Thomas Aquinas, on Ps 49:14

“Offer to God the sacrifice of praise: and pay thy vows to the most High.”

“"Offer to God." Here he shows what that sacrifice is which God accepts. And first he shows what God accepts from man. Second, what he gives in return. The Lord requires two things from man. First, the sacrifice of praise. And praise is called a sacrifice because sacrifice is nothing other than a profession of interior devotion and faith; for through sacrifice we acknowledge God as the creator of all things. 1 Chr. 29: "All things are yours, and what we have received from your hand we have given to you." Augustine, in the book On Christian Doctrine, says that no sign is as expressive and as signifying the intention of the heart as the word, and exterior faith; and devotion cannot be better expressed than through the devotion of praise. And thus praise is more acceptable to God than the killing of animals. Heb. 13: "Through him let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God." Hos. 14: "We will render the calves of our lips." Second, the Lord requires that one pay one's vows to the Most High. And therefore he says, "And pay your vows to the Most High." Praise is a sacrifice to God insofar as it is a sign of interior devotion, because praise signifies that a man offers his mind to God; and this is what God wills to be rendered to him, and this is the vow, and thus the vow is an act of worship. Is. 19: "They shall worship him with sacrifices and offerings, and they shall make vows to God and pay them." Eccl. 5: "If you have vowed anything to God, do not delay to pay it."”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.