Asaph: What is worship and praise?
Reprinted from hymn.com
Many Christians probably think that worship
and praise is already a very familiar term.
However, how much do we know about
worship and praise? Or how many people
have interpreted the four words of worship
and praise in a narrow sense to mean that
in the church Singing "new trend hymns"?
Let us calm down and think carefully about
the meaning of "worship" and "praise"!
what is praise
If Xiaojun went to the nursing home
yesterday to take care of the helpless old
people, how would you praise Xiaojun? You
may say to Xiaojun, you are such a good
person and kind-hearted. Yesterday during
the holiday, everyone only focused on playing,
but you were the only one willing to take
care of the elderly; when you are telling
Xiaojun’s personality (kindness) and what she
has done When you do this, you are praising
Xiaojun. Similarly, even if this sentence is
not said directly to Xiaojun, but to a good
friend of yours: Xiaojun is very kind and
helps the elderly. This is also praising Xiaojun,
but the target of the complaint is someone
else. So we can understand that when we
tell our family and friends about what God
has done, we are praising God. But we must
pay attention to one thing. When you say
"Xiaojun, you are so good", Xiaojun can feel
that you are praising her, but if you always
keep repeating: Xiaojun, you are so good.
Every time I see Xiaojun, I just say "you are
so nice". This is not a compliment, it is just a
habit. Similarly, when we praise God, do we
only have "Hallelujah, Lord, I praise you" and
nothing else? You will find that if we want
to praise a person, unless we know more
about the person, it will be difficult for us to
praise him and we will not know what to
say. However, when we praise God, shouldn’t
we also praise him? God has more knowledge,
otherwise how can our praise please God?
Can you imagine how happy she would be if
Xiaojun said the same thing every time she
saw him? In fact, when we talk about the
grace that God has accomplished in us, we
are praising God. When we declare God’s
attributes, that He is a faithful, righteous,
and holy Lord, we are praising God. When
we know God better, After experiencing the
grace of God’s presence, we are better able
to express God’s glory with words of praise
(Psalm 66:1-2).
Let’s look at two types of praise from the
Bible
Praise God's attributes
Psalm 36:5-7 "Your mercy, O Lord, reaches
to the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches
to the firmament. Your righteousness is like
the mountains, and your judgments are like
the deep. You, O Lord, save people and
livestock. God. Oh, how precious is your love!
The world takes refuge in the shadow of
your wings.
When we describe God’s attributes, we are
praising God. When God sent Moses to lead
the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses asked God,
“What shall I say to the people?” God said to
Moses, I am who I am, and the Lord is my
name forever. What kind of God is our God?
God is self-existing, holy and blameless
(Leviticus 11:44), the Lord who created all
things (Genesis 1), and never changes
(Malachi 3:6); He is love (1 John 4:8) , He is
the omniscient (Psalm 139:1-6),
omnipotent (Matthew 19:26), omnipresent
(Psalm 139:7-12) God, and He is the
merciful Lord (Hebrews 4:16) , justice and
righteousness are in His hands (Psalm 99:4),
and He is the God who gives us grace and
redeems us (Romans 3:24). The more we
know God, the more we know how to praise
God. How can we know God better? In fact,
it is most important to know God through
the Bible, because the Bible is inspired by
God. David said to Solomon: You shall know
the Lord, the God of your father, and serve
Him with sincerity and willingness (1
Chronicles 28:9). Knowing God is so
important and precious, but sometimes we
may put the cart before the horse and only
think about praising God without knowing
more about God. If we want to know a
person better, in addition to getting to know
him from books or other people's mouths, we
also need to get along with him and talk to
him. In the same way, God is pleased for us
to draw close to Him, talk to Him, and bring
our requests and thoughts to Him. Therefore,
when we choose the best blessings to draw
close to God, we will know God better and
praise God more. More pleasing to God.
Praise God for His deeds
Psalm 66:3-6 "Say to God: How awesome
are your works! Because of your power your
enemies will surrender to you. The whole
earth will worship you, sing your praises,
and sing praises to your name. Come and see
It is awesome what God has done, what He
has done to the world. He has turned the sea
into dry land, and people have walked across
the rivers. We rejoice in Him there. He rules
with power over all peoples forever."
When we talk about God’s deeds, we are
praising God. He has not only accomplished
great things in the past years, but is also
with us today. His deeds are not only
manifested in the creation of heaven and
earth, but also in our lives. Show His power.
When the Israelites walked to the Red Sea,
they also shouted to Moses: Did you bring us
to die in the wilderness? Moses said to the
people: Do not be afraid, but stand still and
see the salvation that the Lord will give you
today (Exodus 14:13). Perhaps we
sometimes face dangers in life like the
Israelites, but God wants to say to us: Do not
be afraid. He will work salvation in your life
and mine. God did more than we could ask
or imagine. God parted the Red Sea so that
the Israelites could be saved. After they
crossed the Red Sea, the Israelites sang to
God: The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation. This is my
God, and I will praise Him (Exodus 15:2).
When God accomplishes His mighty deeds,
we cannot help but praise God and spread
His wonderful deeds. Ask God to teach us to
count His grace in your life and mine, for
whoever offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving
glorifies God (Psalm 50:23). When we tell
one another about all that God has done in
our lives, that It’s praising God.
