Worship
1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"
Worship and Praise to God is a very important topic. How are we to worship God? Is it enough to stand and sing a slow song that no body else in the world has ever heard of? Is it enough to stand still and keep our hands in our pockets? I have found an article on the internet that I believe is amazing and helps to explain what worship is. It is below. It is from www.silvertrumpets.info It is written by Todd Elder of Silver Trumpets Ministry. I provide it here for your edification.
Worship is an amazing thing and works on so many different levels. One level is how it effects us physically. We know that this happens. We read about it in the Bible, we sometimes see it in others, and we may do it (allow it) in ourselves. We probably all know people who seem to get into the action (act) of worship very easily and will raise their hands, dance, or even shout ... while others of us just stand around wondering what we should be doing.
I personally have to admit that this is a difficult topic to write on as I am only now learning to express myself in both group and personal settings; thus, I cannot write by much personal experience because I have not been accustomed to expressing myself in group settings (nor by myself either). Yet I have found the times that I have focused on Him and allowed myself to react to my desire to express my love for Him, it has been marvelous. It is a time of rejoicing and it brings me closer to Him.
In studying the subject of worship in the original Hebrew we find that it is a very expressive and rich language. It has many levels of meaning. For this article, the focus will be a group of words relating to worship (worship, bless, praise, kindness, etc.). What should catch your attention is that motion, the use of the body, is included within the definitions of these words. I have asked the Almighty about this in prayer and He has said that "actions are symbolic of what is in your heart". Having heard it, that statement makes complete sense to me, yet I doubt I could have come up with such a simple concept.
In our lives, in our very actions, we show what is in our hearts and how we feel about others. Do we not greet people with a handshake out of courtesy? Do we not greet family with a hug? Do we not greet our spouse with a kiss? Well ... how are we greeting the Almighty when we come to Him? Our action, or lack thereof, shows what is going on in our hearts. That we should express ourselves to the Father should not come as a surprise to us. We can read many demonstrations of this by people in the Scriptures.
To merely be an "armchair" believer who sits and cheers when good things happen is not good. Yet in the typical church we are taught just that ... to sit and listen and maybe stand for a song or two. We are made to just take in knowledge and not have an active relationship; one where there is feeling and expression. Is this what the congregation of Israel did? Doubtful. It makes sense that if we are focusing on what people around us are doing, or are fearful and embarrassed to show what we feel, then we will act fearfully. If, instead, we focus our hearts and minds on the Almighty and are wanting to praise, worship, or even sing to Him then those things we will do. Our actions do indeed show what is in our heart.
With all this in mind, let us look at some of these words in the original Hebrew (defined by Strong's Concordance) and see what a few scriptures have to show us.
Worship
The word 'worship' is a verb and This shows that we are doing something. The dictionary definition says that it is "the reverent love and allegiance accorded a deity". The definition I received in prayer is "... the assembling of one selves in reverence to the Almighty. It is the giving and the humbling of oneself to Him. It is letting Him be master. The consequences of such are dramatic and powerful because He is then free to move among believers." Yet there is additional meaning in the Hebrew word for worship.
This is H7812 shaw-khaw' A primitive root; to depress, that is, prostrate (especially reflexively in homage to royalty or God):-bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.
Thus when the scriptures talk of someone worshipping the Almighty, it refers to a physical action of making oneself low (in obedience to Him). Is that not how we show humbleness? Is this not how we act towards one who is above us? It symbolizes letting Him be the Master. In fact, for a human to lie face down is to put oneself in one of the most defenseless positions a person has. It places us at the mercy of any who are near. A couple Scriptural examples of this are:
(Neh 8:5-6) And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: {6} And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
(2 Chr 20:16-18) To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. {17} Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. {18} And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
It is important to note that worshipping is used only of the Almighty. Many, if not all of the other words can be used for both the Almighty and of other people. The following word is a good example of this.
Bless
We can bless the Almighty, other people, or even have the Almighty bless us. How is this possible? This is a whole other study, but basically blessing as used in this way means to say something good to or about someone or the One Most High. He can also say good things about us (and you can be sure that when He speaks, something happens). However, this word carries another connotation ... that of kneeling.
H1288 baw-rak' A primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason):- X abundantly, X altogether, X at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, X greatly, X indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, X still, thank.
Why kneel when speaking well of another? I can only speculate that this is symbolic of giving honor to somebody (for the good they have done). Would we not honor Him both by our speaking and by our kneeling in this example?
