WORSHIP IS DIFFERENT FROM PRAISE

I've spent some time on what Praise is and none on what Worship is. That is deliberate on my part as I  want to establish that Praise is more an outward showing with hands raised, clapping, dancing, bowing and singing, that is, something we do.

Worship on the other hand is something much deeper.  It is where we are offering our bodies, our selves, giving them to God to have His way.  Kind of like the Potter and the clay, Clay doesn't tell Potter what to do with it. No, the clay, us, in Worship are saying to God, here I am, do with me as You want to.  Lord, I surrender all. All my wants, desires, needs, goals, everything I surrender to you.

A couple of quotes to illustrate: A. W. Tozer, a great pastor, was asked in 1954 what he thought would awaken the church from its complacency.  His answer is doubly relevant today as it was then. "In my opinion, the great single need of the moment is that light-hearted superficial religionists be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple.  The holy art of worship seems to have passed away like the Shekinah glory from the tabernacle. As a result,we are left to our own devices and forced to make up the lack of spontaneous worship by bringing in countless cheap and tawdry activities to hold the attention of the church people."

Warren Wiersbe offers a broad definition, "Worship is the believer's response of all that he is - mind, emotions, will, and body - to all that God is and says and does.  This response has its mystical side in subjective experience, and its practical side in objective obedience to God's revealed truth. It is a loving response that is balanced by the fear of the Lord, and it is a deepening response as the believer comes to  know God better." (emphasis is mine)

Jerry Solomon puts it this way, "Worship is pure adoration, the lifting up of the redeemed spirit toward God in contemplation of His holy perfection."

The late David Wilkerson wrote, "The revelation of God's glory should be the wellspring of all our worship.  We ought to regularly lay claim\to His glory, testifying, "Lord, I know You're holy and just, and You won't wink at sin. But I've also seen Your glory and I know You're not out to destroy me.  You don't condemn me in my struggles. On the contrary, You show me how loving and long-suffering You are toward me. I know I deserve rejection.  I've failed so often I should be cast aside completely. But You reveal to me that You are merciful, gracious, tenderhearted!"

OK, so I used four quotes.

I admit that I have never really stopped to consider the importance of Worship.

Why should we Worship God? To put it simply, we should Worship Him because of who He is - God.  In Revelation 4 and 5 we see some descriptions that should help us. He is "the only God, the highest, the Lord God, the Heavenly King, the Almighty God and Father, the Holy One".   "in Worship we simply tell God the truth about Himself."

Jonathan Edwards, American pastor, philosopher, theologian of the 18th century, tells of an experience of worship during a time of contemplation and prayer. He sought to focus on God, and God responded in a dramatic way.  "The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception . . . which continued near as I can judge, about an hour, which kept me the greater part of the time in a flood of tears and weeping aloud".

Is there a difference between Praise and Worship?  Praise is something we do, while Worship is "a deepening response as the believer comes to know God better."

I know I've spent time on quotes, but I feel that it is important to see what others are saying about the subject of Worship.

I'll cover  more in my next post.  Leave a comment so others can be in on our 'conversation'.

May you know God better as you study His Word for yourself.  May you have that "deepening response as you come to know Him better". May your response be what Paul said in Phil 3:10, "I want to know Christ..." to have an intimate and deepening knowledge of Him.

Your fellow traveler