(Psalm 116:12–14)
“What shall I render to the LORD for all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.”
There’s a holy question echoing through this psalm — one that should rest on every heart today: “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” It’s not a question of debt, but of devotion. Not “How can I pay Him back?” — for who could repay grace? But rather, “How can I live in response to such love?”
Jesus once said in John 4:35, “Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for they are white for harvest.” At first, He spoke of mission — of souls ready to be reached. Yet His words also invite us to something more personal: a shift in vision. When the Lord tells us to lift our eyes, He is commanding our hearts to see again. Because gratitude begins when sight is restored. But let me ask you — has your vision been healed enough to see the goodness of the Lord in everything around you? Have your eyes learned to recognize His mercy not only in the miracles, but in the ordinary?
Many of us walk through life with our eyes down — burdened by storms, distracted by noise, too busy to notice the beauty of grace around us. But when we lift our eyes, as Jesus said, we begin to see — the fields of His mercy, the abundance of His kindness, the harvest of blessings that surround our days. The command to look is also the command to behold. And what we behold, we begin to become thankful for.
The Cup – Communion and Intimacy
The psalmist gives his first answer: “I will take up the cup of salvation.” What a beautiful image! He asks, “What shall I give to the Lord?” and the answer is… to receive! The heart of gratitude begins in communion.
The cup is not about giving something to God, but drinking deeply of what He has given us. It is the symbol of relationship — of sitting at His table, sharing in His
presence, tasting the sweetness of His salvation. We cannot truly thank a God we do not know. We cannot lift hands in gratitude if we have never lifted the cup in fellowship.
This cup reminds us of Calvary — of the blood poured out, of the mercy made visible, of the invitation to belong. To take the cup is to draw near again, to remember that the greatest gift of all is not what God gives, but who He is — Emmanuel, God with us.
Spurgeon once said, “Gratitude for God‟s mercy is the only suitable return for His goodness.” And that gratitude begins when we pause long enough to commune with Him, when we silence the noise, lift our eyes, and see that everything we have is grace.
Calling Upon His Name – Worship
The psalm continues: “I will call upon the name of the Lord.” Here, the heart of communion turns into the voice of adoration. Thanksgiving matures into worship. Because when the soul tastes grace, it cannot stay silent.
True worship is not a performance; it is a response. It is the overflow of a heart astonished by mercy. We call upon His name not because He is far, but because He is near — near to the brokenhearted, near to the grateful, near to those who remember His benefits.
Psalm 103 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” He forgives, He heals, He redeems, He crowns, He satisfies. Each of these mercies becomes a reason to sing, a verse in the song of thanksgiving our lives are meant to sing.
C. S. Lewis once wrote that “Gratitude exclaims, ‘How good of God to give me this!’ Adoration says, „What must be the quality of that Being whose gifts these are!‟ Thanksgiving begins with gifts, but worship leads us to the Giver. It is the moment when gratitude turns its face from the blessing to the Blesser Himself.
In worship, the cup in our hand becomes a chalice of praise. We lift it high and say, “This salvation is not mine to keep; it is Yours to be glorified through.” That is thanksgiving — not just saying “thank You,” but saying “You are worthy.”
Fulfilling Our Vows – Celebration in Service
Then the psalmist says, “I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people.” This is the third movement of gratitude: celebration through service.
When gratitude is real, it doesn’t end in the heart — it overflows into the hands. The psalmist cannot remain still; he must do something. Love demands expression. Grace calls for witness.
To fulfill our vows is not to perform religious duty, but to celebrate what God has done by living a life that honors Him. Every act of kindness, every word of encouragement, every service rendered in secret becomes a song of thanksgiving sung in public.
This is the beauty of a grateful life: It turns worship into work, and work into worship. It transforms daily labor into holy offering. Billy Graham once said, “A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord.” We don’t serve to earn God’s favor — we serve because we already have it. We give because we’ve been given so much. We love because we were first loved.
Conclusion – Seeing Again
So, what shall we render to the Lord for all His benefits toward us? We lift the cup — in communion. We call on His name — in worship. We fulfill our vows — in joyful service.
But above all, we lift our eyes. Because the same Lord who calls us to the harvest also calls us to behold His goodness. The same Savior who poured out His blood still fills our cup with mercy every morning. And when words fail us, when gratitude feels too deep for speech, we simply raise that invisible cup of salvation and whisper, “Thank You, Lord.”
For in the end, Thanksgiving is not about what’s on the table, but Who is at the table. The One who fills the cup, the One who redeems the heart, the One who never stops being good.