(Psa 103:2-5) Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: {3} Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; {4} Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; {5} Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Here is an example of Him blessing us. (Psa 115:12-13) The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. {13} He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
Kindness
Our next word is a big one to work with because it covers so much (it is also one I discovered only while writing this article). In the King James Version it gets translated into many different english words which include kindness, mercy, and favor. This word is
H2617 kheh'-sed From H2616; kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opprobrium) reproof, or (subjectively) beauty:-favour, good deed (-liness, -ness), kindly, (loving-) kindness, merciful (kindness), mercy, pity, reproach, wicked thing.
And comes from
H2616 khaw-sad' A primitive root; properly perhaps to bow (the neck only (compare H2603) in courtesy to an equal), that is, to be kind; also (by euphemism (compare H1288), but rarely) to reprove:-shew self merciful, put to shame.
In worship (which belongs only to the Almighty) we lie down completely, in blessing we kneel, here we simply bend our neck to lower our head. This shows that we like or even love someone and want to treat them well and thus are defering ourselves in favor of another. This can flow from person to person or from person to Almighty and back as in these examples.
(Gen 24:12-14) And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. {13} Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: {14} And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.
(2 Sam 10:1-2) And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. {2} Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.
Praise
There are a couple words that are used for praise in the scriptures with different shades of meaning. The word I would like to focus on is the one we commonly see in groups.
H3034 yaw-daw' A primitive root; used only as denominative from H3027; literally to use (that is, hold out) the hand; physically to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively to bemoan (by wringing the hands):-cast (out), (make) confess (-ion), praise, shoot, (give) thank (-ful, -s, -sgiving).
It comes from the root word
H3027 yawd A primitive word; a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.), in distinction from H3709, the closed one).
This word focuses on the raised, open hand. This is such an important concept and helps explain why it gets translated into several english words in the KJV. Among these are praise, thanks, and confess. What do these things have in common? They all have an element of 'lifting up' to the Almighty with our hand ... an open hand that is free to give and receive. We can lift up to the Almighty our speech by praising Him, we can lift up our thanksgiving to Him, we can lift up our confessions to Him. This word can be found often in the Psalms such as in these examples.
(Psa 100:3-4) Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. {4} Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
We can even lift up His very name among the people and those around us as in the following verse 8.
(Psa 44:4-8) Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. {5} Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. {6} For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. {7} But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. {8} In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
Sing, dance, and music
These words are of themselves actions that we do to worship the Almighty. But how expressive can we be with them? There is H7891 to sing, H7440 to shout for joy, and H7321 to make such noise as to 'split the ears'. In dancing there is H7540 to stomp or spring, H2342 to twist and whirl, H4234 a round dance, and 3769 whirl. The music can be with singing H7892 or only instruments H2170. These are not stepping side to side, these are lively actions.
Some have asked how you can enter into the Almighty's presence and pray while singing and dancing. They say you have to be still and quiet. I believe the placement of still and quiet is placed in the wrong area. Instead of the body being still, it is stillness of mind (no distractions of work or duty) and quietness of heart. Singing and dancing can definitely take you to the Father when the focus is on Him and not on the dance steps or getting the words correct.
Singing, dancing, music, even clapping and other motions can all be used to celebrate and rejoice and praise the Almighty with as seen in these examples.
(Exo 15:20-21) And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. {21} And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
(2 Chr 20:20-22) And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. {21} And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. {22} And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
(2 Sam 6:12-15) And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness. {13} And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. {14} And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. {15} So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
(Psa 149:2-5) Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. {3} Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. {4} For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. {5} Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.
(Psa 33:1-5) Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. {2} Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. {3} Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. {4} For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. {5} He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
I am sure there are many more examples of words with actions in them. For example, fasting H6685 comes from a root word not just meaning to go hungry but literally says to cover the mouth. We could also look at words opposite from worship. Instead of blessing we would have cursing. Instead of bowing or prostrating we would have stiff-necked. Instead of humbling (lowering) ourselves we would have being prideful (making ourselves high). These words and their actions have meaning as well. But I do not want to go into these at this time.
If you are aware of any more words like those above, I would appreciate knowing of them. In the meantime, let us take these words with their meanings and look for a reflection of them in ourselves. Do we have a relationship with the Almighty? The answer for everyone reading this article, I believe, is yes. Are we expressing this relationship to the Father? To anyone around us? As I have been reminded, actions speak louder than words. There is probably more taken in by our family, acquaintances, and even our own children by what we do than by what we say. They see our lives, not our thoughts. We all love the Most High One ... lets show it ... put a smile on His face too.
End of Article from Silver Trumpets
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