What is the Biblical foundation of praise and worship?

Answer 1

The Bible uses 4 words in the Old Testament that paint a picture for worship. (Opinion,.. Many confuse worship with praise and although they go hand in hand they are a different attitude and feeling.) According to the Strong's Concordance worship is defined from the following words: -Shachah {shaw-khaw'} to depress, i.e. prostrate -'atsab {aw-tsab'} to carve, i.e. fabricate ; worry, grieve, be sorry -cegid {seg-eed'} fall down in worship -worshipper = 'abad {aw-bad'} servant, labourer, impl. bondage -The New Testament words in greek are less of a picture, but also show worship as a solemn act. Praise which is often shown in scriptures to go along with worship is a more joyful expression that uses a loud voice, music and sometimes dance. See 2 Chronicles 20v18 and 19, also see Psalm 149v3.

Answer 2

Psalm 150:6 (KJV) - Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. John 4:24 (KJV) - God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. http://www.bible.ca/ef/topical-what-the-bible-says-about-worship.htm Read this article: http://www.bible.ca/ef/topical-what-the-bible-says-about-worship.htm

Answer 3

Now this is just a small sampling, it comes from www.blueletterbible.org

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. Gen 49:8 Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand [shall be] in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Lev 19:24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD [withal]. Deu 10:21 He [is] thy praise, and he [is] thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. Deu 26:19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken. Jdg 5:2 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. Jdg 5:3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, [even] I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing [praise] to the LORD God of Israel. 1Ch 16:4 And he appointed [certain] of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel: 1Ch 16:35 And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, [and] glory in thy praise. 1Ch 23:5 Moreover four thousand [were] porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, [said David], to praise [therewith]. 1Ch 23:30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even; 1Ch 25:3 Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD. 1Ch 29:13 Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. 2Ch 7:6 And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy [endureth] for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. 2Ch 8:14 And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded. 2Ch 20:19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. 2Ch 20:21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy [endureth] for ever. 2Ch 20:22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 2Ch 23:13 And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason. 2Ch 29:30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. 2Ch 31:2 And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD. Ezr 3:10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. Neh 9:5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, Stand up [and] bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Neh 12:24 And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise [and] to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward. Neh 12:46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old [there were] chief of the singers, and songs of praise and Thanksgiving unto God.

Some of these references are with singing and some without. I assume you probably are questioning the type of praise and worship done in churches today.

But with praise also comes thankgsgiving.

2 Samuel 22:50 - Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name.

1 Chronicles 16:8 - Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

1 Chronicles 16:34 - O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

1 Chronicles 16:35 - And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise.

Oh give thanks unto the LORD for he is good, for His mercy endureth forever---- occurs 9 times pretty much verbatim. As you can see, often praise and thanks are the keys that go together. To be sure, thanks doesn't have to include singing or praise. The Thanks verses occur 73 times in 71 verses.

Here's a key NT verse;

Ephesians 5

19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Here we have the root of psalms , hymns and spiritual songs. Psalms were once sung, and unfortunately, we have not yet found the melodies collected in any book today, much as we would like to. But note also here, praising God always for ALL things. This is key to the concept of Renewing of the Mind. This is HOW we put off the flesh, the Old Man, and HOW we put on the Mind of Christ. I know you didn't ask about this, but it is integral to understanding this concept. It is very important. This is the very reason the churches are ineffective, they have lost this doctrine. And we have put it into practice and we are seeing prayer answered like never before. We ARE seeing lives transformed now. This is the key. It's not just about a nice group of singers and people twirling around in the Spirit. It's about submission to God. When you say to God, Father I thank you for ALL things in my life, I submit to Your will, He will hear and you are getting out of His way to do a work. When you thank YHWH for the bad things (out of gas, out of a job, deaths, mean boss, unfair church people, unfair world, abortion, drought, a list of complaints about a spouse, alcoholic person in your life, unreasonable anybody, bills, crazy government, is that enough? ) when we thank Him for those, we are submitting ourselves to His will and He often will change things because now, your will is not hindering Him. When we murmur, we sin,

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]: Psalm 66:18

Murmuring is iniquity, and God doesn't hear our prayers when we do that. It is equivalent to the Hebrews being denied the entrance to the Promised Land because of their complaining. When we worry, we are murmuring. So the remedy, is to take your worry immediately and make it a prayer, Father I thank you for _________ and He will then hear it. You're changing the dynamic. You are changing murmuring into submission. I have been doing this for 2 months, and I have had more prayers answered positively, than I have had for the last 20 years!

