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Worship – Pt 2

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

We have a problem understanding what worship is.  Why?  Because we English speakers are limited by our vocabulary.  You see, when the Old Testament speaks about people rejoicing before God, we translate this as ‘praise’ or ‘worship’.  We do not realize that in the original Hebrew there are lots of words for worship and that they all have different shades of meaning.

W. Tozer called worship ‘the missing jewel of the church’. Each Hebrew word for worship is like one facet of that jewel and together they bring the sort of colour, sparkle and rich variety that we should see reflected in our personal and corporate times of worship. It may sound uninspiring to go through these words, but I assure us that it is not.  If we know what they mean, see them in their context and meditate on them, we will have a broader understanding of what worship is all about – and that should make us a better worshipper.

True worship springs from deep within the heart and is expressed in our relationship with God and also with others.  It should actually affect everything that we do – in church life and outside it.  We worship God and work out that worship by loving one another.  If we are critical or negative with others, we are not really expressing our worship to God.  So a good definition of worship is: ‘loving God in the presence of His people and loving God’s people in the presence of God.’

HEBREW WORDS FOR WORSHIP

  1. SHACHAH: All true worship is based on the Old Testament word, shacah, which means to bow down in reverence, to prostrate oneself.  Shachah is often used to denote coming before God in worship.  When the enslaved Israelites ‘heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshipped’ (Exodus 4:31).  Bowing is an attitude of submission and obedience; it involves giving ourselves unreservedly to God.
  2. HALLEL: To be boastful, to praise, and to celebrate.  Hallel is found more than one hundred and sixty (160) times in the Old Testament and Psalms 113 to 118 are referred to as the Hallel Psalms.  They give particular praise to God for the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, which is why the Jews traditionally sang them on the eve of the Passover.  After the Lord’s Supper, Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn (Matthew 26:30) which was probably one of these psalms.  It is amazing to think that as Jesus went to the cross, He was meditating on words like ‘This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it’ Psalm 118”24).

The word, ‘yah’ is an abbreviation form of ‘Yahweh’, the Old Testament name for God.  When hallel and yah are combined, they form ‘Hallelujah’, which means ‘Praise the Lord’.  Hallelujah can be used as an explosion of enthusiasm – in the same way as a football crowd erupts when someone scores a goal.

  1. YADAH: To give thanks, to praise.  The root of this word suggests the extended hand and therefore implies worshipping with raised hands.  The word originated with the birth of one of Jacob’s son.  We read, ‘[Rachel] conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son, she said, “this time I will praise the Lord.”  So she named him Judah’ (Genesis 29:35).  The tribe of Judah was particularly used in praise.  When the Israelites moved across the desert, Judah led the way – Praise always comes first.  David was from Judah (1 Samuel 17:12), and Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5).

A few years ago it was a radical thing to raise your hands in a Sunday meeting.  Now we have got so used to it that we are in danger of becoming complacent about it.  The Greek word for man is anthropos, which mean ‘upward looker’.  Sinful man is naturally a downward looker.  Cain’s offering to God was tainted by sin (1 John 3:12) and when God rejected it, cain’s face was ‘downcast’ (Genesis 4:5).  When our sins are forgiven, we look up and the raising of our hands emphasizes that we are coming to God without any sense of fear, guilt or condemnation.    

Yadah also mean to acknowledge in public or to praise the Lord publicly.  David declared, ‘I will give you thanks in the great assembly, among throngs of people I will praise You’ (Psalm 35:18).  The word translated ‘praise’ here is yadah.

  1. TODAH: To give thanks.  This word embraces the idea of thanksgiving and is often used in a setting where many people are singing songs of thanksgiving together.  “I remember … leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng” (Psalm 42:4).  When the walls of Jerusalem were built, Nehemiah “assigned two large choirs to give thanks” (Nehemiah 12:31).
  2. TEHILLAH: A song of praise particularly extolling deeds which are worthy of praise (Tehillim is the Hebrew title for the book of Psalms). It also refers to someone’s attributes: ‘He is your praise; He is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes’ (Deuteronomy 10:21).  Tehillah is about praising God for His actions and for who He is.  

We need times of tehillah type praise in our worship.  The best way to extol God’s character is to meditate on His attributes.  His faithfulness, compassion, justice, grace, et cetera.  Let us learn scriptures about each attribute so that when we come to worship, we are singing songs from knowledge of God.         

At David’s Tabernacle there was a called Jeduthum who ‘prophesied, using the harp in thanking and praising the Lord’ (1 Chronicles 25:3).  So there is a close link between prophesying and giving thanks to God.  Let me encourage us to meditate on God’s character and then to release songs of thanksgiving to God for who He is and what He has done.  We must do this in private first, and then open for God to use us in a more public setting.  We need not just sing about ‘religious’ themes like deliverance from the Red Sea.  Thank God for healing us or for giving us things.  We should use everyday words to express our feelings and enjoy ourselves.

 Tehillah also means to praise publicly by singing.  David says, “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you” (Psalm 22:22).  Jesus quotes this verse in Hebrews 2:12 and sings a song of thanksgiving to the Father about us.  That is a mind-blowing idea.

Tehillah is also a technical musical term for a song of praise.  Psalm 145 is a tehillah.  It extols God’s character and his deeds.  It would be interesting and encouraging to note down all the attributes of God in this Psalm and meditate on them!

Attributes of God in Psalm 145

He is Great, Mighty, Glorious Honour of His Majesty, Wondrous works, Good, Righteous, Gracious, Full of Compassion, Slow to Anger and Great Mercy, Holy.

