When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools: pay that which you have vowed.
All Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 5:4 Go To Ecclesiastes 5
Caesarius of Arles
AD 542
It does a person no good to say that he possesses faith if he neglects to fulfill in deed what he promises in word. As the Scriptures say, “If you have vowed anything to God, defer not to pay it. For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him. It is much better not to vow than after a vow not to perform the things promised.” In order that we may understand these facts clearly from our relations with our servants, let someone tell me whether it is enough for him if his servant says all day that he is his lord and ceases not to commend him with praises but refuses to do what has been commanded. Therefore, if words without deeds do not please us, how much more can faith without works fail to benefit us in the sight of God? Above all, we must fear lest someone believes so strongly that he will receive God’s mercy that he does not dread his justice. If a person does this, he has no faith. Likewise, if he dreads God’s justice so much that he despairs of his mercy, there is no faith. Since God is not only merciful but also just, let us believe in both. Let us not despair of his mercy because we fear his justice or love his mercy so much that we disregard his justice. Therefore we should neither hope wrongly nor despair wickedly.
