Christian Crier
What are 7 Bible verses that discuss praising and worshipping God? What ones would you include?
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 isn’t 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 don’t 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 don’t yet know Him. This is a continual offering that should be done on a daily basis and offered up to God whenever we’re 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 there’s an unexpected source of these teachings and admonitions: It’s 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 you’re 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
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon
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