Praise Or Worship

Today, I will start a series of blogs covering the difference between praise and worship. I have heard many many different sermons on this topic, not many of which really seem to satisfy a wanting for good biblical support, but rather opinion and experience. I will attempt to give good biblical principle here as well as my views. I believe that it is very important to know the difference in the two, because it is such a vital part of our relationship with God as well as our church going experience.

Let's start with praise. Here is a brief excerpt from a word study I did on praise. In the bible, here are the meanings of some of the words that are translated into our english word "praise": psalm, praise, confession thanksgiving, to praise glorify, to stretch out the hand, confess
The word comes from a Latin word which means price, or value, and may be defined generally as an ascription of value or worth. True praise consists in a sincere acknowledgment of a real conviction of worth.

Without going into too much more depth of boring details, the language of the explanations I read of the word praise, was that of more outward expression of thanksgiving and exaltation. It seems more celebratory in nature. It is usually expressed vocally as well as bodily in things as dancing and such. It is the picture you get when you think of a congregation singing, jumping, clapping and shouting, "you are awesome God!" It focuses much on his works and goodness. Praise of God can even be expressed from person to person. You find this in songs that are written in third person. Also, something interesting that I find is that praise can be expressed by more than just people. The bible states that all creation praises God. It talks about the trees and angels, and all sorts of things praising Him. That to me says that praise is much more superficial if you will than worship. Even still, it is a command of God that we give Him the praise due His name. When I study the word praise, and then think of praise and worship, I get strong since that true praise of God sort of sets you up for worship and is a precurser for something deeper. If you look at the temple in the old testament, it even bares this out. The outer courts was a place of praise and thanksgiving. As a matter of fact, the Bible says in Psalms, "I will enter your gates with thanksgiving in my heart. I will enter Your courts with praise". The interesting thing is that you had to go through that outer court to get to the inner court or holy of holies. The temple is a type and shadow of our relating to God on a personal level. It is amazing to me how people want to take worship and leave praise alone. Really though, they come as a package, and in order to experience God to the fullest, you must become comfortable with both.