Where is praise first mentioned in the bible

We will close with these passages from scripture. They are praises to God. Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. NASB Hebrews Harris, Archer, and Waltke.

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press. Jeremiah What is praise? Bible Question: When we talk about praise, what is it really about? Is it done by praise-singing or by words? Is this really what Saint Paul and the entire canon of Holy Scripture would advise us to do whenever we disagree over something? Leah, the first wife of Jacob and sister of Rachel, is the first to use it. Then she ceased bearing.

Yadah , not surprisingly, most often means to praise or give thanks. However, while yadah is used frequently [4] throughout the Tanakh, [5] it is not the word used by David in the above Psalm. The difference between these two terms, however, is that halal implies praising with recognition of the worth of the object of praise.

The two words have distinct definitions and uses, thoroughly differentiating them, one from another. We have already evaluated the biblical meaning of praise.

Now let us do the same, briefly, for worship. If our idea of worship is, as stated above, a designated time of standing up together and singing songs to God, it is not coherent with the description of worship in the Bible. Shachah means to physically bow down , or prostrate oneself, before the object of worship.

Now, this is not to say that one is not praising the Lord when she is standing and singing songs to God, for yadah and halal do not carry the same connotation of physical position as shachah does. Having now examined what the Bible means by praise and what it means by worship, we must ask the important question: Are we praising and worshiping God as we ought to?

The Word of God clearly dictates that its readers partake of both actions. When we gather, do we recognize the infinite glory of God and thank Him for all that He has done? In most churches, we generally do this, praising, well. However, do we also, both physically and spiritually, humbly bow down or lie prostrate before our Lord and Savior?

Praising God is never a bad thing, but we ought not to isolate what we offer to God to just this. So, maybe it is time to try something different. So, while the end goal is worship of God in spirit and truth, it may take the physical action of humbling ourselves in his presence to get us there. Now, here at Moody Bible Institute, we generally do take the time we spend praising and worshiping God together seriously. However, at times throughout any given semester, it seems that our enthusiasm has a tendency to wane and waver.

Why is this? Is there harmony to the melody? Is there a path and plan to the shape of the music? Like mentioned earlier, the word halal is a root to the word hallelujah. So, what is differing about the word hallelujah from its root?

This word occurs 22 times in the Old Testament. It means to be boastful and shout, which is pretty much the same meaning as the word halal.

Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. The Hallelujah is that important call to worship and bookend to send us out! Jack Taylor in his book, The Hallelujah Factor , calls this word the premier word for worship. He reminds us that it is two words put together. It means to praise God! The word we sing is actually a transliteration into English but also many other languages will pronounce it the same.

This is why Taylor teaches us that it is so special. We are all tied together in the body of Christ by this particular word. In his very important book for worship, we are taught to embrace the biblical words as a way to expand our worship and praise. Notice how these are the bookends of the psalms they come from. Can you picture a slice of heaven where this word is sung by people of every culture and tribe? As you read these verses, let your imagination inspire your heart to hear people not like you singing hallelujah.

To lift or throw arms upward in praise and surrender. You may already pray this way at your church. People raise their hands, but they are as if they are tossing something.

With yodah, the picture of arms extended also connotes the idea of confession in the word. Does praise include confession? Indeed, to praise in this manner is to extend our arms as an expression of our need for God.

We reach in his direction, longing to be free from our sin and brokenness. We praise him in the context of humans who are on this side of heaven. When we see the word yodah we lift our burdens and hope in a God who can bring us relief. There is no greater relief than to know we are in a right relationship with our creator. The liturgical movement called the Kyrie is a good example here. A priest or pastor who lifts his hands in prayer expresses this posture. However, as each of us has access to God, we should all lift our hands and extend the arms in confession.

Simply, we need our God! Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?

What an encouragement to know that the presence of God is help to us. In our human frailty, we find that our need of God and the confession of that need is paramount. Jesus, even being sinless, was person with all the same tendencies to get tired, hungry and even annoyed as we do. When you read the following passages, extend your arms toward God. It may even be your palms raised. The important part is to admit your need for God and his presences.

To sing praises together as one community, in harmony. It is defined as a choir offering thanksgiving and praise in worship. This explanation of praise importantly elevates worship beyond our cultural preference for individualism.

Our personal experiences of course are important. This very special gathering we have each weekend offers us a chance to praise as a choir like the word todah describes. And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the Lord.

Gathering as a people means we come from various backgrounds, locales, and experiences. Regardless of the context of our personal story, we enter a community with a story bigger than our own. This allows us to worship God as church, not as a lone soul.

The choir of the saints empowers us to see beyond ourselves and the transcendent nature of our God. He dwells in our praises. Our personal devotional life is missing much if we do not gather with our brothers and sisters. Can we truly offer a sacrifice of praise that is only from our individual self? Do we experience the presence of God as powerfully on our own as we do when gathered? The word todah is about singing with a choir. Here are some additional verses to contemplate being part of the choir of saints.

How can we sacrifice our personal preferences to sing in tune with our church? All of the following verses are from the NKJV. Reach out with affection for God, to feel His hold on us. The word sabah is like the stroke of a swimmer or a soothing, stilling hold.

This perhaps is an affectionate move of praise. And, sabah may also be the experience we feel as stormy waters still during our lifting up of praise to God. The waves cease. We are held still as a people of God when we focus on his greatness and love for us. Whether we sing in private or pray out loud with our church, we are sure to discover that praise often calms the storms within us and around us—if even for those moments.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. This is why praise is a choice we must intentionally commit to in our daily lives but equally so in our gatherings each Sunday. Do we believe that God loves us and has our best interest at heart?

If we do not remind ourselves of who God is and what he has done, we allow the waves to toss us about. These waves emanate from within and from without.

When we neglect the choice to thank God with our sacrifices of praise we are prone to forget. Even worse, we are likely to be overwhelmed. Here are a couple additional verses in the NKJV to ponder. How do your praises still the storm in your life? He does, however, desire it. What these words teach us is that our reaching back to a God who has reached out to us is what we were created to do.

We were meant to be in a thriving relationship with our creator.