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The Sacrifice of Praise

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.
(Hebrews 13.15)

JESUS is the only true sacrifice for our sins. None else will do. His blood, shed on the cross, has made us acceptable to God. Through faith in Him we are reconciled to our heavenly Father and made heirs to all the promises and blessings of God. "Therefore by Him," said the author of Hebrews, "let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto His name."

The Old Testament spoke of the "sacrifice of thanksgiving" (Leviticus 7:12). This was a form of "peace offering" (also known as "fellowship" or "covenant" offering). The peace offering conveyed the Hebrew shalom — wholeness and well-being. It was presented when someone was seeking blessing from the Lord or desired to give thanks for blessing received. It signified fellowship with God and an enjoyment of covenant with Him.

The Hebrew word for "thanksgiving" in Leviticus 7 is towdah. It expresses adoration and commitment. Literally, it refers to the extension of the hand, as in fellowship or worship. It is translated as "thanksgiving," "praise," "offering" and "confession."

The author of Hebrews picked up on the latter term when he referred to "the fruit of our lips giving thanks." The Greek word for "giving thanks" is homologeo. It literally means to say the "same word," and is commonly translated as "confess." This is how the New International Version renders it, "the fruit of lips that confess His name." To confess something is to acknowledge and get into agreement with it.

In the sacrifice of praise, we confess the name of the Lord. As we do, we are getting into agreement with who He is and what He has done. In this way, we begin to understand our true identity and experience what we have in Him.

The first confession we need to make about Jesus is that He is Lord. Paul said, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:9-10).

Notice how faith and confession go together. Faith is experienced in the heart, and is exercised by the mouth. The heart believes and the mouth confesses. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).

In the Old Testament are many wonderful names used for God that expand our understanding of who He is and what He has done. These are compound names, built on the personal name of God, Yahweh (or Jehovah). They picture for us the redemptive work of Christ. As we confess these names with our lips and believe them with our hearts, they become praise and thanksgiving to God.

The LORD Will Provide

Yahweh Yireh

"And Abraham called the name of the place, The LORD Will Provide" (Genesis 22:14). The root word of yireh literally means "to see." God sees a need and moves to meet it. In Genesis 22, God saw the need for a sacrifice to be offered instead of Isaac, so He provided a ram, ultimately pointing toward the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ in our place.

Jesus Himself is the provision of God who opens the way for us to receive every blessing and provision of God. Paul said, "My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).

The LORD Who Heals You

Yahweh Rapha

God declared to the children of Israel, "I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am The LORD Who Heals You" (Exodus 15:26). God does not bring sickness and disease to His people. He reveals Himself as the one who heals them.

Isaiah said, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows ... and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5). These "griefs" and "sorrows" are actually "infirmities" and "sicknesses." That is how Matthew 8:16-17 quotes them, applying this passage to the healing ministry of Jesus, and observing that Jesus "healed all the sick" who came or were brought to Him.

The LORD is My Banner

Yahweh Nissi

"And Moses built an altar and called its name, The LORD is My Banner" (Exodus 17:15). Moses built this alter of thanksgiving after the Lord gave the victory to the children of Israel over the Amalekites. The altar was a banner, a rallying point.

When the Lord is our banner, victory is assured. Paul said, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

Jesus is our victory banner. Paul said, "In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). And "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).

The LORD Who Sanctifies You

Yahweh Qadesh

God said, "I am The LORD Who Sanctifies You" (Exodus 31:13). To be sanctified means to be cleansed and made holy, to be set apart for God's special purposes.

Jesus is the one who sanctifies us. The author of Hebrews said, "We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:10). Paul said that Jesus "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2.14). Through Jesus, God has sanctified us, set us apart to experience and show forth His goodness in our lives.

The LORD is Peace

Yahweh Shalom

"So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The LORD is Peace" (Judges 6:24). The shalom, or peace of God, is wholeness and well-being. Nothing is missing; nothing is broken.

Isaiah said of Jesus, "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him" (Isaiah 53:5). This shows a great exchange that has taken place. Jesus was chastised for us so that we might experience His peace and wholeness in our lives. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to You" (John 14:27).

The LORD is My Shepherd

Yahweh Rohe

David declared, "The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1). The shepherd takes care of the sheep, providing for every need. He satisfies their hunger in fresh, green pastures. He quenches their thirst and refreshes them beside calm, cooling waters. He restores them to wholeness. He guides and protects them, and leads them safely through the shadowlands.

Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11). The devil is a false shepherd, a thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy the sheep. But "I have come," Jesus said, "that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

The book of Hebrews closes with this benediction, "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen" (Hebrew 13:20-21).

The LORD Our Righteousness

Yahweh Tsidkenu

"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a king shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in safety; now this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

The Hebrew word for righteousness, tsedeq, speaks of that which is altogether right and just. It also refers to prosperity. Righteousness is God's way of doing and being right. It is His "rightness." When we walk in this rightness, we experience His blessing and prosperity. Psalm 112 describes at length the blessing and prosperity of those who are righteous.

Jesus is the Branch of David, the King who reigns and prospers. He is our righteousness. "For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Paul described a righteousness "which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:9). When we receive His righteousness, we receive His blessing and prosperity.

The LORD is There

Yahweh Shammah

Looking toward a time of healing and restoration, the book of Ezekiel ends with these words, "And the name of the city from that day on shall be: The LORD is There" (Ezekiel 48:35). This is the presence of the Lord, who is the source of all healing and restoration.

Jesus brings the presence of God close to us. "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God is with us" (Matthew 1:23). Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Paul said, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9).

Jesus promised us His presence. "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). His final words to the disciples were, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

Many names have been used in Scripture to introduce us to the multi-faceted glory of God. Take time to meditate on these names. Let them fill your heart to overflowing. Then open your lips and speak out of the abundance of your heart. It will be a sacrifice of praise. Let it be a continual offering to the Lord, daily giving thanks to His name, and gratefully recognizing who He is and what He has done for us.

Dear Lord,

I bring you the sacrifice of praise. You are my Provider, taking care of all my needs according to the riches of Your glory. You are my Healer, taking away my sicknesses and pains, healing me — spirit, soul and body. You are my Banner, giving me the victory in all things. You are my Sanctifier, cleansing me and setting me apart for sweet fellowship with You. You are my Peace, trading my brokenness and strife for Your wholeness and well-being. You are my Shepherd, leading and protecting me, feeding my hunger, quenching my thirst, restoring my soul. You are my Righteousness, taking away my sin and giving me all the blessings of heaven. You are the The Lord Who is There, and I will never be alone, without a helper, without a friend, for You are always with me.

JESUS, You are my Lord. I love You and give myself to You. I open my lips to offer you thanks and praise. I worship and adore and confess Your sweet name — Jesus. Amen.

© 2002 Jeff Doles.
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