A Few Notes Concerning Worship

Don Doss – February 15, 2003

I am, by profession, a minister of music. Most of my life and career has been devoted to teaching, rehearsing, planning, leading and living WORSHIP. So, I guess you could say that praise and worship have been somewhat important in my life. I was raised in a fairly moderate denomination during a time when they all pretty much did their own thing and people who crossed over between them were few and far between. Even in my own denomination of Southern Baptist, the congregations I belonged to were moderate - and Oklahoma City was in the middle of the country. I guess you could say that I started my appreciation of praise and worship from a perspective in the middle of the middle of the middle. In High School, I would get into some deep theological discussions with close friends who were Methodist and some who were Assembly, both of which seemed to me at the time to be extreme in opposite directions. I grew up with the understanding that what some thought to be normal worship others perceived as bizarre and way out. Why is that? Why can’t we all take the same instruction book, the Bible, and come up with a black and white list of ingredients so that everyone will feel ‘comfortable’ in the same worship service? I have been asking myself that question now for over 30 years and still don’t have an answer. But I think I have gathered over the years an objective appreciation for praise and worship, which is something that by it’s very design, must be subjective in nature. I would like to share these ideas with you in hopes that, at the very least, you will begin to understand what I believe true worship and praise to the living God Jehovah looks like, and why.

I can’t even begin to lay a framework of understanding if we don’t first nail down what the words we read and say mean. I have found that each time I dig into a word study, some new revelation is uncovered and what I thought I knew to be true is changed to a slightly different meaning. Just reading our favorite version of the Bible really isn’t enough. Jesus didn’t speak English, the Gospel writers didn’t write in English, and Paul didn’t preach in English. For that matter, even the Old Testament writers spoke and wrote in a different language than what you and I do. We have an inherent problem anytime we use English words to replace the original Old Testament Hebrew or New Testament Greek. Both Hebrew and Greek have a number of unique words with different meanings that have been translated to us using one word. So, when we read the English word “praise”, there are several different meanings that correspond to the unique Hebrew and Greek words. For us to have a better and more truthful understanding of what the ‘word of God’ is teaching us, we’d better be looking at the original words to see if what the English words we have become so comfortable with in these passages are actually in agreement with the original language, or at the very least shed more light on a deeper understanding.

PRAISE - Our English word PRAISE is defined by Webster as commending the worth of, expressing approval or admiration of, to laud the glory of as in song, to glorify, to extol. LAUD implies great, sometimes extravagant praise. ACCLAIM suggests an outward show of strong approval, as by loud applause, cheering, etc. EXTOL implies exalting or lofty praise. EULOGIZE suggests formal praise in speech or writing, as on a special occasion.

Hebrew words for “PRAISE” – ordered by frequency of occurrence with Strong’s number

BARAK baw-rak' 1288 a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason):--X abundantly, X altogether, X at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, X greatly, X indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, X still, thank. AV - bless 302, salute 5, curse 4, blaspheme 2, blessing 2, praised 2, kneel down 2, congratulate 1, kneel 1, make to kneel 1, misc 8; 330

HALAL haw-lal' 1984 a primitive root; to be clear (orig. of sound, but usually of color); to shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively, to celebrate; also to stultify:--(make) boast (self), celebrate, commend, (deal, make), fool(- ish, -ly), glory, give (light), be (make, feign self) mad (against), give in marriage, (sing, be worthy of) praise, rage, renowned, shine. AV - praise 117, glory 14, boast 10, mad 8, shine 3, foolish 3, fools 2, commended 2, rage 2, celebrate 1, give 1, marriage 1, renowned 1; 165

YADAH yaw-daw' 3034 a primitive root; used only as denominative from 3027; literally, to use (i.e. hold out) the hand; physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively, to bemoan (by wringing the hands):--cast (out), (make) confess(-ion), praise, shoot, (give) thank(-ful, -s, -sgiving). AV - praise 53, give thanks 32, confess 16, thank 5, make confession 2, thanksgiving 2, cast 1, cast out 1, shoot 1, thankful 1; 114

THILLAH teh-hil-law' 8416 from 1984; laudation; specifically (concretely) a hymn:--praise. AV - praise 57; 57

ZAMAR zaw-mar' 2167 a primitive root (perhaps ident. with 2168 through the idea of striking with the fingers); properly, to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument, i.e. play upon it; to make music, accompanied by the voice; hence to celebrate in song and music:--give praise, sing forth praises, psalms.

