Praise and Worship

By Collin Lynch

Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalms 150:6 (KJV)

    • PRAISE THE Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the heavens of His power!
    • Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness!
    • Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp!
    • Praise Him with tambourine and [single or group] dance; praise Him with stringed and wind instruments or flutes!
    • Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals!
    • Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Psalms 150.

Praise and worship is not only for church assembly, it should be part of every christian daily life. Praise is different in some ways from worship. Praise is more of a show or celebration, making noise unto the Lord. Worship is more subtle, such as falling down on your knees, raising your hand in worship. Worship is more intimate. Praise and worship work hand in hand. Praise brings you into the place of worship.

Praise

Lets talk about praise, then we will follow up with worship. In the bible there is about ten different Hebrew words and five Greek words that are used for praise. The most popular word used in the Old Testament is hala which mean to make a show, shine, to be clamorously foolish, to rave, to celebrate, to stultify (to cause to seem stupid or foolish). Yes, praising the Lord requires us sometimes to look or seem foolish. I can see king David dancing and skipping before the Lord praising God. The Word says that Saul’s daughter saw him dancing and despised him in her heart.

It might feel uncomfortable at times to give praise but Hebrews 13:15 says “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” When you praise God it takes you into a place of peace and joy and is not that what we desire. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Psalms 27:6 (NASB)

Another Hebrew word used is yadah (yaw-daw), which means to revere or worship (with extended hands), thanksgiving. Lifting your hands in praise and worship is a form of showing thanksgiving to the LORD. We praise and worship Him because of who He is and also for the things He has done for us.

Worship

God commands us not to worship other gods “For the Lord is a jealous God Exodus 34:14. He also said in Deuteronomy that if you worship other gods you will perish. There are many warnings about the consequences of worshiping other so call gods. See Deuteronomy 8:18, 11:16-18. What did Jesus do when the devil came and tempt Him? “Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. [Deut. 6:13.] Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him” Matthew 4:8-11.

God is looking for true worshipers:
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:20-24.

I challenge you as a believer to begin giving God Praise and worship in the privacy of your home or wherever you might be. You will begin to experience the presence of the Lord (…in Your presence is fullness of joy.. Psalms 16:11). Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. psalms 95:2 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:10
For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.

Some verse to meditate on:

  • O 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. Psalms 95:6,7
  • O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. Psalms 96:9
  • And when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” Hebrews 1:6
  • Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Psalms 100:2 (KJV)