LEVELS OF PRAISE & WORSHIP

LEVELS OF PRAISE & WORSHIP

HEBREW WORDS FOR OUR PRAISE AND WORSHIP.

Praise and Worship is one of the most powerful weapons for a Christian in the battles of life. God takes great interest in praise and worship which if done properly is very effective in bringing God’s presence to us. With that background, I wish to passionately bring to us a message I have entitled levels of Praise and Worship. 

Principles of Praise and Worship

God in His word to us has clearly stipulated and set the way praise and worship should be done. So as we begin, let’s look at some principles that are involved. In Psalms 149:6-9, the Bible states; "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishment upon the people. To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron. To execute upon them the judgment written, this honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord” This scripture prompts us to ask the question what is High Praise?

 
What is High Praise?
We can deduce that there are three levels of Praise and Worship from the above scripture. If there is a High Praise, there must also be a low praise. We cannot go high unless we start low. If or when we carefully obey these three levels which we shall shortly look at, we can reach the highest praise and worship. Let’s therefore delve deep into how we can structurally realize high praise from an ordinarily low level.

1. The First Level: The Law of Sacrifice 
The first level of praise and worship as you enter is; sacrifice. It must cost you something to praise and worship God. If your praise and worship to God doesn't cost you anything, it shows that you haven't even entered the first level. Today we may not offer animals as was in the Old Testament, but there must be a price to pay to enter into the first level of praise and worship. Whether it cost you money, your time, it has to be something that has a cost implication before you can truly worship. In the Old Testament pattern of worship, the Bronze Altar is found in the outer court. Here the animal sacrifices were performed, because blood had first to be shed for anyone who wanted to approach God. (Exodus 27:18-25, 38:1-7). We see David making sacrifices in the worship of God in 2 Samuel 24:18-25. Another illustration of Sacrifice of Praise is found in Hebrews 13:15-16. “What sacrifice have you done for the Lord?” There is no way one can get to the holy place without first going through the outer court. So there are three levels that are built one upon the other. Remember, if you stand before God and you haven't sacrificed anything, you can't even enter the outer court. The law of sacrifice is very foundational in getting into God’s presence.

2. The Second Level: The Law of Prayer
When you pay the price and you enter into the second level. There is only one word for the second level and that's the word prayer. Prayer is what enhances worship into the second level. Prayer is communion with God. It is speaking to God and pouring out your heart to God in the areas of your desires, your visions, your goals, your emotions amongst others. We find Solomon praying in 2 Chronicles 6:12-13, 7:1-3 after offering sacrifices to God. Remember God is not obliged to move on your behalf except by covenant which itself is ratified by your sacrifice. When a people of prayer praise the Lord, there is a difference. If there is no prayer life, there is no second level. Prayer life is our relationship to God. What comes out in praise and worship at the second level is the vibrations stemming from the relationship that you have with God. The vibrations in your spirit and in your soul comes from the communion that you have with God. This comes forth and vibrates in the souls of other people. Our prayer brings down fire from heaven. We find Paul and Silas prayer preceding praise in Acts 16:25. Space and time fails me to mention all the people who prayed before praise and worship in scripture. Daniel was a man of prayer in Daniel 6:10. We find our Lord Jesus Christ praying in many instances in the scripture. The more prayers you get soaked in, the stronger the praise and worship you offer becomes. The altar of incense represents prayer (the holy place) that helps you in ascending into the third level of praise and worship.

3. The Third Level: The Law of Synchrony
2 Chronicles 5:11-14
Producing the right sound is the third level. It is very difficult to get into the third level if we cannot make the right sound. To reach that third level; the highest praise and worship, sacrifice alone is not enough, prayer is not enough. It is very important to note that it takes skill to make the right sound. Examine carefully 2 Chronicles 5. There are two types of sound and they must be in harmony: Trumpets and Singers.
Skill is important in the worship ministry and cannot be overemphasized. Psalms 33:3 attest to this “Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” (NIV). What will happen if we reach the third level? The highest praise and worship? All the works of the enemy in our lives, families, work, and finances will surely come down. There were times in the Bible that this kind of thing took place, it was so powerful that the earth could stand it. Joshua Chapter 6 talks about how the great wall of Jericho was brought down through the act of the right procedure in praise and worship. As we serve the Lord through this wonderful ministry; that is the worship ministry let us pray and strive hard to reach and experience. The critical level of Highest Praise and Worship.

 

THE PROCESS OF WORSHIP (STAGES OF WORSHIP) CYCLE OF WORSHIP

For the sake of understanding, we can divide the process of worship into seven stages, that is;

1. Seeing 2. Admiring 3. Appreciating 4. Praising 5. Imitating 6. Emulating 7. Becoming

The Bible says in Romans 1: 20 that, since the beginning of the world, God’s invisible attributes, His divine nature and His eternal power have been clearly seen. So we see His invisible attributes and that leads us onto a pathway of worship. So firstly it’s all about seeing.