AV - praise 26, sing 16, sing psalms 2, sing forth 1; 45

TOWDAH to-daw' 8426 from 3034; properly, an extension of the hand, i.e. (by implication) avowal, or (usually) adoration; specifically, a choir of worshippers:--confession, (sacrifice of) praise, thanks(-giving, offering). AV - thanksgiving 18, praise 6, thanks 3, thank offerings 3, confession 2; 32

SHABACH shaw-bakh' 7623 a primitive root; properly, to address in a loud tone, i.e. (specifically) loud; figuratively, to pacify (as if by words):--commend, glory, keep in, praise, still, triumph. AV - praise 5, still 2, keep it in 1, glory 1, triumph 1, commend 1; 11

ROWMAM ro-mawm' 7318 from 7426; exaltation, i.e. (figuratively and specifically) praise:--be extolled. AV - exalted 3, lifted up 2, get up 1, mount up 1; 7

SHBACH sheb-akh' 7624 (Aramaic) corresponding to 7623; to adulate, i.e. adore:--praise. AV - praise 5; 5

HILLUWL hil-lool' 1974 from 1984 (in the sense of rejoicing); a celebration of thanksgiving for harvest:--merry, praise. AV - praise 1, make merry 1; 2

MAHALAL mah-hal-awl' 4110 from 1984; fame:--praise. AV - praise 1; 1

Greek words for “PRAISE” – ordered by frequency with Strong’s number

DOXA dox'-ah 1391 from the base of 1380; glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literal or figurative, objective or subjective):--dignity, glory(-ious), honour, praise, worship. AV - glory 145, glorious 10, honour 6, praise 4, dignity 2, worship 1; 168

EULOGEO 2127 yoo-log-eh'-o from a compound of 2095 and 3056; to speak well of, i.e. (religiously) to bless (thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper):--bless, praise. AV - bless 43, praise 1; 44

EPAINOS ep'-ahee-nos 1868 from 1909 and the base of 134; laudation; concretely, a commendable thing:--praise. AV - praise 11; 11

AINEO ahee-neh'-o 134 from 136; to praise (God):--praise. AV - praise 9; 9

EPAINEO ep-ahee-neh'-o 1867 from 1909 and 134; to applaud:--commend, laud, praise. AV - praise 4, laud 1, commend 1; 6

ARETE ar-et'-ay 703 from the same as 730; properly, manliness (valor), i.e. excellence (intrinsic or attributed):--praise, virtue. AV - virtue 4, praise 1; 5

ALLELOUIA al-lay-loo'-ee-ah 239 of Hebrew origin (imperative of 1984 and 3050); praise ye Jah!, an adoring exclamation:--alleluiah. AV - alleluia 4; 4

HUMNEO hoom-neh'-o 5214 from 5215; to hymn, i.e. sing a religious ode; by implication, to celebrate (God) in song:--sing a hymn (praise unto). AV - sing an hymn 2, sing praise 2; 4

AINESIS ah'-ee-nes-is 133 from 134; a praising (the act), i.e. (specially) a thank(-offering):--praise. AV - praise 1; 1

AINOS 136 ah'-ee-nos apparently a prime word; properly, a story, but used in the sense of 1868; praise (of God):--praise. AV - praise 2; 2

ANTHOMOLOGEOMAI anth-om-ol-og-eh'-om-ahee 437 from 473 and the middle voice of 3670; to confess in turn, i.e. respond in praise:--give thanks. AV - give thanks 1; 1

WORSHIP – Again, our English definition from Webster tells us worship is a reverence or devotion for a deity; religious homage or veneration, extreme devotion or intense love or admiration of any kind. The word is often expressed by its origin as “worth-ship” – our outward approval of something or someone that has worth.

