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Racine Apostolic Church, Racine Missouri, Pastor R.A. Emerson
Racine Apostolic Church, Racine Missouri, Pastor R.A. Emerson |
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Text Articles:
Chemistry of Praise
The Chemistry of Praise* *feel free to print this material As composed, and condensed by: Brandall Brake
Praise is one of the most powerful tools that we, as Christians, can ever have in our lives, yet very few seem to realize this or, more importantly, take advantage of it. However, I hope to broaden our understanding, and conception of praise, and the role it plays in our lives, for this is not merely my own hypothesis of an opinion posted as fact, but rather a topic based on fact but only too often stated as opinion. But, before we begin I would like to lay a foundation. To begin let us look at the different meanings of words denoting praise, as contrived from their original Greek and Hebrew texts. Vines Expository Dictionary of the Greek and Hebrew language states that 'halal' means, "to praise, celebrate, glory, sing, boast." In fact the meaning "to praise" in the Greek and Hebrew, is the intensive form of halal in context as a verb , which in its simple active form means "to boast." In this latter sense halal is found in its cognate forms in ancient Akkadian, of which Babylonian and Assyrian are dialects. The word is found in Ugaritic in the sense of "shouting," and perhaps "jubilation." Found more than 160 times in the Old Testament, halal is used for the first time in Gen. 12:15, where it is noted that because of Sarah's great beauty, the princes of Pharaoh "praised" (KJV, "commended") her to Pharaoh. Halal however is usually used in reference to praising GOD, not only are things that have breath commanded to praise Him, Ps 150:6 but even the moon and stars praise Him, Ps 148:3 and 150:1, such praise is called for in the sanctuary. Another form of halal means to sing being accompanied by an instrument The word halal is the source of "Hallelujah," a Hebrew expression of "praise" to God which has been taken over into virtually every language of mankind. The Hebrew "Hallelujah" is generally translated "Praise the Lord!" The Hebrew term is more technically translated "Let us praise Yah," the term "Yah" being a shortened form of "Yahweh," the unique Israelite name for God. The term "Yah" is found in the King James Version of Ps. 68:4, reflecting the Hebrew text which also means "Yahweh," which means "He who causes to be." The Greek approximation of "Hallelujah" is found 4 times in the New Testament in the form "Alleluia." Yadah is another word for praise which means, "to give thanks, laud, praise to confess and acknowledge." A common Hebrew word in all its periods, this verb is an important word in the language of worship. Yadah is found over 120 times in the Bible, the first time being in the story of the birth of Judah, Jacob's son who was born to Leah Gen 29:35. Yadah is found more than 70 times in the book of Psalms alone, as is Halal. However, Yadah is used more often as a term of personal praise. Yet another word for praise is tehillah, "glory; praise; song of praise; praiseworthy deeds." Tehillah occurs 57 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. This word notes the qualities of attributes of a thing worthy of praise. Tehillah is a public praise of GOD in which he is exalted, in it's extreme form it is praise beyond words but rather carried out in extreme actions. Todah is one other form of praise, it simply means "thanksgiving." This important noun form, found some 30 times in the Old Testament, is used there in the sense of "thanksgiving." The word is preserved in modern Hebrew as the regular word for "thanks." In the Hebrew text todah is used to indicate "thanksgiving" in songs of worship Ps. 26:7; 42:4. However to praise is also to worship therefore I felt it was relevant to research the meaning of that as well. Shachah, means "to worship, prostrate oneself, bow down." This word is found in modern Hebrew in the sense of "to bow or stoop," but not in the general sense of "to worship" but rather in a more specific level. The fact that it is found more than 170 times in the Hebrew Bible shows something of its cultural significance. It is found for the first time in Gen. 18:2, where Abraham "bowed himself toward the ground" before the 3 messengers who announced that Sarah would have a son. The act of bowing down in homage is generally done before a superior or a ruler. Thus, David "bowed" himself before Saul 1 Sam. 24:8. Sometimes it is a social or economic superior to whom one bows, as when Ruth "bowed" to the ground before Boaz Ruth 2:10. In a dream, Joseph saw the sheaves of his brothers "bowing down" before his sheaf Gen. 37:5,9-10. Shachah is used as the common term for coming before God in worship, as in 1 Sam. 15:25 and Jer. 7:2. Sometimes it is in conjunction with another Hebrew verb for bowing down physically, followed by "worship," as in Exod. 34:8: "And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped." In another form it is to show obedience to one of higher authority, especially one that has control of another's life.
Now that we have a foundation laid out let us explore the role of praise in our lives while answering many questions that we may have about it and the role it plays in our lives.
Q: Is it necessary to praise GOD in the sanctuary? A: Most definitely. · Psalms 9:14 (the Hebrew word for gate in this setting means public meeting place) · Ps 22:22, 25 · Ps 35:18 · Ps 57:9 · Ps 89:5 · Ps 100:4 · Ps 107:32 · Ps 108:3 · Ps 109:30 · Ps 111:1 · Ps 117:1 · Ps 138:2 · Ps 149:1 · Ps 150:1 · IICor 8:18 and many more directly, as well as indirectly, command praise in the sanctuary and among God's people.
Q: Is there praise in heaven? A: Yes. · Neh 9:6 · Job 38:7 · Ps 103:20,21 · Ps 148:2 · Ps 148:4 · Isa 6:3 · Ezec 3:12 · Luke 15:7, 10 · Luke 2:13-14 · Rev 1:6 · Rev 4:8, 11 · Rev 5:9, 14 all directly refer to praise in heaven.
Q: How are we told to praise GOD in the Bible? A: Often we are instructed to praise GOD with singing and/or instruments, · Ps 7:13 · Ps 28:7 · Ps 33:3 · Ps 40:3 · Ps 68:25 · Ps 69:30 · Ps 96:1 · Ps 98:1 · Ps 144:9 · Ps 149:1 · Ps 150:4 · Isa 42:10 all command us to praise in this manner.
Q: How often are we to praise him? A: Every time we can, · Heb 13:5 · Ps 35:28 · Ps 52:9 · Ps 61:8 are just a few that deal with this subject directly.
Q: Can we praise him loudly? A: Yes! In fact the Bible encourages this sort of praise, stopping just short of commanding it, · Ps 33:3 · Ps 98:4 · Ps 150:5 all mention loudness in praise and this is not including other instances throughout the Bible.
Q: Is praise in the New Testament? A: Over 26 times.
Q: Who and what is commanded to praise. A: Not only is everything that has breath commanded to praise him · Ps 150:6 · But even the moon and stars Ps 148:3.
Q: Is there rewards in praise? A: Praise is full of rewards. · Ps 37:4, the Bible clearly states that when we praise he will "give" us our desires.
Q: Why are most references from the Old Testament book of Psalms? A: Good question. In answering I would undoubtedly have to say it is one of the best references because of the following reasons; · Reason number one it is because Psalms is a book devoted to praise. · Secondly, it is not in a category of the law that cannot be applicable today. In other words there was no need for a 'New Testament' book covering the same theme because the Psalms where still effective and unaltered by the course of time or even the changing dispensations. |
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