How does Psalm 66:15 guide us in offering sacrifices to God today? Psalm 66:15 in Its Original Setting “I will offer You fat animals as burnt offerings; with the fragrant smoke of rams I will sacrifice bulls and goats. Selah” • The psalmist speaks of literal, costly, whole-burnt offerings—everything on the altar, nothing held back. • Such sacrifices expressed gratitude for deliverance (vv. 8-12) and declared God’s worth. • The verse models wholehearted devotion: expensive animals, abundant smoke, lingering aroma. From Animal Altars to Living Altars • Jesus fulfilled the entire sacrificial system (Hebrews 10:10-12). • Because the atoning price is paid, New-Covenant believers bring “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). • The pattern remains: costly, wholehearted, public, God-focused. Three Present-Day Sacrifices God Welcomes 1. The sacrifice of our lives (Romans 12:1): our bodies placed on the altar for His service. 2. The sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15): spoken, sung, testified gratitude that rises like fragrant smoke. 3. The sacrifice of doing good and sharing (Hebrews 13:16; Philippians 4:18): tangible generosity that costs us something. Practical Ways to Bring These Offerings Today • Schedule time with God first, not last—demonstrates “whole-burnt” commitment. • Speak aloud specific thanks in worship; sing with abandon, lift hands, kneel—let praise “smoke” fill the room. • Give materially until it pinches: support missionaries, widows, crisis-pregnancy centers, local churches. • Offer skills and energy: volunteer, disciple youth, visit shut-ins—your body on the altar. • Forgive freely (Ephesians 4:32); the cost of pride is a fragrant offering. • Guard holiness; refuse entertainment that dishonors Christ—like offering unblemished animals. Encouragement to Respond Psalm 66:15 calls us to bring God our best, not leftovers. The forms have changed, but the heartbeat is identical: sacrificial gratitude, total surrender, fragrant obedience. When we lay everything before Him, our lives still rise like sweet incense, and He is glorified. |
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