Hebrews 13:13-16
“[13] Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. [14] For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. [15] By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. [16] But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
We are instructed to leave the camp -- leave the refuge, and bear the reproach Jesus bore for our sake. Go out of the way of our convenience for his cause. The city we have here isn’t eternal. It will melt with fervent heat eventually, but we seek an everlasting one to come in heaven. Because of all of this, give the sacrifice of praise to God, continually, without ceasing, by giving thanks to his name. It’s a sacrifice of thanksgiving. It means we give up our emotions, despite the situation we are in, and offer him praise and gratitude for the love he’s shown for us, for the reproach he bore for us, for the heavenly home is preparing for us. Praise the Lord! Don’t be shy or quiet about it, have that continually be the fruit, or the production, of our lips. The fruits of the spirit are to govern our character. Our speech, and the fruit of our lips, should be praise and thanks unto God. Communication is Holy conversation as well as communicating to God our thankfulness and praise. Those are things a true Christian must offer to God: doing good and communicating praise, thanksgiving, and purity with others.
Psalm 50:23
“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.”
Offering praise is glorifying got God. And ordering our conversation in a way that is glorifying and thankful and pure will cause God to show salvation to us. It gives him the liberty to exercise his saving keeping grace for us. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, so he deserves our praise.
Psalm 69:30-31
“[30] I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. [31] This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.”
Praise can be offered through song and thanksgiving. Both are important things which are pleasing to God. Also, praising through song and thanksgiving were practiced by exemplary Biblical characters who found favor with God. This was a Psalm of David. Giving praise is essential. More important, in fact, than an ox or bullock. These were the traditional sacrifices under Old Testament law. Now, our sacrifice to God is given in praise and the surrendering of our will. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, all we have to do now is praise God. He is pleased with it. Singing is a wonderful expression of love and gratitude to our maker and our Savior. Making a regular practice of being thankful to God and telling him that is likewise pleasing to him -- more than old, fleshly sacrifices of animals. These praises and songs are from the heart.
Hosea 14:2-4
“Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. [3] Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. [4] I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.”
Hosea was advocating here of using words to show penitence to God. Prayer for forgiveness was accompanied with the “calves of our lips.” This is an interesting phrasing, but it has a greatly revealing implication. Calves were generally used as offerings in repentance to God. The supplication they have here is using the calves, or more accurately, the sacrifice of their lips -- which is praise. They will render praise to the Lord to gain forgiveness. Just like the fruit of our lips should be praise, our lips should sacrifice praise to the Lord. They acknowledge that Asshur (which is in reference to Assyria) will not save them despite their positive diplomatic relationship of the time. They won’t fix their hopes on prestigious military horses, and they won’t turn to manmade idols or other fake gods. The I Am is their God. For everything they worship, all the gods they turn to, he is the only one complete. And in him is the way the fatherless, those lost without hope, find mercy. God promises to heal their fall and backslidden nature and love them because they turned away from wrong and offered their praise, or the calves of their lips, to him. It specifically highlights the dependency on God and the value of our words in praise to God.
Ephesians 5:19
“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.”
This is in reference to being filled with the Spirit. This praise is harmonious to the Spirit and well-pleasing to our Lord. It’s clear instruction to give honor and reverence to the King. In psalms, hymns, songs, all by singing. It is an instrumental (ha - get it?) part of our worship to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
This is another reference similar to Ephesians 5:19. The instruction is to give praise with our hearts in tune with the Lord.
Acts 16:25
“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”
We know the end of this story: deliverance. When we are in a difficult trial, our example is to pray and sing. Worshiping God is incredibly important. It’s a display to Christ of the contents of our inner man. Other people heard Paul and Silas, but that did not faze them. It’s a challenge to us to not be ashamed of our praise to the Lord. He deserves it. As with Paul and Silas, the Lord was pleased and saw fit to relieve them of the burden of imprisonment. Might he relieve burdens of our own if we are willing to humble down and offer the sacrifice of praise ourselves?
James 5:13
“Is there any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.”
When we have reason to be happy, let it show! Don’t hide your candle under a bushel. Let that positivity in the Lord glow. Praise the Lord for his mercy to you. It is of that mercy alone that we are not consumed, and that’s reason to praise the Lord! He’s asked for it in our good times. Here is the only time in these verses I’ve referenced that the prerequisite is being merry. All the other times, it just says to do it. Paul and Silas were under immense pressure and in a strenuous situation. Yet, they praised the Lord. He asks for our praise not ONLY when things are going well, but even when we don’t see the way out. Praising him for his goodness and faithful to us, and in the assurance that he has a plan of deliverance from whatever we’re facing, is something that pleases him. We’re sure to receive a blessing of some kind, even if we don’t get our answer immediately.
Our heart's condition is also important to note when we consider giving praise to God. Whether the condition of our heart be ungrateful, fearful, worried, bitter, jealous, or anything else, a remedy to those unhealthy feelings is praise. When we set aside those unprofitable emotions and focus more on the things that ARE working for our good (which is God, all the time), then we find ourselves conditioning our heart to a better state. It's a way of victory over temporary feelings. When we analyze a situation, we'll always find a few key things to be true: a) God is still on His throne, b) Jesus is still at his right hand, being our mediator, c) God's love remains, amidst any other changes. Those three things, however much they seem to directly make contact with our situation, are praiseworthy. God is still there, looking over the matters in my life! Jesus is still interceding on my behalf, petitioning for my well-being to the Father! God truly LOVES me, he hasn't withdrawn his affection! We'll find ourselves rejoicing in the trial instead of dreading the length of our battle.
He is so worthy of any praise we can muster, so we ought to give it to him. Most of the time when we pray, we bring needs of our own and petition him to undertake in circumstances that contradict our happiness in life. Yes, he asks us to cast our every care on him, but that’s not all he asks. He asks for praise and desires that we worship him.
Here's a song that came to my mind in relation to this topic: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRB4cJsxJck]
Keep encouraged!
