WHAT SHALL I RENDER

WHAT SHALL I RENDER

Psalms 116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD [for] all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.

Twice in the 116th Psalm David makes this same statement. Of course, there are other things he said he would do, but the term "Call upon the Name of the Lord" caught my eye, and I felt I needed to know more about what it means to do it.

I was surprised by what I found. It is one of those words (Strong's #7121) which could be, and has been, translated different ways. Early in the Bible it is found-- Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.

It is translated "Call" about 500 times, but there are places where it might have been more properly rendered another word-- which, indeed, it was many times.

Three outstanding ways it was also translated are: "Proclaim" (Lev 25:10 et al.), "Publish" (Deu 32:3 et al.) and "Preach." (Neh 6:7, Jonah 3:2)

The two scriptures I have printed above are, in my estimation, two places where it might have been better if the translators had used one of the three alternate words.

It sure changed the face of things when I discovered that the Hebrew word could be, and had been, translated differently with these alternate words.

You will admit with me that there is a vast difference between simply "calling upon" the Name of the Lord, and "Proclaiming, Publishing, Preaching" the Name of the Lord. Yet, they all come from the same root word in the Hebrew text.

"What shall I render-- for all His benefits--? First, I should take the cup of Salvation. That is the first, and most important step.

Then, it would be fitting if I told others about the Name of the Lord, which has become my "Strong Tower, my Rock; my Shield, and the Horn of my Salvation, my High Tower, and my Refuge, my Saviour."