7 Words That Could Change The Way You Worship!

TeHIllah means to sing, to laud. It's the image is of several people singing together. Psalm 34:1 reads "I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise (TEHILLAH) will always be on my lips." And while singing our church songs falls under this definition, the kind of tehillah in which the Lord inhabits, is most commonly that spontaneous song from our hearts, through our lips, to Him.

YaDAH means to worship with the extended hand...versus to complain about with the wringing of hands. What a picture! It shows yieldedness and surrender. It's the image is of the arms of a child reaching up to a parent who is reaching down. Psalm 145:10 states "All You have made will praise (YADAH) You, O Lord, Your saints will extol You."

ToDAH means thanksgiving with an extension of the hand in adoration. It's the image is of a child joyfully lifting up a dandelion to give to a parent. Psalm 50:14 instructs "Offer unto God praise (TODAH) and pay your vows to the Most High."

ShaBACH means to address in a loud tone, to shout. It's the image is of a soldier running into battle shouting. I mean, think about the reality of home court advantage! Psalm 145:4 tells us that "One generation will praise (SHABACH) Your works to another and declare Your mighty acts."

ZaMAR means to touch the strings in instrumental worship. It's the image is of skillfully playing an instrument. Psalm 21:13 touts "Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength, we will sing and praise (ZAMAR) Your might."

BarAK means to kneel down, to bless God as an act of adoration. It's the image is of a young man proposing to a young woman or a subject bowing to a king. Psalm 72:15b cries "May people ever pray for him and praise (BARAK) him all day long."

HalAL means to be clear, to shine, to boast, to show off, to rave, to celebrate, to be clamorously foolish. Halal is clearly the crazy uncle! It's the image is of a boy standing on his head to impress a girl. Psalm 113:1 proclaims "Praise (HALAL) the Lord.  Praise (HALAL), O servants of the Lord, praise (HALAL) the Name of the Lord."  (this is where we get the word "hallelujah" - it's Halal plus the name of God - Yah. It literally means "Praise the Lord")

While it may not be our nature to worship in the ways these scriptures prescribe, we're taking on a new nature (the old has past, the new has come!). We have, unfortunately, learned more about what is acceptable in worship from our experiences as children than what we've learned from our relationship with God and what we find in the scriptures. I preached on this, and you can listen here: http://bit.ly/BiblicalWorship.