Praise
The Hebrew and Greek words used in this
article are the root words.
What is praise, and why do we praise God?
Praise (Heb. Yadah) literally means to hold out our hands (in reverent
worship). And yet, how many Christians
hold their hands out when praising God?
In our day only Charismatic/ Pentecostal Christians are known to raise
their hands in praise of God.
The first time “praise” appears in the Hebrew
Scriptures is at the birth of Judah.
Gen 29:35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she
said, Now will I praise the
LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing. (KJV)
Daniel uses the same Hebrew word, and it is translated
“confessing” in relation to confessing sins.
Dan 9:20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of
my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the
holy mountain of my God; (KJV)
In that case, the meaning reverts to the literal:
Holding out one’s hands with intensity!
The Hebrew word translated praise may also be
translated “to give thanks.” Many times
we give thanks to God for what He has done for us. That thanks is given as praise.
The word “praise” is less often found in the New
Testament. The first is appears in the
New Testament is in Matthew.
Matt 21:16 And said unto him, Hearest
thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea;
have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
thou hast perfected praise?
(KJV)
Praise (Gr. ainos/doxa/aineo) speaks of praise to
God.
Laud (Gr. epaineo) as used
in Romans 15:11 means to praise with applause.
Yet, only recently did
Churches began to give God a “clap” offering of praise.
Romans 15:11
And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud (praise) him, all ye
people. (KJV)
We find another Greek word in Hebrews 2:12. There, Praise (Gr. humneo-umneo) relates to singing
praise to God in celebration. We get the
English word hymn from that Greek word.
Heb 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in
the midst of the church will I sing
praise unto thee. (KJV)
In Hebrews 13:15, praise (Gr. ainesis-ainesiV) is used to describe
an offering of thanks.
Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that
is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (KJV)
The last time the word “praise” appears in the Bible
is in Revelation.
Rev 19:5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise (Gr. aineite-aineite) our God, all ye his
servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. (KJV)
Within the Church today, there are two schools of
thought concerning musical praise. It is
often referred to as “praise and worship.”
There is performance that “passes” for praise. And, there is a heart-felt praise that leads
the congregation into an attitude of praise.
Performance is just performance! It may look good and sound good. But, the effects are not “life” sustaining.
The effect of leading people into praise is totally
different. True praise comes from the
heart and is not the result of human performance oriented practice.
Let me assure you that practice is needed in learning
and singing any song. However, there is
a great difference in rote singing and praise singing.
I personally know some very good musicians that cannot
praise God in their music. By the same
token, I know some who do not qualify as “musicians,” and yet they lead people
into a state of true worship that cannot be explained, but it can be
experienced.
Praise of God and of His Son are to be moments of
joyful thanks giving that may include several forms of personal
expression. We may sing, clap, or just
be still before God in a moment or deep reverence. But, praise shall become a universal response
to the wonderful, gracious things God has done through His Son, our Lord, Jesus
Christ!