I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
Psalm 116:18
Vows were fairly common in old testament times. They were solemn, binding promises that could not be broken. The most infamous example is the judge Jephthah vowing to sacrifice whatever came out to meet him after his military victory. As it was, it was his daughter, and so important was a man's word in those days that he had to go through with it.
We don't know the context of this vow in Psalm 116, but it must be doubly important because it is repeated twice: in the absence of bold, italics and underlines; repetition emphasised importance. This wasn't some kind of secret society agreement: this was a public declaration.
There's only one positive vow in the new testament, which is the seemingly trivial vow of Paul to get his hair cut. But this does set a precedent for us to make vows. For the Christian it's often between us and God, but if we want to get confirmation that we're on the right lines, we might go public like the Psalmist.
The classic modern day example of vows is the marriage vows, where we promise to love each other for richer, for poorer; for better, for worse; in sickness and in health. The old testament injunction still stands, that if you're going to make a vow, you've got to keep it.
"Lord God, don't let me be hasty in making vows. Empower me to be a man of my word, and forgive me for times I have not. But thank you that you have decreed forgiveness and salvation for me in Christ, and that your word is true. Yours be the glory, amen"
