Sacrifices of Joy

UV 1490/10,000 Sacrifices of Joy
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

Psalm 27 v 6

The Lord promises to exalt us or lift us in the eyes of our enemies. To be blessed by the Lord implies that we are lifted up and we are to be envied. This will cause us to rejoice and offer the sacrifices of joy. The more the struggle we go through in life and the more the Lord helps us to emerge unscathed, the greater is our joy. The joy bubbling up in us will prompt us to sing and praise the Lord for the victory He gives us.

Normally, according to Hebrew tradition, sacrifices are offered with sorrow and repentance. But this uni-verse refers to the “sacrifices of joy.” When we offer our thanksgiving for the great deliverances of the Lord in our lives, it is a sacrifice of joy. David was given great deliverances as a youth and shepherd from the lion and the bear, from Goliath as a volunteer fighter, from Saul and from internal and external enemies of the kingdom of Israel. Many of the psalms he composed and sang were songs of deliverance, sacrifices of joy. When we declare what He has done for our souls, we are offering the sacrifices of joy.

When a hope is fulfilled, a desire is granted, a promise of the Lord is accomplished, we are to offer sacrifices of joy, thanksgiving and praise. Where are we to offer the sacrifices of joy? The uni-verse says offer it in His tabernacle- in the temple, in our bodies which are the living temple of God, in our hearts and minds. The use of the word “ now” in the uni-verse shows that we are to offer sacrifices of joy from now on and all the time. Opening a Praisebook account is helpful in making it a habit to thank and praise the Lord all the time for the wonders the Lord is doing and has done and will do in our lives. The book of Revelation talks of two songs: the song of Moses for deliverance, miracles and victory in this world from physical forces and the song of the Lamb or the song of Jesus for salvation, eternal life and deliverance from sin and its consequences. We should praise the Lord with both the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Moses praised the Lord as “ majestic in holiness, awesome in glory and working wonders” for physical deliverance from bondage and slavery to the Pharaoh of Egypt. We need to also praise the Lord for spiritual deliverance from bondage and slavery to the ruler of the world. There are two principal reasons for us to be joyful and to offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: for physical blessings and deliverance and for spiritual blessings and deliverance.

Prateep V Philip