What is Worship?

The word that is frequently used in the Old Testament for

worship is the Hebrew word shachah (Gen 22:5) which
literally means to bow down, to depress, to prostrate oneself
and that is the best position I believe that there is to worship
God. As for the New Testament, the Geek word proskyneo
(Matt 2:11) is used and this means to kiss the hand towards
the one, in token of reverence and I believe that both are
completely appropriate. So to worship God is to bow down to
the ground (prostrate) and lay flat and to give a token of
reverence (deep respect) for the glorious God.

What is Praise?
The word that is often used for the word praise is yadah
(Gen 29:35) which is Hebrew for to throw, shoot, cast, cast
down or throw down but sometimes the Hebrew halal (2
Chron 7:6) is used which means to shine, to flash forth light.
As for the New Testament usage of the word praise it is often
epainon (Eph 1:6) and means commendation,
approbation. So to praise God is to throw down one self, to
cast down, and to shine or flash forth light, or to cast or throw
words of worthiness to God. I think that praise and worship
are critical for the Christian and isnt our God worthy of
these? Here are seven Bible verses that I hope can help you in
praising our Great God and worship Him for He is most
worthy.
Psalm 150:1-6 Praise the Lord! Praise God
in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty
heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent
greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp! Praise him
with tambourine and dance; praise him with
strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding
cymbals; praise him with loud clashing
cymbals!
Has there been any greater writer of songs (or psalms) of
praise than David? I dont believe so. This psalm shows that
worshipping God in music is praising God. Notice that David
includes various musical instruments in his worship music.
And this is not done in quite, still hymns but with loud [with]
clashing cymbals! David praises God in song for His creation
(mighty heavens), for His mighty deeds, and His excellent
greatness and this praise or worship music includes dancing!
David really knew how to praise God. He included trumpets,
tambourines, cymbals, harps, lutes, and we can assume more
than this and a great chorus of voices, no doubt. So David
believes, rightly so, that praise and worship of God includes
music and yes, even dancing.
Ephesians 5:19 addressing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody to the Lord with
your heart.
When we address one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs we are worshipping God. I like the idea that
hymns and songs of worship should contain right theology
and if you use the psalms, you can know that its right for these
are the very inspired words of God. God loves it when we pray
back His Word to Him so why not sing back to God His own
Words that are in the psalms? We can actually be teaching
one another in these psalms and songs and hymns and our
singing them back to God is a vital part of worship and praise.
The psalmist makes a point here to have it be with your
heart meaning that it comes straight from the heart and is
not just going through the motions which is nothing more
than vain repetition or chanting and is useless noise to God if
done in that manner.
John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now
is, when the true worshippers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father
seeks such to worship him.
Worship without truth does nothing for us and God rejects
worship that is not done in truth. Truth without the Spirit is a
manmade worship so true worship must be in the Spirit and
in truth. God is seeking those who will worship Him in this
manner. The hour has come and now is that time that we
must worship God in spirit (or in the Holy Spirit) and in the
truth (Jesus is the truth).
Hebrews 13:15 Through him then let us
continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to
God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge
his name.
Here we see that praising God is a sacrifice to God and one
that is pleasing to Him. The fruit of our lips is the evidence of
our salvation and that evidence is that we acknowledge His
name, not only in praise and worship but to those who dont
yet know Him. This is a continual offering that should be
done on a daily basis and offered up to God whenever were
able to. That is a sweet and pleasing aroma to Him. Giving
Him praise and worship is actually better than any of the
sacrifices of the Old Covenant.
Psalm 22:3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on
the praises of Israel.
The literal rendering of this verse is that God is dwelling in the
praises of Israel and if He dwells or inhabits (lives in, abides
in) in the praises of Israel, He will surely abide in our praises
of Him too. Anytime that you get down or are going through a
trial, start praising God and thanking Him for all that He has
done already for you and when you start praising Him, you
have His Word that He is dwelling in these praises. What an
incredible thought.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Paul wrote that the word of Christ can dwell in the Colossians
richly, and in us as well, in the teachings and the admonitions
of one another but theres an unexpected source of these
teachings and admonitions: Its contained in the psalms,
hymns, spiritual songs, and in the singing to the Lord. I
believe Paul was actually writing about the Old Testament
psalms and there is little doubt that these psalms were still
being sung in the church of the 1st century.
Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and
bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our
Maker!
I already wrote that worship means to bow down or prostrate
yourself (lay flat on the ground) and I try to sing some of my
favorite worship songs in the same position as one would
prostrate and bow down to the ground before a king in ancient
times and since Jesus is King of kings, we should do nothing
less than fall down before Him. For others, it might be to
kneel before the Lord because he is our Maker! Believe
this; when we all see the Lord Jesus Christ for the first time,
both the saved and the lost will fall down before Him.
Romans 14:11 says As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall
bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. When
Paul says every knee this means that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:10-11). Sinners and
saints, those dead and still alive, those who are in heaven and
on the earth will bow the kneed because Paul says twice (in
Romans 14 and Philippians 2) that every knee will bow and
every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. For some
it will be conceding, but for those who are saved, it will be
done in joy and admiration!
Conclusion
Praise and worship can be done in silence, in word, and in
song and it is said that God inhabits the praises of His people.
That means that He is dwelling with or living in our praises
and worshipping of Him. A great way to rid yourself of
depression, sadness, or when youre having a dark night of the
soul is to start praising God and worshipping Him. It is hard
to be sad or depressed when you are praising God and the
sadness and depression often seem to evaporate in the
process. Use these verses to praise God in both song and
word and Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness (Psalm 29:2).
Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus
Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts