Worship and Praise Him!
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· 38 viewsThe different words used for "worhsip" and "praise" teach us different aspects or ways to worship and praise God.
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This morning, I want to share a teaching that may change the way you worship and praise the Lord. It is sermon a little different to those you are used to hear from me, but of extreme importance.
We were created to worship and praise God. In order to do it well, we must know what we are talking about.
We usually mistake worship with praise. Although they go hand on hand, they are not the same.
The meaning of worshipping is very simple and is bifold:
Abad.
Abad.
The first word used for worship is עָבַד (ʿābad) work, serve.
Worship the Lord with reverence And rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:11
The idea behind it is that He is our Creator and Owner and therefore, we must serve Him.
We come to work for God, to serve Him! We do not come to be spectators, but workers.
We come to church to work for God, to serve Him! We do not come to be spectators, but workers.
Because He is God, we our service to Him must be done with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Like when a worker has to meet his main boss.
עָבַד (ʿābad) work, serve.
Karrá.
Karrá.
The second word is (karrá) (כָרַע): to kneel
Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
It insinuates humility and reverence, respect for God.
psa 95:6 “Come let us worship and bow down (karrá) (כָרַע), let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”
We serve and respect the Lord our God, but our praise is weak.
When it has to do with praise, there is a variety of terms used. And every word teaches us a different aspect or way of praising God.
There is where I want to focus today: Praise!
Halal.
Halal.
The psalm start with an invitation to praise the Lord: Halleluya! 1a
Lit. Praise Ya!
Halleluya comes from the Heb, verb “halal” (הָלַל )which means “shine; shout with joy; admire” and Ya (abbreviation of Yaweh).
Here, the psalmist is calling the people to praise the Lord with shouts of joy that express admiration for God, that make Him shine.
A good example of this form of praise is when the fans celebrate a goal of their team. How do they do it? With a shout, and with joy! Goal!!!!!!
( הָלַל (hālshine; shout with joy; admire; to exclaim Halleluiah (Goal!!!!!)
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.
psa 18:3
I will tell of Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. You who fear the Lord, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
“halal” appears on the first part of verse 3, but there the psalm teaches
us something else about how the people praised God: with dancing! Oh oh! Mentioning that to a Baptist or to a Fundamentalist sounds like anathema! But David danced before the Lord (), after crossing the sea, Miriam and the women took timbrels and sang and danced (Exo 15:20)
Isn’t that what pentecostal do? Not exactly! Have you seen Jews dancing to praise? How do they do it? In a circle! Why? The word “mahol”, translated “dancing” on this verse, means “dance in a ring”; the ending “hol” means “to go round, whirl, rotate”.
The second “praise” word on verse 1 of this psalm is:
Tehillá.
Tehillá.
“And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.” 1b
תְּהִלָּה (tĕhillâ) praise
This root connotes being sincerely and deeply thankful for and/or satisfied in lauding a superior quality(ies) or great, great act(s) of the object of praise.
That is praising God for all the good, all the blessings we have received from Him; for the great things He does, and praising Him for who He is, His superior qualities: Almighty, All-knowing, All-present, eternal, loving, merciful, just, etc.
Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
From You comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
The third word, on the second part of verse 3, has been translated as “sing praises”, but in Heb. is only one word:
Zamar.
Zamar.
“Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre.”
Ah! That’s why churches use the timbrel and a modern version of lyre: guitar!
“zamar” (זָמַר) means “sing, sing praise, make music”.
From it comes “zamir” (song) and “zimrá” (music)
psa 7:17 sing praise (זָמַר (zāmar) I, sing, sing praise, make music)
I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.
As you may notice, it was singing with music.
I remember a friend who was attending a church where musical instruments were not allowed. They sang “A capella”, only voices! When I asked him why, the answer was that instruments are from the devil. It was obvious that they were ignoring the words of Psalm 150
Yamauchi, E. (1999). 2360 שָׁחָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 914). Chicago: Moody Press.
