Hebrews 13:15: A Call to 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

This verse has been powerful in my life.  God calls us to continually offer Him the sacrifice of the praise of our lips. So let’s break down this verse, looking at each word individually in order to gain a deeper understanding of what it says.

    Therefore: Because God is so good, and because we await His return, and because He is coming back to rule over all the earth, we must offer the praise of our lips to Him.
    By: It is not on our own power that this is possible, but only by Him.
    Him: He has done it all. We are weak, He is strong. We are sinful, He is perfect. By His blood, His name, His grace, and His strength, we can move mountains for His glory. It’s all about Him.  He will give us the power to give praise to Him continually.
    Let: This is defined as to cause, to assign, to permit to enter, to make an adjustment, to allow.
    Us: This is an action that we, by His grace, must do.  We can’t just sit back and expect it to happen, but we must get up from the chair and do something.
    Continually: This is something we are to do all the time—no exceptions.
    Offer: Defined as an expression of readiness to do or give something if desired. We must be ready to willingly, of our own will, give what is ours to Him who bought it with His blood.
    The: Pretty self-explanatory.
    Sacrifice: This is the act of forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.  Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim. We are giving up something, much as our flesh wants to keep it, in exchange for something so much better, Christ’s name being glorified.
    Of: Nothing needed here.
    Praise: We are to express our appreciation of God and the mighty things He has done. Declaring Christ’s works to all who we see. Expressing our admiration of God and His greatness.
    To: We do all the above to one Person, with the goal of bringing Him glory.
    God: All of our praise is to be offered to God. He is worthy of all of our praise, and because of His holiness, we offer the fruit of our lips.
    That is: Defining what the sacrifice of praise is.
    The: I think you have the general idea.
    Fruit: Basically the outcome of our lips; our words.
    Of: Nothing needed here.
    Our: Not God’s, not the preacher’s, not our peer’s, but ours. Even if no one else around us is praising Him, it is our job to be offering the fruit of our lips to Him.
    Lips: The things God has given us to talk with.
    Giving: Synonymous with offering. It must be done willingly and with sincerity.
    Thanks: Expressing our appreciation and gratitude for all He has done. Notice, it does not say complaining or grumbling.
    To: Who our thanks is directed at.
    His: Not ours.
    Name: What identifies Him as the King. His name has exceedingly great power. We must give glory and thanks to His name.

It is my prayer that you too may by Him continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God,  giving thanks to His name.

Note: This is my final article in our series about praise.  I pray that this was helpful in deepening your walk with the Lord through praise.