by Marcie Bridges, @Marcie_Bridges
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.
us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our
lips, giving thanks to His name.
Hebrews 13:15
SWEET PRAISE
May the fruit of my lips
Bring honor and glory to God alone
In humble thankfulness
May it be a sweet aroma
Lifted up to Your throne.
Not in duty nor displeasure
But brokenness and love
Let this prayer of adoration
Be unto my King, my God.
Sweet aromas of offerings
Laid on the altar to You
Sacrifices of old – today
We no longer do.
This body is Your temple
A life given in humble embrace
Heart of complete abandon
In obedience here I lay.
No matter what the circumstance
Nor my emotional state
Here, Lord, please accept
This continual sacrifice of praise.
~Marcell Warner Bridges
©2015, All Rights Reserved
I woke up this morning with an earworm. This song
started playing over and over in my head like a broken record.
started playing over and over in my head like a broken record.
“We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house ofthe Lord
We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of
the Lord.
the Lord.
And we offer up to You, the sacrifices of
thanksgiving,
thanksgiving,
And we offer up to You, the sacrifices of joy!”
My first thought was, “What exactly is a ‘sacrifice
of praise’? What does that even mean?”
of praise’? What does that even mean?”
A sacrifice of praise is praising the Lord no matter
how we feel. Especially when we are feeling empty, alone and forsaken by God.
how we feel. Especially when we are feeling empty, alone and forsaken by God.
“Our praise of God is not to be based on our opinion
of His job performance. Praise cannot be treated as a “reward” we give God for
His obvious blessings.”*
of His job performance. Praise cannot be treated as a “reward” we give God for
His obvious blessings.”*
Praise is to be given freely from a broken and
contrite heart. A heart longing to please God even in the midst of our deepest
pain.
contrite heart. A heart longing to please God even in the midst of our deepest
pain.
That is a sacrifice of praise.
We should always be ready to praise God “continually
offering it” to Him. But God delights especially in our praise when it comes
from a heart that is bleeding for comfort and peace from Him.
From My Heart To Yours,
Marcie
©Heart
Thoughts, Marcie Bridges, 2015
Thoughts, Marcie Bridges, 2015
Love this! One of my favorite quotes is "When you can't praise God for your circumstances, you can always praise Him for who He is." And I do believe that those praises are a sweet aroma to Him.
Indeed they are sweet Nan. That is a wonderful quote, I can see why you love it. Thank you! 🙂