Hebrew words for “WORSHIP” – ordered by frequency of occurrence with Strong’s number

SHACHAH shaw-khaw' 7812 a primitive root; to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God):--bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship. AV - worship 99, bow 31, bow down 18, obeisance 9, reverence 5, fall down 3, themselves 2, stoop 1, crouch 1, misc 3; 172

CGID seg-eed' 5457 (Aramaic) corresponding to 5456:--worship. AV - worship 12; 12

Greek words for “WORSHIP” – ordered by frequency with Strong’s number

PROSKUNEO pros-koo-neh'-o 4352 from 4314 and a probable derivative of 2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore):--worship. AV - worship 60; 60

THERAPEUO ther-ap-yoo'-o 2323 from the same as 2324; to wait upon menially, i.e. (figuratively) to adore (God), or (specially) to relieve (of disease):--cure, heal, worship. AV - heal 38, cure 5, worship 1; 44

SEBOMAI seb'-om-ahee 4576 middle voice of an apparently primary verb; to revere, i.e. adore:--devout, religious, worship. AV - worship 6, devout 3, religious 1; 10

LEITOURGEO li-toorg-eh'-o 3008 from 3011; to be a public servant, i.e. (by analogy) to perform religious or charitable functions (worship, obey, relieve):--minister. AV - minister 3; 3

SEBAZOMAI seb-ad'-zom-ahee 4573 middle voice from a derivative of 4576; to venerate, i.e. adore:--worship. AV - worship 1; 1

You can see that an understanding of the meaning of PRAISE and WORSHIP isn’t as simple as looking it up in Webster’s. To be even more specific, we should find which usage of the word is involved in a particular verse, and then apply it to that paragraph and application. However, for this presentation I think the above will suffice.

I’ve come up with several general truths that I believe are agreeable to all who have spent any time at all in

God’s Word. I could support these with scripture, but because of the time it would take to do it, I think the reader will accept them without much difficulty. Using these as ground rules I think will help us reach some more detailed conclusions later.

1. Jesus’ life and example to us tell us that the inward thought and heart are more important than outward show.

2. Look for the truth of the whole scripture, the entire story… not just one or two verses that seem to say what you want to believe.

3. Truths involving our belief of God’s love are easy to understand and don’t require deep philosophical thought, or a degree in Christian philosophy.

4. God desires our praise and worship of him.

5. WE are the ones who are called on to worship. We don’t come to worship to be entertained by God. Followers gathered together (the church congregation) are expected to DO worship.

Our best reference for what is biblical worship is obviously the Bible. Scripture basically instructs us in two styles of worship. There is the Old Testament (OT) “Tabernacle” model established by God through Moses which came to maturity in the worship in Solomon’s Temple, and New Testament worship which is fundamentally different by giving new meaning to old practices. God appointed the descendants of Levi to be priests and to handle the functions of the Temple. Their main function was to carry out the worship of God through the offering of sacrifices. There were essentially two different kinds of sacrifices: sin offerings, which were offered for moral offenses, and thank offerings, which were offered to express gratitude for God's goodness and blessing. It was the law that the Hebrew people followed all of the regulations and stipulations of the long list of offerings and sacrifices. To do otherwise meant very stiff penalties even to the point of death.

OT Worship was very lavish and ceremonial. I could go into great detail here and take up volumes explaining the detailed instructions exactly how God wanted every item to be… from the colors of the curtains in the tabernacle and the dazzling garments of the priests to the types of instrumental ‘mood’ music to be played 24/7 around the Holy of Holies. Yahweh gifted individuals to be artisans to craft the work so that is was absolutely brilliant and unmatched in all the world. The Levites were beautifully adorned with pomp and splendor oozing everywhere. It was a very big show steeped in traditions, and God planned it to be that way. It was THE way of life for the children of Israel. King David, being the musician he was with a heart for God, changed the music and praise of Hebrew worship by writing new songs and appointing some of the Levitical families to career music ministries through singing and instrumental accompaniment. Hebrew worship was adorned with the most beautiful people, the most awesome array of gold and gems, the most impressive tents or buildings, the most ritualistic set of ceremonial rules, and the best music found anywhere in the world at the time… it’s very purpose was to be the most impressive visual representation of the splendor of God.