This part is about the relationship we talk so much about as Christians. Throughout the OT and NT, God has emphasized that He wants the relationship, but man has always run away from that. This is the gentle quiet way we can foster the relationship because we are now indwelt with the Holy Spirit. We don't have to be afraid of His thunderings on the Mt. Horeb. But now it's so quiet, Christians don't know He's there and forget Him in that way.

Rom 12:1,2 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1 thess 5: 6 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit.

This is another key verse in praising and thanksgiving.

Remember what was Paul and Silas doing while they were bloody and beaten and chained? they were rejoicing, and what happened when they did that? their chains fell off! And they had an effect on the guard and the prisoners.

When we are harassed or jailed, remember to rejoice and praise God. You may have an effect on the people around you.

And by doing this we are not quenching the Spirit. What quenches the Spirit? Murmuring, complaints, even though in the world we are justified. It may be unfair. But in the kingdom of God, it's a different world.

Our favorite authors for these concepts are Merlin Carothers (Power of Praise and Bringing Heaven into Hell), and Chuck and Nancy Missler (Be Ye Transformed, and the Way of Agape). These authors really bring it down to a way we can use it. We need to understand that we can't do it in the flesh, so wehen we submit, and get out of God's way, we lay our flesh aside and let the Holy Spirit speak through us and solve the problems.

I have to make mention of the early AA. The Big Book (1st through 3rd edition) did talk about the Heavenly Father, not a doorknob. And this was why when it began, they had a 75-93% success rate. Because they used this principle. We should be familiar with this; " I admit that I have no power over my own life [ putting aside the flesh, the old man], and I ask God to take control over my life [putting on the Mind of Christ])The reason it doesn't work anymore is because when Bill W died, they allowed a doorknob or a tree to be someone's higher power. So naturally, the foundation is gone. Everybody knows a doorknob has no power in your life. Is that a joke? No, what it's really doing is putting you, weak and puny human, back into the driver's seat and that's why you fail. You know you can't do it. So they leave out the second part. www.dickb.com

Worship

Genesis 24:26 - And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.

Genesis 24:48 - And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.

Genesis 24:52 - And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.

Exodus 4:31 - And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Exodus 12:27 - That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

Exodus 33:10 - And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.

Exodus 34:8 - And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

Job 1:20 - Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

Nehemiah 8:6 - And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Here they lift their hands AND bow their heads. I'd like to have seen that.

This is a sampling again, this is found 198 times. Most of the time worship of YHWH is done with mention of bowing down. You can see here once it is done standing up. Other mention of worship has to do with false idols. Don't forget the Hebrews were found dancing and naked around the golden calf when Moses came down in a huff. That kind of worship is not what God wants. So is it better for us to be dancing around immodestly when worshipping God? Can you count the number of times in the Bible where God is happy with that? Are we worshipping God or are we showing off our Human spirit?

What were the tares? foxtails. They look like wheat. Wheat bows because of its heavy heads. Foxtails stand upright because of its empty heads. I think that Christ made a very interesting analogy.

Most of the time, when we bow down , we are praying. Is prayer the same as worship? It's hard to decipher from scripture, but when we pray we are communing.

But all the Bible mentions is that bowing down and worshipping go together. There are never times when bowing down is not worship. For example, when someone bows down before an angel, the angel gets upset and tells them not to do it, without exception.

So if the question is about a "Worship team" they are really a Praise team and are misnamed. The words are being improperly used. Praise can at times use dance. But it probably wasn't a boogie woogie type dance. Take a Folk Dancing class (line type dancing) and you can see a closer idea of what kind of dancing it probably was.

Answer 4

The bible teaches you to have faith in God and never question him. This is the opposite of what you should do. You have the right to question everything and work things out for yourself and you should do so.

Answer 5

Exodus 20:3-5 talks about worshiping only God

Answer 6

Although praise appears 214 times and worship appears 102 times in the Bible, they both appear in the same verse only once that I know of - Psalm 138.2