What Shall I Render?

What Shall I Render?

What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?

Psalm 116:12

It is good for us to set aside seasons for reflection. Such times give us the opportunity to consider from whence the Lord has brought us; where we are at the present moment; and how it is that the Mercy of God has caused us to be here. Our text today asks this pertinent question, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” Let us, please, let this question sink down in our hearts and cause us to engage in some serious reflection upon the Person and Work of Christ.  Of all the ‘benefits’ which God has bestowed upon us, Christ is the Greatest. We perhaps remember ourselves as being much like Ezekiel’s’ deserted infant, ‘cast out to the loathing of our person.’ Christ saw us in our disheveled, deserted state, wallowing about in our own filth. He spread His Own mantle over us. He picked us up out of the mire. He washed us in His Own Blood; opened for us the fountain, ‘ for sin and for uncleanness.’ He has, like the Good Samaritan, ‘poured in oil and wine,’ to heal our wounds. He has paid our debt to the last penny. He has ‘set the solitary in families,’ given us His Own Name; elevated us to the status of members of the Royal Household; even ‘made us kings and priests unto our God.’ We are saved for all eternity by the blood of the Lamb. These reflections, and all the myriad of accompanying thoughts that flood our souls, cause us to ask with the Psalmist, ‘What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?’ As we begin a perusal of this passage, let us begin, please, with these reflections.

Our most Holy and Gracious God,
we praise You first, for Who You are, and beyond that, for all Your wonderful benefits,
which You have bestowed upon us in Christ.
It is our hearts desire, to render unto You that which is appropriate,
in return for all these benefits.

Where the Bush is Burning
Tomm Tice