As you see your object of worship (God) in the spirit and get drawn to something good in Him, you begin to admire Him. As you admire, you appreciate. As you begin to appreciate, you begin to praise God. When you praise, you’re actually sharing your worship with someone else because you’re on the same note telling others as well about this God. Praising God leads you to want to imitate Him. From imitation, it takes you to emulation where you want to do everything you can to be like that. I remember a singer who once sung in Swahili saying “Natamani kufanana nawe, siku zote za maisha yangu” (‘I desire to be like you all the days of my life).  Eventually, as the psalmist says in Psalm 115: 8, “Those who make them (objects of worship) will become like them…” And this applies to anyone – even in the case of wanting to become like a film star or a sports star, the same sequence follows.

Here are a couple of points to remember:

 

Created To Worship

The Bible says in John 4:23, 24: “…the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him.” (ESV) We were originally created to worship God and find fulfillment in Him. Nowhere else in the Scripture is it mentioned that God is seeking something else. That’s because He Himself is self-sufficient. But He is seeking worshippers who will worship Him. He is seeking true worshippers. That means there are also false worshippers as well. False worshippers tend to worship variable “Created” things while true worshippers worship the un-changeable “Creator” God who doesn’t change with time.

Variable things change. Like film stars are here today, and gone tomorrow; sports stars are here today, then they are soon gone; objects of worship are here today, and soon they are nowhere to be found. Suppose I worship an animal, it is there today and it’ll be gone tomorrow. So these are all variable things. If we worship them, we’ll suffer a letdown.

 

Redeemed to Worship

Throughout the Bible, you will see this one theme that; God redeems us with the sole purpose, to worship Him. In Exodus 8: 1, God tells Moses to go and tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” That’s so amazing! God, from time to time, sent a deliverer for His people to free them from slavery that they might worship Him. That’s why we are so bound to worship something! In the process of losing our knowledge of God because of sin, we tend to worship something lesser than God. So God sends a deliverer. In our case, God sent Jesus Christ, who came and redeemed us, so we could now understand what worship really is and that now we could worship the Creator God once again, Hallelujah!!!

Many people think of worship as a mere act. Like, if I go to this particular temple, if I go to this particular sacred river, if I go to this holy place or go to that holy mountain, then I’m worshipping. But Jesus makes it clear when He comes on the scene and when He talks to the Samaritan woman. He tells her that it’s no longer about a place, it’s no longer about a holy mountain, neither is it about a pattern of worship. All of that has been made null and void for now the true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23, 24:).

The temple is no more sacred…Rather; it is your body which is the temple of God’s Spirit.

So in Jesus, we have actually re-gained our lost purpose of worship. We’ve found it again; we’ve understood it once again. As the Bible says in Romans 12:1-3, ‘offering your body as a living sacrifice is the ultimate way of worshipping God. The temple is no more sacred. There is no holy place that is sacred. Rather, it is your body which is the temple of God’s Spirit. So when you honour your body, when you honour God with your body, you’re actually worshipping God.

In summation, all of the activities that you involve yourself in life are considered as worship before a deity. Many of us may still be worshipping something lesser than God. So while we have all of these vague ideas of worship, let’s understand this one thing, that we need to look to Jesus who came, died for us, to redeem us so that we may now worship God. When we discover God, when we see Him more and more, through His word, by His Spirit, then we will begin to understand what worship is.

So if I’m to go over that sequence again, when we see how awesome God is, then we begin to admire this wonderful God. When we admire Him, we begin to appreciate Him. When we appreciate Him, it results in praise and we begin to say good things to Him and also tell people about this great God. When we praise God, we want to be like Him and imitate Him, which is a great thing. When we imitate Him, we begin to emulate Him. In fact we try to be all that we can to be like Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. And when we emulate Him, we should rest assured in the Scriptures that one day, we will become like Jesus.

So that just completes this whole beautiful and profound cycle of worship.

LEVELS OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP (TERMS OF PRAISE)

The Hebrew language has eight words or levels of praise and worship, each one is distinctive and yet complimentary of the other. For study purposes I want to put them in alphabetical order; Barak, Halal, Karar, Shabach, Tehillah, Towdah, Yadah, and Zamar.

1.      “BARAK PRAISE (KNEELING DOWN). 

The word Barak means to kneel or bow and bless God, to give reverence to God as an act of adoration. It is done with an attitude of anticipation. Throughout the Old Testament this word is continually used. Thoughts on the word 'bless' bring to mind all the things that God through His Son Jesus Christ has done for us in the past and what He is doing presently. However, have we ever stopped to wonder how we can inturn bless God? David in Psalm 103: 1-2 shows us how, when he says: 'bless the Lord, o my soul; and all that is within me, bless His Holy name...." . [Some bible translations use the word praise.] David continues on, by recalling and distinguishing all God has done. “Barak” praise can also be used as a form of prayer, as the word suggests kneeling and blessing God in worship or devotion.

