I will come into thy house with burnt offerings Hitherto the Psalmist has spoken in the name of the people at large. Now he emphatically gives expression to his own private feelings, and calls upon them, by his example, to engage individually in the exercises of religion, it being impossible that there should be any hearty common consent unless each entered seriously upon the service of thanksgiving for himself and apart. We are taught that when God at any time succours us in our adversity, we do an injustice to his name if we forget to celebrate our deliverances with solemn acknowledgements. More is spoken of in this passage than thanksgiving. He speaks of vows having been contracted by him in his affliction, and these evidenced the constancy of his faith. The exhortation of the Apostle James is worthy of our special notice -- "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms." (James 5:13) How many are there who lavish their hypocritical praises upon God in the career of their good fortune, while they are no sooner reduced to straits than the fervor of their love is damped, or gives place to the violence of fretfulness and impatience. The best evidence of true piety is when we sigh to God under the pressure of our afflictions, and show, by our prayers, a holy perseverance in faith and patience; while afterwards we come forward with the expression of our gratitude. The words, which my lips have uttered, are not an unmeaning addition, but imply that he had never allowed himself to be so far overcome by grief as not to throw his desires into the express form of petition, declaring that he cast himself for safety into the hands of God. On the subject of vows, I may just shortly repeat the remarks which have been given at greater length elsewhere. First, the holy fathers never vowed anything to God but what they knew to be sanctioned by his approval. Secondly, their sole end in vowing was to evidence their gratitude. The Papists, therefore, can find no warrant, from their example, for the rash and impious vows which they practice. They obtrude upon God whatever chances to come first into their lips; the end which they propose to themselves is the farthest removed from the right one; and with devilish presumption they engage themselves to things which are not allowed them.

I will go into thy house with burnt-offeriings - To thy temple - the place of worship. This is language designed to represent the feelings and the purpose of the people. If the psalm was composed on occasion of the return from the Babylonian captivity, it means that, as their first act, the people would go to the house of God, and acknowledge his goodness to them, and render him praise. On the word burnt-offerings, see the notes at Isaiah 1:11.
I will pay thee my vows - I will keep the solemn promises which I had made; that is, the promises which the people had made in the long period of their captivity. On the word vows, see the notes at Psalm 22:25.

I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings - Now that thou hast restored us to our own land, and established us in it, we will establish thy worship, and offer all the various kinds of sacrifices required by thy law.
I will pay thee my vows - We often vowed, if thou wouldst deliver us from our bondage, to worship and serve thee alone: now thou hast heard our prayers, and hast delivered us; therefore will we fulfill our engagements to thee. The old Psalter gives this a pious turn: - I sall yelde till the my woues, that is, the vowes of louying (praising) the; whilk vowes my lipes divisid sayand, that I am noght, and thou arte all: and I hafe nede of the, noght thou of me. This is a right distinction - It is certainly a good distinction, and it is strictly true. The allsufficient God needs not his creatures.

I will go into thy (h) house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
(h) The duty of the faithful is here described, who are never mindful to render God praise for his benefits.

I will go into thy house with burnt offerings,.... The psalmist here represents the saints and faithful in those times, who being delivered out of all their troubles, and brought into a large, free, plentiful, and comfortable condition, will come together into the place of public worship, and there unite in their sacrifices of praise to God; will come and present themselves as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; will come with hearts inflamed with love to God and one another, which is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, Mark 12:33;
I will pay thee my vows; thanksgivings promised in time of distress, as follows; see Psalm 50:14.

We should declare unto those that fear God, what he has done for our souls, and how he has heard and answered our prayers, inviting them to join us in prayer and praise; this will turn to our mutual comfort, and to the glory of God. We cannot share these spiritual privileges, if we retain the love of sin in our hearts, though we refrain from the gross practice, Sin, regarded in the heart, will spoil the comfort and success of prayer; for the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination of the Lord. But if the feeling of sin in the heart causes desires to be rid of it; if it be the presence of one urging a demand we know we must not, cannot comply with, this is an argument of sincerity. And when we pray in simplicity and godly sincerity, our prayers will be answered. This will excite gratitude to Him who hath not turned away our prayer nor his mercy from us. It was not prayer that fetched the deliverance, but his mercy that sent it. That is the foundation of our hopes, the fountain of our comforts; and ought to be the matter of our praises.

These full and varied offerings constitute the payment of vows (Leviticus 22:18-23).

From this point onwards the poet himself speaks, but, as the diversity and the kind of the sacrifices show, as being a member of the community at large. The עולות stand first, the girts of adoring homage; בּ is the Beth of the accompaniment, as in Leviticus 16:3; 1-Samuel 1:24, cf. Hebrews 9:25. "My vows" refer more especially to פּצה פּה ׃שׁלמי נדר also occurs elsewhere of the involuntary vowing to do extraordinary things urged from one by great distress (Judges 11:35). אשׁר is an accusative of the object relating to the vows, quae aperuerunt = aperiendo nuncupaverunt labia mea (Geier). In Psalm 66:15 עשׂה, used directly (like the Aramaic and Phoenician עבד) in the signification "to sacrifice" (Exodus 29:36-41, and frequently), alternates with העלה, the synonym of הקטיר. The sacrifices to be presented are enumerated. מיחים (incorrect for מחים) are marrowy, fat lambs; lambs and bullocks (בּקר) have the most universal appropriation among the animals that were fit for sacrifices. The ram (איל), on the contrary, is the animal for the whole burnt-offering of the high priest, of the princes of the tribes, and of the people; and appears also as the animal for the shelamim only in connection with the shelamim of Aaron, of the people, of the princes of the tribes, and, in Numbers 6:14, of the Nazarite. The younger he-goat (עתּוּד) is never mentioned as an animal for the whole burnt-offering; but, indeed, as an animal for the shelamim of the princes of the tribes in Numbers. 7. It is, therefore, probable that the shelamim which were to be offered in close connection with the whole burnt-offerings are introduced by עם, so that קטרת signifies the fat portions of the shelamim upon the altar smoking in the fire. The mention of "rams" renders it necessary that we should regard the poet as here comprehending himself among the people when he speaks thus.