Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name, bring and offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. I Chronicles 16:29. NIV
Oh my friends, I have been praying, meditating and thinking about the gift of worship. I have listened to all types of teaching on the various Old Testament words that describe different ways we can worship our God. On all the why’s of His worthiness and how it brings joy to Him. My head knows a lot, but what I have been desiring more is for my heart to engage differently.
So would you join me on a journey to grow in our connection to Him with our praise and worship? There are seven different Hebrew Expressions of praise. As I remind myself of each of them, I realize I have not engaged lately in most of them.
Barak: means to kneel, bow down. It is a way to show the Lord reverence and humility. Being raised Baptist we did not use kneelers in our church. I have used my older age to excuse myself from kneeling before the Lord. I think it’s time to find a way to include the posture of humility in my worship. Psalm 95:6
Halal: This fun word is the root word for Hallelujah! It means to boast, shine, celebrate, or act clamorously foolish out of extreme joy. I want to add more Halal to my worship. This is what David did when he worshiped before the Lord.
Shabach: This means to shout to God with a voice of triumph. To talk of His mighty power. Have you ever shouted the praises of God? It’s been awhile, I confess. It isn’t just being “loud”, its meaning carries the sense of putting your whole being into praising our God, because of who He is
Tehillah: To express ourselves with tehillah means we make up our own songs and tunes describing Him. It is a fresh expression of our love and His greatness. Go ahead try it! My husband used to play his guitar every morning during his devotional time. I would sing in my heart words to those tunes occasionally. When I forget the words to current worship songs, I probably am using tehillah!
Yadah: When I was young, my father would lead the singing in our Baptist church. It was so inspiring to watch him, because he was singing from his heart. He lifted up his hands in worship (yadah) even before it became popular. I don’t know if he was criticized for it or not. There are often times I can’t help but lift my arms in praise to our God. Surrendering myself to His goodness and will.
Towdah: We lift our hands in towdah when we are thanking him before we see the results. It is also an act of surrender–it is the sacrifice of thanksgiving. I have discovered the joy of praise and worship especially during hard times. It is a sacrifice when we are facing the unknown future that only our God knows. I have experienced God’s peace when I have worshiped Him during hard times.
Zamar: This is where we make music with instruments–plucking strings, drumming drums. It can also include singing with these instruments. Most of our current community worship is based on the word zamar. “I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises (zamar) to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.” Psalm 71:22
“I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will make music (zamar) to you.” Psalm 144:9
Here is a sample breakdown of how these individual words work together. I don’t think we need to overthink this, but understanding what please Him should be our priority. My husband hated green beans, I chose to stop serving them because I loved him. Loving the Lord should be similar, don’t you think? So often we choose our preference over His.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving (Towdah),
and his courts with praise (tehillah)!
Give thanks to him (Yadah); bless his name! Psalm 100.4
My friends, as we take the time to focus on the various ways God, Himself, encourages us to worship Him, shouldn’t we at least surrender our will to His in this area? These are tools to be included in our repertoire of worship. I know that when I am overwhelmed by His presence, it often causes me to go quiet and withdraw to my quiet place inside my heart. I know He loves these times of intimacy. The gift of worship is a gift we can choose to freely offer up to Him. When the Israelites started worshiping from duty and not from love, their hearts were more easily drawn away to other gods. This is still the case with us. I don’t want to replace true worship with rote actions–but my own feeble heart has those tendencies. I am so grateful for His mercy, aren’t you? It makes me want to worship Him more.
This past week I have faced some struggles–for myself and on the behalf of others. Instead of feeling overwhelmed I began to worship the Lord before I began to ask for HELP! Peace came more quickly and hope began to grow in the place of fear. Worshiping Him restores peace and sets Him back in His rightful place. He is such an amazing God.
Father, You are such a gracious God. I am so grateful You created us to worship You. Please teach us how to do it in a way that please You. You don’t have to give us anything back when we give You back only what You deserve, but You do. Truly You are an unfathomable God. Thank you for the gift of worship. In Jesus’ Name, amen
Faith Encounters 