The principal definition of the word PRAISE is the Hebrew word "HALAL" which means to be clear in sound, to shine, to make a show, to boast, to be clamourously foolish, to rave, to celebrate. Praise is an expression of the soul. That is, it directly involves our mind, our will and our emotions. The Psalmist David repeatedly stated that our soul is to bless the Lord (Psalm 103:1), boast in the Lord (Psalm 34:2) and praise the Lord (Psalm 146:1). This expression of the soul is to manifest itself in many ways, as is seen in the Word of God. These ways include:
- Singing (Psalm 47:6-7)
- Shouting (Psalm 47:1)
- Clapping of Hands (Psalm 47:1)
- Lifting of Hands (Psalm 134:2)
- Dancing (Psalm 150:4)
- Bowing (Psalm 95:6)
- Musically (Psalm 150)
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PRAISE
a) Spontaneous Praise
King David exhorts us in Psalm 103 to praise the Lord because of what He has done. Just think! He:
- Forgives all our iniquities (v3)
- Heals all our diseases (v3)
- Redeems our lives from destruction (v4)
- Crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies (v4)
- Satisfies our mouth with good things (v5)
DON'T FORGET HIS BENEFITS!
As we realize what a mighty God He is and what He has done for us, we are stirred emotionally and we spontaneously erupt with praise! Spontaneous praise is therefore BIRTHED IN OUR EMOTIONS. Spontaneous praise is enjoyable, emotional, brimming with enthusiasm. And rightly so! We should praise the Lord for all that He has done.
b) Sacrificial Praise
But then there are other times when praise is the last thing we want to do. Unfortunately, by acting, or rather reacting only according to our feeligs, we rob ourselves of real fulfilment in the other aspect of praise - THE SACRIFICE.
Hebrews 13:15 exhorts us to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. The word "sacrifice" means the action of slaughtering, killing or slaying. In other words, we are required to kill those emotions, slaughter those feelings that are opposed to praising the Lord. Many times I don't feel like praising the Lord. It is during those times that I can fulfil my obedience to the Scripture and exercise the "Sacrifice of Praise"
Therefore sacrificial praise is BIRTHED IN OUR WILL! The most repeated phrase in the Psalms is "I WILL". (over 200 times)
The results of both spontaneous and sacrificial praise are awesome! God responds to praise! Psalm 22:3 tells us that He inhabits, He dwells in the praises of His people. And as a result of of God's response, something supernatural takes place. we transcend from the dimension of praise into the dimension of worship
THE DIMENSION OF WORSHIP
Whereas PRAISE is an expression of the SOUL, WORSHIP is an expression of the SPIRIT. The word "worship":
- In Hebrew is "shachah" which means to depress, prostrate, bow(self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop.
- In Greek the word is "proskuneo", which means to kiss, to fawn or crouch to, to revere, to adore.
By this we can see that in worship there is a divine, intmate communion, a closeness of relationship that occurs between God and man, the Creator and the created. Worship is an expression of the spirit, because "God is Spirit: and they that worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)
As we spontaneously and sacrificially praise the Lord we are lifted into the realm of the spirit, where a pure and holy, love relationship is developed with God. At such moment of transcension, you realize that you are on holy ground. Time is of no importance. Nothing else matters and you are intensely aware of the fact that you are communing with God in spirit.
As you worship the Lord, He reveals Himself to you in a precious, loving way. As the definition, "to kiss" suggests, there results an intimate spiritual union with the Spirit of God. There is a strengthening, a refreshing that occurs in your spirit. Nothing can be compared to that type of communion, which is a result of your spontaneous and sacrificial praise.
An extract from : Restoring Praise & Worship To The Church - by Howard Rachinski
TPWC's Remarks:
For the many previous posts, TPWC has been challenging and inspiring you that the way to His holy presence is through our daily choice to cultivate the spirit of thanksgiving & exercise the practise of private praise (both spontaneously and sacrificially). It is an upward spiritual progression ... by walking into ... standing in His presence and then sitting in the holy of holiest beholding His glory. It is a blessed journey! It is opposite to the often downward path where many believers tend to take in their daily encounters ... to walk in the the counsel of the wicked ... stand in the way of sinners ... and sit in the seat of mockers. These are path of degeneration and there is no blessing!
Whereas if we choose daily the path of progression; yes no matter what our circustances may be, we will stand strong in the Lord like the tree that is planted by the waters. Because in His presence is fullness of Joy and the Joy of the Lord shall be our strength. So come what may - even the storms of life, "we shall be a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" (Psalm 1:3). Life in the inner courts is stable and victorious!
For the next the coming posts, TPWC will be touching on Life in the inner courts - a series of worship topics. Like to encourage that while we receive the truth & learn the secrets of the inner of courts, that we do not forget that the way to the Father still begins with the spirit of thanksgiving and the daily choice of praise (both spontaneous and sacrificial - God dwells in our praise). This is the way to maintain our lives as disciplined lifestyle worshippers!
copyright (c) TPWC
