The Importance Of Praise

The Importance of Praise

By

Bishop M.L. Maughmer, Jr.

Genesis 29:35 says “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”.

The Law of First mention:- The Law of First Mention basically states that the first occurrence of something in scriptures predicts or sets the standard of how that thing is represented all throughout scripture.

Praise is the Hebrew word “YADAH” or “YADA”– the meaning of YADAH is to hold out or extend the hand. So with that picture in your mind and understanding the Law of First Mention then Praise should always involve an extension of the hands. It is the word used in Genesis 4 where Adam “knew” (yadah) Eve and she bore Cain.

DEFINITIONS:- Praise - (verb): 1. To express approval and commendation of; applaud, eulogize. 2. To express adoration of; glorify (God, etc). (noun): 1.Commendation expressed, as of a person for his virtues, or concerning meritorious actions; utterance of approval; honor given; also, applause. 2. Thanksgiving for blessings conferred; laudation to God; worship expressed in song. 3. The object, ground, reason, or subject of praise.

Worship - 1. The act or feeling of adoration or homage; the paying of religious reverence, as in prayer, praise, etc. 2. The act or feeling of deference, respect, or honor toward virtue, power, or the like. 3. Excessive or ardent admiration; also, the object of such love or admiration. 4. A title of honor in addressing persons of station.

By comparing the two definitions, we can first see that praise is part of our worship of Almighty God. We express our approval, thankfulness, and respect for Almighty God by offering praises to Him. This kind of thankfulness then becomes part of our worship of the Great God. In our worship of God, we show our love through obeying His commandments, living the way of life He has revealed through His written word, the Bible, communicating with Him in prayer, meeting and fellowshipping with other believers, and in offering thanks to Him.

Praise & Worship are Positional.

Praise means to revere (with extended hands), laudation, specifically a hymn, to kneel and to bless God.

Worship means to prostrate oneself before God, bow down, humbly beseech, and do obeisance or reverence. In worship, we demonstrate that compared to God, we are as nothing.

We know there are 7 words used for praise & worship they are:-

1. Yadah is a verb with a root meaning, "the extended hand, to throw out the hand, therefore to worship with extended hand." According to the Lexicon, the opposite meaning is "to bemoan, the wringing of the hands.

2. Halal is a primary Hebrew root word for praise. Our word "hallelujah" comes from this base word. It means "to be clear, to shine, to boast, show, to rave, celebrate, to be clamorously foolish.

3. Towdah comes from the same principle root word as yadah, but is used more specifically. Towdah literally means, "an extension of the hand in adoration, or acceptance." By way of application, it is appratent in the Psalms and elsewhere that it is used for thanking God for "things not yet received" as well as things already at hand.

4.Shabach means, "to shout, to address in a loud tone, to command, to triumph.

5. Barak means "to kneel down, to bless God as an act of adoration.

6. Zamar means "to pluck the strings of an instrument, to sing, to praise; a musical word which is largely involved with joyful expressions of music with musical instruments.

7. Tehillah is derived from the word halal and means "the singing of halals, to sing or to laud; perceived to involve music, especially singing; hymns of the Spirit.

FOCUS SCRIPTURE:- Psalms 34:1-3 "I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together."

The book of Psalms is the praise book of the Bible, and it gives us hundreds of reasons why praise is important, as well as examples of how to give praise to God. Psalm 92:1 says “It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High...” Praise is a good thing. That means it is pleasant, valuable, and morally excellent. Psalm 147:1 tells us that praise is beautiful and agreeable.

When we consider the reasons why we should praise God, we find a list of His attributes. Psalm 138:5 - He is full of glory, Psalm 145:3 great wise and powerful Daniel 2:20 good, Psalm 107:8 merciful and faithful, Psalm 89:1, and much more. This list of attributes is complemented by a list of His wonderful works. He is the One who saves us Psalm 18:46, keeps His promises 1 Kings 8:56, pardons sin Psalm 103:1-3, and gives us our daily food Psalm 136:25. To try to list all the things God has done is impossible, but it is a wonderful exercise because it turns our hearts back to Him and keeps us mindful of how much we owe to Him.