From my earliest years as a Christian I can remember hearing the words coming across the pulpit of many a preacher, "Worship isn’t just a Sunday thing, it’s a lifestyle thing!" And as one who enjoys worshipping God, especially through music, I have to say that I agree. But what about our praise to God? Where does that fit?
One book in the Old Testament that has some great examples of beautiful praise and worship lyrics is the book of Psalms. Though King David didn’t write all of them, he wrote most of them. And as I researched the authors various uses of the words "praise" and "worship", I made some interesting discoveries.
The book of Psalms was originally written in Hebrew. Throughout that entire Old Testament book, there’s only 1 word that means worship – but the word praise has 7 different word choices. And being the curious soul and lover of praise and worship that I am, I wanted to know about each fascinating word. In a nutshell, here’s what I found.
Praise and Worship: Psalm Style
Psalm 7:17 says, "I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness…" The Hebrew word here is "yadah". This use of the word praise means to hold out the hand, or to give thanks. It’s the one used most often in the Psalms, and was typical of both their corporate and personal praise to God.
Another great way to praise God is with a hymn. In Psalm 22:25 it’s written, "My praise shall be of you in the great assembly…" And the Hebrew word here is "tehillah". Even today there are many churches who still use hymns as a way of declaring the greatness and glory of God, and His ability to do the miraculous. Another interesting fact about "tehillah" is that it could also be used as a musical notation that gave the musician insight into the song’s dynamics.
The praise word "halal" was quite an extensive display of praise to God. "Halal" means to praise with vivid sound and / or color. It could also include singing and bragging about God’s greatness. Some great examples are found in Psalm 148:1-13, and all of Psalm 150. Every single word for praise in these passages is the Hebrew word "halal". Another interesting point about the praise word "halal" is that it also referred to a bride being given in marriage.
"Zamar" is a praise word exampled in Psalm 108:1-2. "O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn." This use of the word praise refers to touching the strings or parts of a musical instrument. It also was the word used for instruments that accompany the voice, and always implied lively songs of celebration.
Many of us who have been Christians for a while know the old song by Martin Nystrom entitled, "As a Deer". Back in the 1990’s many church worship teams and choirs sang this song which is rooted in Psalm 42:1. And moving on to verse 4 of Psalm 42, it states, "…I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast." The word for praise here is "todah", which means a choir of singers and can include extending one’s hand as a type of peace offering or praise offering. "Todah" can also refer to a sacrifice of praise. And for those who wonder just what a sacrifice of praise is, it’s praise offered to God when we don’t really feel like it. It might seem strange, but when we’re struggling due to financial loss, loss of health, or some other loss (or losses) and we make a choice to praise Him, even if all we can think of is just because of who He is, it restores our peace and joy. We may have to do it again an hour later – but that doesn’t matter. We may have to ask Him to give us strength to endure to the end, but that’s okay. He’s faithful. He’ll give it (see Psalm 71).
A praise word that was used in connection with testifying about who God is, is "shabach". All of Psalm 63 is a great example, but verse 3 specifically says, "Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you." And "shabach" includes the idea of praising loudly in triumphant words. It can also be a shout of victory.
A Word of Worship
The one and only word for worship in the book of Psalms is "shachah", and it means to lower or humble ourselves before Him of our own, free will. It can include kneeling or laying prostrate in recognition of His holy presence. Psalm 95:6-7 captures this with the beautiful words, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His Hand." Another nice illustration is in Psalm 132:7. "Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool." Our willingness to physically lower ourselves reflects the attitude of our hearts. But we don’t have to wait until we go to our "Sunday morning tabernacle" to praise and worship Him – nor should we.
In the Old Testament, the tabernacle (or temple) was the primary place where your average Joe Hebrew was going to find the presence of God. Today, because of the shed blood of Jesus for our sins, the presence of God lives primarily in us. He goes where we go because we are His temple (1 Cor. 6:19). And our praise and worship to Him is an opportunity to express our love and gratitude to Him.
Longing for the Living God
While praise and worship are clearly two different expressions of our love and gratitude toward Jesus, they belong together. Going back to the concept of the tabernacle for a moment, and thinking simplistically about it, the tabernacle had 3 main sections. The outer court, the inner court, and the Holy of Holies.
Praise is like the outer court. It helps us get our mind off of our troubles, off of the world, and focused on God. It helps us realize that God is greater than any problem we may face, and He’ll either deliver us from it or walk us through it.
The inner court is where praise and worship become intertwined. It’s a transitional place that prepares us to really draw near to God. One Psalm that’s a nice example of this intertwining is Psalm 95.
As we step into the Holy of Holies, this is where our hearts will become calm, or peaceful. The peace we experience enables us to hear from Him. Whether it’s a need for His wisdom, knowledge, understanding, comfort, restoration or something else, the Holy of Holies is where we’re going to experience His presence. And the more of His presence we experience, the more we’re going to long for it. His presence and the building of His Kingdom are the only things that are going to give life meaning and purpose. That’s why praising and worshipping Him needs to be more than just a Sunday thing. It needs to be a lifestyle thing.
Some of today’s Christian music is rooted in God’s Word. Many of the old hymns are rooted in God’s Word. And in Psalm 119:11 King David’s voice would have sung, "Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you." While praising and worshipping God are wonderful expressions of our love to Him, so are knowing His Word and applying it to our lives.
Just as we typically make an effort to avoid saying or doing the things that we know would be hurtful to our loved ones, if we’re going to say that we love Christ, we will typically make choices that express that love. We will choose to ask Him to help us to develop the fruit of His Holy Spirit in our lives (Gal. 5:22-26). This fruit is not only an evidence of true Christianity, but it is a daily praise and worship to Him. When we are in the work place, or at home, or running errands, or whatever we are doing, and we are consistently moving in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, this gives glory to God. Not that we’ll always do this perfectly. That’s impossible. But that’s where willingly humbling ourselves comes in (Matt 23:12). When we mess up, we apologize to whomever we’ve hurt, and to God, and then we move on. God’s not looking for perfection. Just our dependence on Him for His help with having a Christian attitude in a fallen world.
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