Worship

Part 15 - From Where doe the Praise Come?

Hebrews 13:15 helps us understand praise to God is a regular part of our worship. "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name" Praise is the fruit of lips giving thanks to God. Psalm 117:1 exhorts this praise. "Praise the Lord all nations; Laud Him, all peoples!" Paul puts this praise in the mouths of Christians everywhere (Romans 15:11).

This is praise rooted in the work of God. It is praise arising from hearts exercised by the grace of God. God "predestinated us to adoption as children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace" (Ephesians 1:5-6). Through Christ "we have obtained an inheritance...to the end that we...would be to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:1:11-12). We also received the Holy Spirit, "a pledge of our inheritance...to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:14, italics added). Our praise is a response to the work of God. Its foundation is the sacrifice of Christ. It arises from hearts transformed by the grace of God. In this praise, we lift our voices to give thanks to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The vivid Old Testament images that Hebrews 13:15 call to mind also point us in this direction. Praise is a sacrifice emphasizing thanksgiving. "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me" (Psalm 50:23). The sacrifice of thanksgiving is one of the peace offerings (Leviticus 7:11-13). All the peace offerings, including those for thanksgiving, were placed on the altar on top of the morning and evening whole burnt offerings (Leviticus 3:5). These whole burnt offerings typified Christ satisfying the wrath of God for sin. In other words, the foundation for the peace offering is the all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ. "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). The idea of the sacrifice of thanksgiving is that of giving thanks to God for the peace we have with Him.

God carefully regulated the Old Testament sacrifices. Since the offering of praise is the New Testament sacrifice, we might expect God to specify the content of our praise. Psalm 22:25 indicates this is the case. "From You comes my praise in the great assembly." This praise is the fruit of lips giving thanks to God. What is the content of this praise? In the words of the psalmist, "My praise is from you." We hold the Book of Psalms is the hymnal God gives to us. More on this later.

Hebrews 13:15 also indicates we should offer thanksgiving to God continually. The Old Testament context helps us once again. God commanded a "continual burnt offering every day." This continual burnt offering consisted of two male lambs. "You shall offer the one lamb in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight... It is a continual burnt offering (Numbers 28:3-6). The continual sacrifice, in this context, means daily sacrifice both morning and evening . God distinguished the Sabbath Day. He required the morning and evening sacrifices to be doubled (Numbers 28:9-10).

It is therefore appropriate for us to pray with thanksgiving and to sing praise to God privately and in our families each morning and evening. On the first day of the week, we also ought to meet with God's people for morning and evening worship. In this way we "continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."