salvation.” (Ps 116) He does what He says: “This [bread] is My body, which is given FOR YOU; this cup [of wine] is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed FOR YOU for the forgiveness of sins.” His vow, oath, and promise stand firm: “Then Jesus said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” (Jn 6:53–56)

Tomorrow, you’ll be making some vows. Vows your parents, your grandparents have made, too. So, let’s open our hymnals for a bit. We’re turning to page 272. You’ve already made these vows already. (Or, if you’re older, ones that’re really similar.) It’s a good day to reaffirm them. Easy peasy! In order to keep everyone honest, I invite those of you have been confirmed in the Lutheran Church to answer.

You six will be making these same vows tomorrow…

We can make such vows because of his vows to us. He has set us free to proclaim our vows in the presence of his people. If you don’t, “The LORD will not consider him innocent who misuses His name.” But if you do actually keep those vows, all glory to God! He vows, and we heard this a couple weeks ago in church, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezek 36:27) To not walk, to not keep, to not do, is evidence of being an unfruitful tree, disconnected from Christ, and rejecting and resisting the Spirit, for He alone bears His fruit through you’re actually abiding in Jesus’ Words and flesh and blood.

We keep our vow because the Lord keeps His vows for you. “We love,” and love Him, “because He first loved us.” (1 Jn 4:19) To forsake His vows and the ways He keeps them by unfaith, by disuse, is far worse than just forsaking your vows, breaking your promises. It’s not good—very dangerous!—to willfully become a liar, but by doing so you’re also, more importantly, more dangerously, setting aside His vows, His promises, His Word, His Sacrament, and the Holy Spirit who works in the Word and Sacrament. And Hebrews warns each of us:

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” (Heb 6:4–6)

What is impossible with us, is possible with God, the God who died for your sins, unfaithfulness, vow breaking. “We love Him because He first loved us.” [Chelsie] In Holy Baptism, He washed you clean, and gave you the Holy Spirit. (Tit 3; Ezek 36) And through His Word, His Preaching, His Absolution, He answers the prayer of faith: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Ps 51:10 KJV) [Piper] So also at Communion, where take the cup of salvation, pay your vows to the Lord in the presence of ALL His people, “the whole company of heaven.” Thus, abiding in Jesus, by eating and drinking His flesh and blood in faith, we sing out: O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good, and His mercy endureth forever. (Ps 106:1 KJV) [Cole] As Christ and Spirit gives you faith to prepare you for the Supper, so the Supper prepares you for eternal life. That meal and drink prepares you for the feast that never ends: It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (Rev 21:6) [Samuel] From beginning to end it’s all His doing. After all, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jn 14:6) [Landon, Christina]

“I will pay my vows to the LORD, in the presence of all His people.” (Ps 116) We pay not because of our faithfulness but His! He keeps His Word. We keep ours because of His keeping His Word and His keeping us. “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Rom 2:4) Nevertheless, in spite of us, He keeps the promises that are in and flow from Christ’s death, His Baptism, Absolution, Pulpit, and Supper: “If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Tim 2:12-13)

᛭ INI ᛭