The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the LORD. Psalm 116:17

As I read this verse this morning, I asked myself, ‘what exactly is the sacrifice of thanksgiving?’ Why is it called a 'sacrifice'? Sometimes when we really want to understand the meaning of a word, it is useful to look at the etymology. ‘Sacrifice’ comes from the Latin sacer (sacred, holy) and facio (do, make). The word seems to have taken on the meaning in English of costing something and while that is true, perhaps the original meaning has more significance in terms of presenting an offering to God. Our sacrifice of thanksgiving is to be holy, sacred, from a pure heart. Old Testament sacrifices were offered with fire. Perhaps I can extend the imagery to the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is the One who makes our sacrifices holy.

The rest of Psalm 116 gives expression to the reason for this sacrifice of thanksgiving. The Psalmist recalls answered prayer (v 1-2), deliverance (v 3-4), preservation (v 6), restoration (v 7-8), and is thankful that he is God’s servant (v 16). Surely this is true of all Christians. I can reflect on numerous occasions of deliverance and preservation in the face of danger and evil. Perhaps verse 8 could be my life anthem: You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.

Simple reflection leads to a spirit of thanksgiving which is to be directed to the Self-Existing One, the Eternal One, Jehovah God. Let us offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving today. Thankful people are happy people.

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