O MAGNIFY THE LORD,
FOR HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED
Throughout our Bibles, from Genesis to Revelation, worshiping God is not only deliberate but mandated by God. There is only one God and He it is who creates all things and sets the world and everything in it in motion. It is God who loves us and desires to have our love in return. It is God who rules over all rulers, kingdoms and nations. It is God who judges, God who redeems.
It is through God we receive salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. It is through Jesus Christ, God the Son, that we receive eternal life. For it Christ who has conquered death, hell and the grave; He it is who holds the keys to such.
And because Christ lives, we glorify God for His endless mercies on us.
And, as I study worship in my Bible, I am reminded that I have not done much more than be thankful for my blessings and singing now and then. While I have encouraged others in their relationship with Jesus Christ, I am doubly strengthened when I apply the Word of God to my life, also. For it is God the Holy Spirit who reminds me to glorify God 24/7. Even in my sleep, my dreams, God is with me, looking out for me, protecting me. I fall asleep either praying or singing. I always wake up with a song of worship in my mouth and my mind.
So, I have set myself to studying Worshiping in the Bible. And I just wanted to share what I am learning here with you:
MAGNIFY means to 'enlarge, lift up, honor'. Psalm 34:3 “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” While 'EXALT' means 'offer up, give, extol'. Magnify the Lord, lift Him up that all may know Him. Exalt His name together, all at once. Imagine if you could hear every follower of Christ singing praises to God ALL AT THE SAME TIME! Although we cannot hear every voice in the physical realm, we do know that in the spiritual realm all voices that praise God make an impact on the enemies of God: they flee from the sound of praise. And we know from the Scripture that our sacrifice of praise is a sweet smell to God. Hebrews 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.
There are seven (7) words of praise in the Hebrew language. They are [1] YADAH; [2TODAH; [3] HALAL; [4] SHABACH; [5] BARAK; [6] TeHILLAH; [7] ZAMAR. Each means a different action or way to praise God:
YADAH is first mentioned in Genesis 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." YADAH means to “HOLD OUT MY HANDS”. This word is used 45 times in Scripture. Strong's Concordance reference #3034.
TOWDAH has 6 Scripture references, one of them being Jeremiah 33:11 "The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD." TOWDAH means “CHOIR OF WORSHIPERS, SACRIFICE OF PRAISE”. Strong's Concordance reference #8426.
HALAL means “SHINE CLEARLY”. It is mentioned in Scripture 88 times. Psalm 63:5, one of my favorite passages, states "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips." Strong's Concordance reference #1984.
SHABACH means “SHOUT/TRIUMPH”. Our Bible mentions the word SHABACH four times, but the word(s) Shout, Shouts, Shouting and Shouted (all referring to Praise of God) is mentioned 61 times. This word is also found in Psalm 63, but is used in verse 3 "Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee." Strong's Concordance #7623.
BARAK is used only once in Scripture. It is found in Judges 5:2 "Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves." BARAK means “KNEEL DOWN”. Strong's Concordance #1288. But the word 'bless' in some OT Scriptures uses this word BARAK up to 298 times. It means “TO BLESS, PRAISE, SALUTE”, also. Worship by kneeling down, or lowering your face to the ground, blessing the Lord.
TeHILLAH means “LAUD/HYMN”. TeHILLAH is mentioned 62 times in the Bible. One verse I like for this word is in Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise." Strong's Concordance #8416
ZAMAR means “TO MAKE MUSIC, EITHER BY HAND OR UPON AN INSTRUMENT”. This word is mentioned four times in Scripture. For example: Psalm 21:13 "Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power." Strong's Concordance #2167. Psalm 150 clearly describes this worship.
| Psalm 150 >> King James Version |
1Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
2Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
3Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
4Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
5Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.
6Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
GOD INHABITS THE PRAISES OF HI S PEOPLE
Both TeHILLAH and TOWDAH use a Voice of Praise, so we look at the variations of Sing, such as Sing, Singing, Sings, Sang, Sung, Song. This study tells us to praise God 285 times:
Sing, Sings and Singing (171), Sang (10), Sung (5) and Song (99). SHABACH uses the Voice also, but not in singing, in Shout-!-ing. Shout (34). Shouted (14) and Shouting (13). Descriptions of Shout include: screech, creak, acclaim, loud voice. Have you every praised God so loudly you have lost your voice? Or caused your jaw to ache? God tells us in Psalm 47:1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. A high pitched voice of joy and gladness. A loud shout of praise, loud enough to cause the worshipers to join in and the enemies of God to take flight. Numbers 21:17 "Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it."
Praise (215), Praised (19), Praising (9), Praises (23). “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” Psalm 22:3. The word 'praises' means TeHILLAH (LAUD/HYMN), song. Psalm 148: 3 tells us that the sun, the moon and the stars praise God: "Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light." The word 'praise' in this verse means 'to shine clearly' or HALAL. Praised, Luke 1:64 “ And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God. He blessed, thanked God." This word 'praised' takes us to BARAK, which means to KNEEL DOWN.
“It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;.” 2 Chronicles 5:13. Here we have several references to worshiping God. The first, praise, is HALAL. 'Thanking' is YADAH. 'Lifted up their voice' is TOWDAH. 'Trumpets, cymbals, and instruments of music' is ZAMAR. 'Praised' is HALAL. Four ways to praise are given us to follow in praising God.
And what happened when the people praised God in such a fashion? “that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD.” God inhabited the praises of His people. A cloud filled the house of the Lord God. Not any cloud you and I have seen in the skies, but a cloud of the glory of God. Praising God with everything we have within us; meaning what we say, understanding what it means to praise God; knowing who God is and acknowledging what He does for us: what He does in us and what He does through us gives us the responsibility to praise God: and to praise Him fully all day long.
{Oh, Lord, may I always be found in You. May my voice be one of praise and thanksgiving. May my words shine clearly and my life be transparent. You know my heart and can see my thoughts, yet You are gracious to me. You look beyond the face into the mind and see into my heart. May my lips and my heart be in sync as I study Your Word and Praise Your Name.
Oh, Lord, have mercy on me and make me worthy to be with You always and in all ways. For You alone are worthy to be praised. Thank You, Lord, for the Love You have shown unto me. For the Blessings You have showered into my life. Be glorified, O my God. Amen.}