Praise happens not only when things go well
for us, but also when we encounter
difficulties. David even cried out to God
when facing hardships: My God, my God!
Why have you forsaken me? Why stay away
and not save me (Psalm 22:1)? But he was
still determined to praise God, "I will praise
You in the assembly... My words of praise in
the assembly come from You" (Psalm
22:22-25). Paul and Silas were beaten with
rods, their clothes were stripped off, their
feet were tied to wooden dogs, and they
were imprisoned. Although they still had to
face pain, they were determined to pray and
sing hymns to God (Acts 16:25) There was a
great earthquake and the prison door
opened. When we are determined to praise
God in the midst of difficulties, He will show
wonderful deeds and deliver salvation among
us. The praise of Paul and Silas brought
about the salvation of the jailer’s family. We
must also experience God’s wonderful deeds
in our lives. Sometimes difficulties and pain
may make us seem to fall into the abyss, but
God wants us to praise Him because He is
with us. Although God has not promised that
the sky will always be blue, He His name is
Emmanuel. He promises to be with us and
will save us from evil. Because He is our Lord,
let us make up our minds to praise God! No
matter whether things are smooth or
difficult, we must praise God for His actions.
He will show His wonderful grace in our lives.
"Lord, please open my lips, so that my
mouth may declare your praise!" (Psalm
51:15) Let us become people of praise in our
lives, not only praising God, but also
speaking to the people around us. God’s
attributes and works, because that is also
praising God.
what is worship
Let’s first look at the definition of the word
“worship”! Webster Dictionary defines
worship as: the dedication of divine glory,
worship, and allegiance to the Supreme Lord
through reverence, penitence, prayer,
thanksgiving, etc. Synonyms for worship
include: "praise, praise, love, respect, praise,
love, praise, respect, respect, reverence,
adoration, etc." It seems complicated and
hard to understand, right? Then we can
probably understand it very concisely if we
look at the English word "worship". Worship
is composed of the two English roots worth
and ship. Therefore, worship is to give God
the honor and glory that he deserves and
deserves. So what does worship mean in the
Bible? The New Testament Greek word
proskynein means bowing or kissing hands to
mean humbling oneself and worshiping the
other person; sebomai means to maintain
fear and awe; latreuo means public worship,
service or religious worship. The Chinese
Union Version translates the original shachah
as "worship" 61 times, "bow down" 45 times,
"kowtow" 25 times, "kneel down" 15 times,
"prostrate" 9 times, and "bow down" 9
times. In the book "The True Meaning of
Worship" (written by Coward/Published by
Elim), he writes: Worship is the exchange of
love between man and God. It includes
actions and emotions, but true worship is
more than just that. It also includes the
adoration and praise that comes from the
heart when people are attracted by God’s
love.
I once thought that "worship" was not
clearly explained in the Bible, but I was
surprised to find that the first verse of
Romans Chapter 12 describes true "worship".
The modern Chinese translation translates
"Therefore, brothers, since God is so merciful
We, I urge you, present yourselves as living
sacrifices to God, serving Him
wholeheartedly and pleasing Him. This is the
true worship you should offer” (Romans
12:1). Worship is to offer your body as a
living sacrifice, serve Him wholeheartedly,
and please God. This is the true worship we
should offer. Therefore, when we are willing
to hand over our sovereignty to God and let
God take over the kingship, we are
worshiping God. When we offer something as
a living sacrifice, we are completely handing
it over to God and letting Him control it.
God asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved
son as a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed
God's will. That was his only son when he
was old. He did not refuse to sacrifice it to
God because of this. What do we value, time,
money or the people closest to you? Are you
willing to obey God like Abraham did? If one
day God asks you to put down your work or
money, just like Jesus said to His disciples,
come and follow me, will you be willing?
Abraham and Isaac dedicated themselves to
God without reservation, and they
experienced Jehovah Jireh’s preparation for
them (Genesis 22). When we are willing to
bring our whole being to God’s altar, He will
also give us everything we need from the
throne of grace. But seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these
things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33).
Let us worship Him, obey His will in life,
serve Him wholeheartedly, examine what is
God’s good, pure, and pleasing will (Romans
12:2), and let God’s will be done on earth,
as Together in heaven.
Let our lives be a life of worship, that is, let
the kingship of God reign in everything in
our lives. This is worship. Even bringing your
burdens to God is worship. God said, Come
to me, all you who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew
11:28). Dedicate your family to God and let
Him control it; bring your work to God and
let Him use your profession; study hard in
your studies and equip yourself to be a vessel
suitable for the Lord; in your Witness God’s
grace in you among your friends; these are
all ways of worshiping God. Of course, we
can also say that this is worship in a broad
sense. Worship is to respond to God’s love
and deeds and give God the glory he
deserves. Worship in a narrow sense may
refer to praying, singing, kneeling, etc. Come
to worship God, but "worship" is definitely
not limited to "singing songs." So let us
worship God! Because He is looking for those
who worship Him in spirit and truth (John
4:23). He is looking for you and me, so that
we can offer true worship to God and let
God’s joy be among us. Be satisfied.
The article is reproduced from: Zhu Daya