Sacrifice of Praise
Have you heard of the old gospel song “We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise”?
We bring the sacrifice of praise
Into the house of the Lord.
We bring the sacrifice of praise
Into the house of the Lord.
And we offer up to You
The sacrifices of thanksgiving;
And we offer up to You
The sacrifices of joy
These lyrics remind me of singing and clapping joyfully in my church growing up. I was confused by the almost flippant singing of this hymn that stated “sacrifice.” What two opposites this brings together – “sacrifice” and “praise.”
When thinking of how to contemplate “thanksgiving” I was drawn back to this song. It comes from a verse in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 15 which says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Let us unpack this verse together below.
“Through Jesus” – Let’s start there. It is through His strength and His knowledge that we can praise. Not working in our own strength or circumstances but instead having a power within us of faith and trust in Christ alone. If you do not know Him yet, know His power, He is inviting you to relationship with Him. If you do know Him, what is He asking you to for you to do “through” his name?
“Therefore, let us continually” – This word “continually” in the Greek comes from two words meaning “on account of” and “all.” Jesus is the underwriter on our account and gives us the energy for this continual work that we are required to give in this verse. As my pastor says “all means all, and that’s all, all means.” But in other words no one person, man, woman, nation is excluded – everyone can come and do what it is He is asking us to do.
“Offer to God” – We have something to offer, or bring, to an eternal, almighty being. This can excite and humble us as we think that there is anything that can be given to God. And what is it that we offer Him?
“A sacrifice of praise” – This is what we have to lift up before an almighty God – praise, or worship, is what we bring to the alter.
“The fruit of lips” – We have a gauge or a way to test what we are bringing in this offering to God. The fruit that we should see from our life is found in the final part of this verse.
“That openly profess his name” – A public declaration, an acknowledgement of Whose power we are working through, and an openness to say the name of Jesus. That is what fruit should come from our lives as we learn to praise Him.
Unpacking Hebrews 13:15 gives more of a context to what that old gospel song was proclaiming. This wording “sacrifice of praise” is personal to me in the culture that I live in.
My husband is an Army chaplain and we live in a military community. As a soldier, his body is property of the United States, he is required to deploy where they give orders to live and work, and there is an expectation of professionalism that is required of his actions and emotions. As a military family, my children and I have to allow for long absences of our soldier, move locations and leave friends when our assignment changes, and be prepared to complete many tasks on our own without the help of our service member. There certainly is sacrifice in the lifestyle we feel called to live, but it is through wonderful support of others who come alongside us that we find joy and can praise God through the exciting and stressful seasons of our ministry.
This military culture understands the word sacrifice. I would also say that the language of these soldiers and families is sacrifice. As a chaplain, my husband is able to come alongside and encourage families in this challenging environment for couples. Oftentimes breakthroughs in marriages come when the couple can begin to serve each other like they do the people around them. This service comes at a cost, as many memorials of names and flags can be seen across our country. However, the vast majority of our military and family members consider it a privilege and honor to serve. Our family always answers a person’s kind “thank you for your service” with “it’s our honor” because it truly is. It is a privilege to serve and I can find joy in releasing my husband for tours overseas in harms way because of the families we are helping by his leaving and because we know this is our calling as a family to proclaim Jesus to those hurting. When my daughter was younger I would tell her that it was daddy’s turn to go help so that another daddy or mommy could come home – they were taking turns so that they could see their families. This broader purpose brought empathy and connection with others that was a sacrifice of praise to those we were ministering to.
So, how about you? What acts of worship can you give our God in the everyday mundane and on the glorious platform (both of which God has given you to be faithful in)? Ultimately the view of Hebrews 13:15 is one of “a sacrifice of praise” in seeing God through our worship of Him, connected with fellow believers, and proclaiming the work of Christ to a dark world.
About the author:
Ashley Murray currently lives in DuPont, WA with her husband Jim and their three kids. She volunteers in various military ministries on Joint Base Lewis McChord and loves spending time with her husband and kids and serving the families that serve our country.
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