Things drastically changed with the advent of Christ, or rather his triumphant victory. The NT tells us in Hebrews 9 and 10 that Jesus fulfilled the OT sin offerings through his death. Therefore, we need never make such sacrifices to God again. At the very moment in time that Christ’s mission on earth was fulfilled, the veil in the Temple that separated the people from God’s presence – the Holy of Holies – was ripped from top to bottom. This was a permanent separation from the physical to the spiritual… from the visual pomp and majesty which was a representation of God’s presence to the reality of God’s Spirit present in every one who believes. Christ’s sacrifice was the last one needed and along with that came the fundamental separation between Davidic worship and the worship of Christ’s Church.

From the very lips of God ‘in the flesh’, we learn that not only is there a change, but that anyone who continues in the old worship is missing the boat – big time. In fact, worshiping in the style of the Hebrews is called vain and ignorant. Christ himself tells us that the Father desires a certain type of worship and he is actively seeking a certain type of worshiper... one who worships in spirit and in truth…

"Believe me…a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:21-24

Jesus made it crystal clear to Nicodemus that only the regenerated spirit of man can commune with the spirit of God (John 3:3-8). Only the person who has been reborn can experience true, genuine worship. No longer will worship be centered on legalities, rules, traditions, physical location or extravagant ceremony… it depends on what is inside, not outside. Emotion, intellect, and the physical body are all involved in worship, but unless they proceed from the renewed spirit within, Jesus calls it counterfeit. The verse also tells us that for worship to be genuine it must also be based on revealed truth. God’s truth is found in God’s word, not traditions based on the results of centuries of institutional human understanding. Jesus had very strong words about adding to God’s law. The Pharisees didn’t follow God’s Law, they taught the Talmud which was a collection of commentaries on commentaries by men about the Law. In one confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus said…

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

Matthew 15:7-9

Later, Jesus called them blind guides, snakes, a group of vipers…

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Matthew 23:27-28

Another factor that we should mention here is that the OT practice of worship was mainly considered to be the event that happened when the Hebrews would gather together in ceremony. The NT instructs us that worship is now to be considered not only the event of gathering and praising, but also something we do in service or ministry to others. As Christians who have benefited from his sacrifice, we have the privilege to express our gratitude to God for Christ's work in many ways. Peter refers to this in 1 Peter 2:5 when he says that we "offer up spiritual sacrifices to God." That’s the Greek word LEITOURGEO from above. Our “reasonable sacrifice of worship” has very little to do with the Sunday morning event, but has everything to do in ministry to others.

What to we do with the OT model of worship? Do we just consider it historical and totally useless in today’s congregations, or is there something important that we are to glean from it? Christians have been worshipping through the centuries in a wide variety of ways. I believe that there are many viable options in worship which honor God and are acceptable to him. But I also believe that if it wasn’t important, Christ wouldn’t have mentioned it to the Samaritan woman at the well AND to us through the scriptures.

If we take some time and search through NT, we should find a pretty solid, clear, descriptive pattern of worship that we should follow, right? Wrong. Besides the words of Christ telling us essentially what true worship should NOT be, there aren’t very many scriptures that deal with the practical understanding of worship ‘order’ – except for Paul’s words to the Corinthian believers. It’s like he is teaching a short course on that worship should be. These are the verses that are used to support a very ordered and liturgical worship style. Please be careful to not be one of those people that takes scriptures out of context to support YOUR ideas! Read the WHOLE passage. If you think it true that Paul’s words endorse such a strict idea of order, then you’d better be just as ready to have multiple people speaking in tongues and prophesying! Oh, and be sure that no women speak at all but wait to go home and inquire of their husbands.

