Praise or Worship PART 2

Here we are again. The last time we began talking about the difference in praise and worship. We established a good sense of what praise is all about. Now, let's talk about worship.

Easton's Bible Dictionary defines the word worship as: Homage rendered to God which it is sinful (idolatry) to render to any created being (Exodus 34:14; Isaiah 2:8). That is a very generic definition of the attitude of the heart generally speaking. It does not get into any specifics of acts of worship or any context of worship as it relates to Praise and Worship in music and song, so let's dig a bit deeper.

The principal word translated from in the Old Testament means: depress, bow down, prostrate. This gets a bit different now because we see that we are speaking more of our actions expressed as a result of our hearts. Other words include working and laboring in service and falling down before. The Old Testament idea is therefore the reverential attitude of mind or body or both, combined with the more generic notions of religions adoration, obedience, service.

There is much to say concerning the new testament and different Greek words used, but let's just suffice to say that the most prominent one used means to "kiss (the hand or the ground) toward,". Wow.

All of this starts to put some perspective on the difference between praise and worship. Worship would be much deeper and intimate. It would be more of an act directed TO God rather than ABOUT God. I have heard some say it this way. Praise is more horizontal, and worship is more vertical. In other words, I can praise God by talking to someone else, but I worship God in my words and actions to Him. Don't you find it odd that you can praise people for a job well done, but it is sin and idolatry to worship anyone but God. That alone should draw a great comparison between the two.

Last week, I talked briefly about the layout of the temple in the Old Testament. You had to go through the outer courts (praise) to get anywhere else. Well, now you go to the inner courts which included sacrifice, cleansing, and other acts of deeper, more meaningful and intimate worship. You could not skip this and go straight to the holy of holies where the manifest presence was.

Worship requires a bit more of a realization of depth in relationship with God. It is now not just about God and His works and how great you think He is. It is about how much you deeply love God and want to experience His intimate presence and hear His heart beat. It is more of a giving of yourself rather than just mere words. When you fall prostrate (which is the literal translation in the Bible) it is almost as if you are saying, "OK God, I am presenting myself as a sacrifice at your feet. Do with me what you will. I am Yours."

Now, when you sing songs in praise and worship, you will begin to see that tempo or speed has nothing to do with whether you are praising, or worshiping. It is the heart behind the words.

Let me encourage you in this as well. Praise and worship are equally as important and both are a necessity. You must go through one to have the other. Then you must go through the one to experience the fullness of God and hear His heart. There are no short cuts.

John 24:23 says, "But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers." He wants your worship and you must get there by praise.