¹¹ Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared. ¹² He will cut off the spirit of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth. (Psalm 76:11–12)

We tend to distance ourselves from thinking of God as a wrathful deity, with visions of hellfire-and-brimstone preaching echo embarrassingly in our collective consciences. Yet we cherish the psalms as providing comfort to hurting, struggling Christians without appreciating the frequently sobering words found in Psalm 76: “You, even You, are to be feared; and who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?” (Ps 76:7). Can we find anything here useful for us who have experienced the loving grace of God and don’t want to portray to the world a medieval sort of deity that instills fear in order to manipulate people into behavioral conformity.

We must remember that the NT contains this assertion:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16–17)

The Apostle Paul, the great communicator of God’s grace and love, could not be any clearer. Psalm 76:11-12 is inspired and profitable for us today. So then, how can we see this in a way that is not just palatable, but also profitable for training in righteousness?

Taking vows, although minimized in the NT, was a common practice in the OT. When performing religious activity such as vows, God’s people need to fulfill what they promise to do, what they say they are going to do. Jesus taught, “I say to you, make no oath at all … but let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil” (Matt 5:34, 37). James, the half-brother of Jesus, who wrote the book by the same name, emphasized this same thing and added a warning, “so that you may not fall under judgment” (James 5:12). God doesn’t take duplicity or lip-service lightly.

Christians should be people of their word; they should say what they mean and mean what they say, and act consistently with their words. Did not Jesus reserve His harshest rebuke for hypocrites? “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me” (Is 29:13). Yes, a person should fear God if he or she approaches God hypocritically. He is not a deity to be trifled with, presumed upon, mocked or patronized.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way (Ps 139:23–24).