Looking at the entire statement on worship found in 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, it seems to me that this whole idea of orderly worship basically amounts to only having one thing happen at a time. I don’t see any verbiage that leads me to believe that there has to be a strict order that we must follow. In fact, verse 30 tells us that if someone has a revelation while someone else is speaking, the one who is speaking needs to stop and sit down and the revelation be shared to all. That doesn’t sound like a set “Divine Liturgy” to me.

Paul does tell us that there should be singing OR prophesying OR a tongue OR interpretation; all for the benefit of the church. If we look at the overall message in these verses and not pick just one thing on which to elaborate, he is leading me to believe, first of all, to do things that a visitor or an un-churched person can understand. Secondly, if tongues are used, they must be followed by an interpretation. Next, the congregation should pay close attention to the words shared by the 2 or 3 speakers. In the time and location these words were written, only men were educated and allowed to read and speak. It’s not that way today, and I believe you can take the words Paul spoke about women in the church and apply them today to congregation members who are less educated in biblical understanding or theology. It’s probably best for the less educated folks to save their questions and comments for smaller group time instead of speaking up to the larger group.

The defenders of liturgical worship tend to argue that the use of the ordinaries – the Kyrie, the Sanctus, the Gloria, the Creed, and the Agnus Dei are taken verbatim from the Scriptures, and that the repetition of them in every worship service aids the worshipper in memorizing Scripture. That may indeed be true – especially back in the middle ages when individuals didn’t have their own vernacular Bible that they could read on their own! Today we don’t need to have someone read it to us, or order a worship service so we hear key verses over and over again until they’re part of our routine, we can actually read and memorize God’s word on our own time.

One last thought to bring a conclusion to this paper that is already too long. I found it very interesting in doing research for this that resources of proponents to liturgical styles tend to use a model of an actor on a stage. I was surprised to read that God is proposed as the actor on the stage, while his people are the ones being instructed in the law to “lay open” the sins of the soul. I always understood that the actor/stage model was just the opposite, that God is the audience, and the congregation gathered are the ones to be participants in worship. Strange that there are two totally different lines of thought about what should be happening in our worship places.

So, where do we go from here? Well, if all of the things I have mentioned above rings true to you, we can draw some reasonable conclusions about what kind of praise and worship God expects us to be involved in.

1. Old Testament worship, even though out-of-date as far as the visual elaboration and physical sacrifice, does give us a pattern of what God views as beautiful and meaningful. He expects our worship of Himself, which is to be an internal and very subjective event, to be the most beautiful and truthful of any people, anywhere, worshipping any other god.

2. God expects our praise gathering occasions to be uncomplicated so that everyone can clearly see what is happening, not shrouded in mystery with theological and liturgical jargon that can only be understood by the most educated.

3. Our praise and worship must include the best music of the times. We need to stay current so that all of the congregation can identify with the style and text of the music used.

4. Our LEITOURGEO, our “reasonable act of worship” through living sacrificial service, needs to be an active part of our lives, both inward and outward. In other words, you can’t just do it in the security of a worship environment… you must render service by working out in the world by continually being a servant to those around you. This was accomplished in the OT through the Thank Offering. Today it is done through service to the community.

5. Let’s be honest and clear in our understanding of scriptural worship. It’s not scriptural if it’s not in the Bible. Much of what is thought today as scriptural is simply traditional at best, having been repeated the same way for tens to hundreds of years. As hard as I have looked throughout the Bible, especially the New Testament, I have yet to find a worship order that includes an Introit, Offertory, Kyrie, Postlude, Gloria, or even an Invitation. Granted, some of these items could have been used, but there is nothing that God has put before us to REQUIRE any particular set of ingredients in a particular order, other than a few references that have already been covered.

"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered and said to him' If anyone loves Me he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words... ." John 14:21 - 24.

How do we enter this higher praise and worship --- the perceived manifested presence of God?

By bringing our heart near. By setting our love upon Him. By keeping His word.

For God inhabits the praises of His children. Psalm 22:3