  1. BARAK: To bless.  This usually speaks of God’s covenant in pouring out His blessing on mankind.  It is also an expression of praise:  “Blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hands” (Psalm 14:20).  “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His Holy name!” (Psalm 103:1).  There is great power behind blessing and cursing.  Spiritual powers lie behind a blessing and demonic powers behind a curse.  I wonder if we have really grasped the kind of authority that comes when we pronounce blessings on God and each other.

Although God is totally self-sufficient and needs nothing from us, He still chooses to receive blessing from us.  Something in His heart loves to be ‘completed’ by our blessing.  Moses pronounced a blessing over the Israelites when he said; “The Lord bless you and keep you” (Numbers 6:24).  It is good for us to speak that blessing to one another.  Some people are rather glib about it, but if we speak it with authority, a real power will be released through it.

  1. ZAMAR: Literally, to touch the strings (of a harp or lyre).  It refers to praising the Lord in song, with harmony and musical accompaniment.  David said, “My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with my soul.  Awake, harp and lyre!  I will awaken the dawn” (Psalm 108:1-2).
  2. SHABACH: To congratulate, to speak well of.  It suggests triumphantly celebrating, glorying and shouting, as in “Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you people” (Psalm 117:1).  The word translated ‘extol’ is shabach.
  3. SAMACH: To be glad, to rejoice.  This word implies an outburst of spontaneous joy, which overflows in physical action.  Emotion is expressed in singing, dancing and the playing of musical instruments.  This sort of worship is not planned.  The worship leader does not say ‘Right let’s do this’.  It just happens.  This is one of the characteristics of revival.  Everyone suddenly starts singing the same hymn or song all at once.  There is a supernatural dimension to it.  David says, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalm 32:11).  Samach is also used for the way God spontaneously rejoices over what He has done:  “May the glory of the LORD endure for ever, may the Lord rejoice in His works” (Psalm 104:31).
  4. SIYS: To be bright, to leap with mirth.  David says, “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you” (Psalm 40:16).  The charismatic hop is very biblical and we need to see more of it in worship.  So let us jump around with all our might!
  5. GIYL: To rejoice, to cry out and be glad.  This is another characteristic of revival.  Individuals spontaneously shout praises to the Lord.  Habakkuk declared, “I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour” (Habakkuk 3:18).
  6. RUAH: To raise a shout, a battle cry, a jubilant shout of joy.  The Psalmist says, “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation” (Psalm 95:1).  When Israel went to war, the leader of the army would raise a battle cry which probably demanded a response from the people.  One Old Testament battle cry is ‘for the Lord and for Gideon’ (Judges 7:18). 
  7. QUARA: To call or proclaim. David says, “I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly” (Psalm 40:9).

GREEK WORDS FOR WORSHIP

Just to complete the ‘jewel’ I would like to give some Greek words for worship in the New Testament.

  1. PROSKUNEO: This is a very common New Testament word for worship.  It means to come towards to kiss.  Originally the word had to do with kissing the earth as part of pagan worship, but gradually the idea changed to an inner attitude of heart rather than an outward gesture.  It is an expression of intimacy and adoration.  Jesus used the word, proskuneo when He said; “God is Spirit and His worshippers must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (St. John 4:24).  It also appears in Matthew 2:2; Luke 4:8 and Revelation 4:10, 19:10, 22:9.
  2. SEBOMAI: Originally this word was used to express the idea of shrinking away from the gods out of reverence and fear.  Sebomai emphasizes feelings of reverence and awe in the presence of God.  The word is used of Titus Justus, who was called “a worshipper of God” (Acts 18:7).
  3. LATREUONTES: This word translated ‘worship’ appears in Paul’s letter to the Philippians:  “for it is we who are the true circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).  ‘Latreuo’ tells us that worship is not only an inner attitude, but that it is also demonstrated in righteous living.  The word appears three (3) times in connection with sacrificial ministry (Romans 9:4; Hebrews 9:1, 6).  Paul says, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).  Worship is demonstrated by lifestyle.  We live to praise God in whatever we do.
  4. CHAIRA: To rejoice.  This word is most often translated, ‘rejoice’.  Originally it implied the joy of celebrating at a festival.  This joy is expressed and sustained even through persecution and trial – because the Christian’s hope is in Christ.  There is a difference between joy, which is a fruit of the Spirit, and happiness, which depends on happenings.

    Joy is not a superficial thing.  It is given to us by the Holy Spirit and it stays with us even when we are going through terrible trials.  Jesus tells us that people will insult, persecute and say all kinds of evil against us because of Him.  When that happens we must “Rejoice and be glad” (Matthew 5:12).  The word He used here is chaira, which is also used in Luke 1:14 and in Philippians 1:4; 2:28-29; 3:1 and 4:10.

  1. AGAILLO: To rejoice greatly, to exult, to lift up.  This joy is demonstrated in action.  The Philippian jailer brought Paul and Silas a meal and “was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God” (Acts 16:34).  The word, agaillo is used here and also in Luke 1:47 and 1 Peter 1:8.

These Hebrew and Greek words give us some insights into biblical worship. I like to meditate on the words in this list because I want to have a fresh, new experience every time I praise God.  So that my worship is pleasing to God every time.

REFERRENCES

Lockyer, Herbert, Sr., Bruce, F.F. and Harrison, R.K. (1986). Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

Oxford Student’s Dictionary (2002). Oxford University Press.

Pope, Dave (1991). Giving the Best in Worship: A Heart Response to the Love of God. CWR, Waverley Abbey House, England.

The Amplified Bible (1987). Zondervan Publishing House, U.S.A.

The First Scofield Study Bible, King James Version (1986). Barbour and Company, Inc.

Tozer, A.W. (1979). Worship: The Missing Jewel of the Evangelical Church. Christian Publications Inc., Pennsylvania.