Tasbeha (Life of Praise) 1

Tasbeha (Life of Praise) St. Basil’s Explanation of the “Whole Burnt Offering” Sacrifice of the Old Testament’s Levites Rite of Praise in the OT Tabernacle (Temple) Citations from Psalms RE: Sacrificial Praises New Testament’s Peoples’ Service Citations from the New Testament Value of Understanding Praise as a Divine Sacrifice Rite of Midnight Tasbeha 2

Life of Praise St. Basil’s Explanation of the “Whole Burnt Offering”: The whole burnt offering was a type of “the sacrifice of praise to God... giving thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:15)* Q. What is a spiritual whole burnt offering? A. It is “the sacrifice of praise”. Q. In what place do we offer it? A. In the Holy Spirit. Q. Where have we learned this? A. From the Lord Himself. 3

Life of Praise Sacrifice of the Old Testament’s Levites God put on the tribe of Levi all the responsibility so that the Levite be consecrated and have a vow to keep the words of God and protect His covenant. Their commitment to the Lord takes precedence over commitment to family (Mt. 10:37-39): “Who says to his father and mother, ‘I have not seen you’; nor did he know his brother of his own children; They guarded Your oracles and kept Your covenant” (Deut.33:9) 4

Life of Praise Rite of Praise in the OT Tabernacle (Temple): David the King put the order of praise in the temple even before it was built by his son Solomon: “Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals…” (1Chron. 25:1-7). 5

Life of Praise After bringing the Arc to Jerusalem: “On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord: Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! (1 Chron. 16:7,8 ff). “ 6

Life of Praise Citations from Psalms RE: Sacrificial Praises: + “ And let them sacrifice the sacrifice of praise and declare His works with joy” (Ps. 107:22) + “ Offer to God the sacrifice of praise; and pay your vows to the Most High. And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me (Ps. 50:14,15) “ Let my prayer be directed as incense in Your sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice (Ps. 141:2). See Moses’ hands during war with Amalek. 7

Life of Praise Citations from Psalms RE: Sacrificial Praises, cont.: + “ I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord” (Ps. 27:6) The tabernacle could be my room, the church or my retreat. + “ I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good” (Ps. 54:6) + “ Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord” (Ps. 4:5) 8

Life of Praise New Testament’s Peoples’ Service: All the Praises and Prayers of the OT, even those offered by David, are one thing and what we offer in the Church of the NT in the Name of Jesus Christ through the Eucharist Sacrifice is another thing... We will see this in some of the NT citations in the next slides.. 9

Life of Praise Citations from the New Testament: +I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1). Reasonable sacrifice means spiritual at the level of open mind, i.e. a logikon sacrifice at the level of the word of God. 10

Life of Praise Citations from the New Testament, cont. + Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesus 5: 19,20) 11

Life of Praise Citations from the New Testament, cont. + Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15) We confess Your name O our Lord Jesus (We believe in one God...). This is not lip confession but comes from us, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, as sacrificial praises... 12

Life of Praise Citations from the New Testament, cont. + You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5) In 1 Peter 2:9 St. Peter calls us “royal priesthood”, i.e. We,the NT Levites, are required to offer the sacrificial praises... 13

Life of Praise Value of Understanding Praise as a Divine Sacrifice: + Prayer and Praise are works of the Holy Spirit + Practicing them is fellowship with the Holy Spirit + Regular participation in Church’s liturgy of prayer and praise is a door for entering this spiritual life + It can change us little by little from our worldly form into a new form loved by God and men. 14

Life of Praise Rite of Midnight Tasbeha + These praises are the preparation for the banquet of the King, who is to come in the Divine Liturgy + It is a manifestation of the Resurrection of Christ + Praising is a cooperative function between the Struggling Church and the Victorious Church: a) Praising is the work of the Angels “Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him all His hosts! “ (Ps. 148:2) b) We share with the Angels in praising God c) We are training ourselves for life in Heaven… 15