Author: Stephen Rouse

Let every language, tribe and land, (Rev 7:9)
As countless as the stars and sand, (Gen 22:17)
Now join as one to praise our King,
Let every saint bow down and sing: (Rev 7:9-11)

CHORUS:
All blessing, glory, wisdom, might
Be to our God who dwells in light;
Thanksgiving, honor, pow’r to Him
And to the Lamb! Amen, amen. (Rev 7:12)

At Babel, God chose to divide
The languages of those in pride. (Gen 11:4,7)
But now, in Christ, those tongues unite
Before the throne both day and night: (Rev 7:15)

CHORUS

And so it is that Babel’s curse,
By Jesus’ work, has been reversed.
So let us bring all nations in (Mt 28:19)
To sing with all redeemed from sin:

CHORUS

This hymn contrasts two notable moments at the bookends of Scripture: the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9), and John’s vision of a great multitude “from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues” (Rev 7:9). In the first, man’s pride and self-will lead God to confuse their languages and thwart their plans. In the second, redeemed people from every language, clothed in white robes, all join together to praise God. The chorus is the seven-fold blessing from Rev 7:12.

The tune was taught to me by Caleb Churchill at Indiana Bible Camp in 2013 after he returned from a trip to Zimbabwe. Our brethren there use this tune to sing “Just As I Am.” The joyful African-ness of the tune really stuck with me, and it led me to reflect on our brethren in every nation praising God. What a wonderful symphony the Lord must hear from His redeemed! Josh McKinsey and I arranged some harmony to the tune on the way home from camp, and I worked on the lyrics the following year.

During this divisive time in our nation, I pray these thoughts will help us remember how the Lord seeks to tear down the divisions among us as we submit to Christ and look forward to worshipping Him together in eternity!

– Stephen

The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is His name. (Ex 15:3)
His strength is unchanging, forever the same.
His name is exalted; He shatters all wrong. (Ex 15:1,6)
He is my salvation, my strength, and my song. (Ex 15:2)

The LORD is a warrior; He drowns all our woes. (Ex 15:4)
He parted the waters and swallowed our foes. (Ex 15:8)
The horse and its rider He hurled to the sea; (Ex 15:1)
His right hand delivers in bold victory. (Ex 15:6)

The LORD is a warrior; the nations have heard.
They tremble before Him and quake at His word.
His dread reputation has brought them dismay;
The rulers of darkness have melted away. (Ex 15:14-15)

The LORD is a warrior; His army a throng. (Ex 15:16)
No evil can stop Him, no matter how strong.
His people will triumph as He leads them in; (Ex 15:17)
His reign is forever and ever. Amen. (Ex 15:18)

This hymn is a paraphrase of the Song of Moses (Exodus 15), sung by the Israelites after the crossing of the Red Sea.

Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and said,

I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will extol Him.
The LORD is a warrior;
The LORD is His name.

– Exodus 15:1-3, NASB

The seed for this song came in 2010 during my senior year at Florida College. Buddy Payne gave a chapel talk that included Exodus 15, and he said something like, “I wish we could sing this song, don’t you?” So, I went to the Pouch after chapel and wrote out the first few lines of this hymn. Thus the tune name: PAYNE.

I found the original scribbling from that day:

It’s a triumphant and chilling image, picturing the children of Israel on that day, the bodies of their enemies littering the shoreline, as they sing about their Warrior-King, Yahweh.

Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses. Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD…

– Exodus 14:30–15:1, NASB

They were completely helpless until God came to their aid. And so are we.

– Stephen

The hour is at hand to awaken;
The day of salvation is here! (Rom 13:11; 2 Cor 6:2)
As sons of the kingdom unshaken, (Heb 12:28)
Rise up and cast out all your fear! (1 Jn 4:18)
Far gone is the time spent in weakness;
Far gone are the shades of the night.
Now cast off the works done in darkness,
And put on the armor of light. (Rom 13:12)

The tempter is shrewd and unceasing; (1 Pt 5:8; 2 Cor 2:11)
The battle is always at hand.
But even with pressure increasing,
Our Captain is still in command.
Now strengthened by prayer and confession,
We are not alone in the fight! (Jas 5:16)
Now lay down the weight of transgression, (Heb 12:1)
And put on the armor of light.

Now cut off each source of temptation,
Whatever it takes to be pure.
The joy of eternal salvation
Is worth any pain you endure! (Matt 5:27-30)
For sin I will make no provision,
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 13:14)
Each day I will make the decision
To put on the armor of light.

This hymn is largely taken from Romans 13:11-14 (ESV):

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

It was one of those “huh, we need a hymn based on this text” ideas that came to fruition in 2011/2012 not long after I had moved to Gettysburg, PA. I would go running at Oakside Park in Biglerville, which is where I got the opening ideas for the tune, thus the tune name: OAKSIDE.

Many of the ideas in this hymn were put together based on my experiences in young mens’ Bible camps. The help I received there has been invaluable in my walk with Christ, particularly learning the value of sharing my struggles with those who can help and praying together to find healing.

It is my prayer that this hymn can be motivating to all of us to do as Paul urges: “So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. …and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

– Stephen

 

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. – Hebrews 13:15-16 ESV

Welcome to The Sacrifice of Praise, a website dedicated to resources that will help us to improve our sacrifices to God–our singing, our serving, our living.

This idea started as a place to share hymns that I’ve written, but I hope it will also be a place to share articles, recordings, and other resources.

The central idea is that our praise/service to God is described as a “sacrifice”–something made holy to God, an offering that costs us something.

I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing. – David (2 Sam 24:24)

God deserves our very best and more. I hope this site will be helpful in encouraging us to offer a better sacrifice to Him.

– Stephen