Why is 'Praise' Called a 'Sacrifice?'

By Pastor Ken Burisek,
The Ole Country Church, Medford, Wisconsin
Email:
kburisek @wildblue.net

Jeremiah 33: 11, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for His mercy endureth forever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.

Hebrews 13:15 also says, ...let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise... We also find more reference to this in 2nd Chronicles where we find King David and the nation of Israel at war and David himself needed to offer a sacrifice to God as a payment for his own sin. David went to a man who lived nearby and asked if he could build an altar on his land where he could offer a sacrifice to God. The man agreed and even donated the land and the cattle for the sacrifice, but David interrupted the man and said, I insist on paying you for it...I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.

The important thing about Davids response to the man was the feelings David had in his heart. In other words, Davids praise was genuine - it wasnt just for show. King David knew the value of sacrifices to God and to himself. He knew that if he would offer a sacrifice to God that didnt cost him anything then it wasnt really a sacri ...