Psa 150:3-5
psa 22:3 Yet You are holy, O you
Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Also in
In , we find another word translated “high praises” (loores)
תְּהִלָּה (tĕhillâ) praise
This root connotes being sincerely and deeply thankful for and/or satisfied in lauding a superior quality(ies) or great, great act(s) of the object of praise.
Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Also in 22:25
תְּהִלָּה (tĕhillâ) praise.
This root connotes being sincerely and deeply thankful for and/or satisfied in lauding a superior quality(ies) or great, great act(s) of the object.
Also in 22:25
In , we find another word translated “high praises”
This root connotes being sincerely and deeply thankful for and/or satisfied in lauding a superior quality(ies) or great, great act(s) of the object of praise.
“romam” רוֹמָם extolling, exaltation, praise;—= song of praise
רוֹמָם extolling, praise;—= song of praise
רוֹמָם extolling, praise;—= song of praise “
That might tell us about the lyrics: they must exalt the Lord, lift Him high.
We come to exalt Him, not the musician, not the singer, not man, but God. High praises must come out of the mouth of the saints.
There are other “praise” words that are not on this psalm, but are also important. One of them is “yadá”
Yadá.
Yadá.
Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (1977). Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (p. 928). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
יָדָה (yādâ) confess, praise, give thanks, thank
This root connotes being sincerely and deeply thankful for and/or satisfied in lauding a superior quality(ies) or great, great act(s) of the object.
Also in 22:25
The primary meaning of this root is “to acknowledge or confess sin, God’s character and works, or man’s character.” The basic difference between this verb and its synonym, hālal, is that the latter term tends to stress “acclaim of,” “boasting of,” or “glorying in” an object, while yādâ emphasizes “recognition” and “declaration” of a fact, whether good or bad
The primary meaning of this root is “to acknowledge or confess sin, God’s character and works, or man’s character.”
The basic difference between this verb and its synonym, hālal, is that the latter term tends to stress “acclaim of,” “boasting of,” or “glorying in” an object, while yādâ emphasizes “recognition” and “declaration” of a fact, whether good or bad
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
Daniel 9:4-5
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
Dan 9
It also means “praise, give thanks, thank”.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
psa 100:4
Another word is šābaḥ (“shabah”)
Shabah.
Shabah.
Shabah means שָׁבַח (šābaḥ) praise, commend
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
In the majority of cases is used to praise God for His mighty acts and deeds.
Let’s also learn from the last portion of the verse: “I will lift up my hands in your name”. Lifting our hands is an expression of praise.
Why don’t we do it? Because we are Baptist or Fundamentalist? Because we are ashamed? Of what? What’s wrong with doing it?
How can you sing “When I lift up my hands” and are ashamed of doing it?
Who do you do it for? For the people or for God?
Should we do it all the times? Not necessarily! But if the Spirit leads you to do it, do it!
It is assumed that שָׁבַח (šābaḥ) is the the root of “sharbit” that means dart or spear.
Shabah is like throwing darts or arrows of praise to God.
The last word is well-known in our days:
Barak.
Barak.
Barak בָּרַך (bārak) to kneel, bless, praise, salute
This term is a little bit similar to karrá: to kneel. But the emphasis is different! While karrá insinuates reverence and respect, barak emphasizes kneeling as a way of praise.
Alexander, R. H. (1999). 847 יָדָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 364). Chicago: Moody Press.
psa 95 6
Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
That’s what Solomon did when they brought the Ark of the Covenant to the new temple: He got on his knees lifted up his hands and praised God for several minutes or maybe hours.
Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 285 בָּרַך. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 132). Chicago: Moody Press.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
3
In the majority of cases is used to praise God for His mighty acts and deeds.
In the majority of cases is used to praise God for His mighty acts and deeds.
It is assumed that שָׁבַח (šābaḥ) is the the root of “sharbit” that means dart or spear.
Cohen, G. G. (1999). 2313 שָׁבַח. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 896). Chicago: Moody Press.
Oswalt, J. N. (1999). 285 בָּרַך. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 132). Chicago: Moody Press.