This is the entry place of humility, where we are broken, before our Lord and saviour. This is the time when we are in repentance before God. Psalm 95:6 and Psalm 34:1 A total transformation of us, before God. It is a quiet praise. We are not used to this form of praise, thus we tend to get a bit nervous when it gets quiet. However, when we are in the presence of God, there is a quiet reverence to Him, and when we have achieved this level of intimacy in our praise and worship the flesh and our emotions of being nervous go. We have total peace in the presence of our Lord and savior. This is the level of praise when God starts talking back to our spirit man.  It is a move to reverence our Heavenly Father. Our hearts bow before God, there is a hushed expectancy when the Holy Spirit starts to minister to us during this phase of our praise and worship to God.  See Psalms 72:9 and Psalms 95:6.

2.      “HALA” PRAISE (TO MAKE A LOUD SOUND. PSALM 150)

Halal means to be boastful, excited and enjoying the greatness and goodness of God. It is the root word for hallelujah. While in this mode you are celebrating God in very much like does the fans when their local ‘soccer team’ or favourite contestant wins. It’s amazing how much energy goes into this display. Well, ‘halal’ is the way Christians should celebrate God’s goodness every day. See also Psalms 104 -106, 2 Chronicles 20:19-21-21, Psalm 22:22-26, 111:1-3.

3. KARAR – (DANCE)

Karar is the Hebrew word for "dance". We should dance before the Lord like King David did in the Bible. The Bible says according to the following: Psalms 149:3 - "Let them praise His name in the dance: let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp." Psalms 150:4 - "Praise Him with the timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs." Ecclesiastes 3:4 - "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."

4.      A "SHABACH PRAISE" (A LOUD PRAISE)

This is a shout unto the Lord. It is an attitude of putting your entire self in the praise not just about being loud. There are no personal inhibitions. (Psalm 47:1, Psalm 145:4), here but rather a generation to generation process of passing a loud praise. One generation moves and then it is passed to the next generation. When Israel shouted (Joshua 6:20), the walls of Jericho fell down after they had gone around seven times on the seventh day. They blew the trumpets, then they all shouted so hard and from their hearts, that the walls fell flat to the ground-power of the shout!!! They shouted and then shouted again. God is raising up a new generation of worshipers. People who praise the Lord within these 7 levels thus bringing about a worship revolution. We are shouting down the glory of God! This word Shaback is best illustrated in Psalm 117:1; 'O praise the Lord, all you nations: praise Him, all you people.' It is used here to mean ‘to speak highly of,’ ‘to address in a loud tone’, ‘to command triumph,’ ‘glory and to shout.’ This category of praise is also pictured in Psalm 63:4. Terry Law in his book "The power of Praise and Worship" Says This Type of Praise "Makes The Devil Shut Up". See also Psalms 47:1, 63:3-4, 32:11, 65:13, 117:1, 35:27, 145:4, 147:12, 132:9.
  

5.      “THEHILLAH  (teh-hil-law) (PRAISE)

To sing, to laud, comes from the word Hala. Sing a spontaneous song from God, it is new and unrehearsed. Psalm 22:3 God’s governmental authority sits down at this type of praise. It is a song unto the Lord straight from our hearts. Psalm 40:3, He has put a new song in my mouth-praise to our God. This is not just a singing to the lord. It is not just any song to the Lord.  It is a prophetic song.

Tehillah relates to singing and for all intents and purposes means singing our halals. Tehillah is portrayed in psalm 22:3 which states that God dwells in the praises of Israel. It refers to a special kind of singing that is unrehearsed, unprepared and which today is referred to as "singing in the spirit". This exhibition of praise brings unity into the congregation and allows God to move in miraculous ways. God manifests Himself in the midst of exuberant singing.

 See also Psalms 34:1, 40:3, 66:2, 100:4, 22:3, 9:14, 33:1, 65:1, 147:1-2, 149:1-2, Isaiah 61:3, Psalms 22:3, 34:1, 40:3, 66:2, 2 Chronicles 20:22  

6.      “YADAH & TOUDAH PRAISE":  (Worship With The Extended Hand)

 Expresses emotion, expresses praise and utilizes our hands as a form of that expression. Yadah means to worship with extended hands and it signifies a deep surrender to God and a heart that desires to pay tribute to Him. IT IS MEANT TO BE A “THANK YOU” TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. It carries the meaning of absolute surrender as a young child does to a parent - "pick me up, I'm all yours".  See also Gen. 29:35, 2 Chron. 7:6, 20:21, Psalms 9:1, 28:7, Psalms 33:2, 42:5,11, 49:18, Isaiah 12:1 Psalms 100:4, 134:2, 27:1, 28:7, 33:2, 42:5, 44:8, and 141:2. Psalm 63:4, psalm 107:8-lift up one’s hands, 1 Chronicles 1:3-6, Psalm 50:22

Yadah in practice – is to Lift my hands to Him and say how I am surrendering myself to Him. List the ways that I am surrendering to Him. Be diligent. Be disciplined. Be specific. Take the discipline and SAY to the Lord how I am surrendering to Him. With my hands uplifted - surrendered unto my God - spirit, soul & body. Totally commit myself to my Fatsher.

7.      "TOWDAH PRAISE",  (The Praise Of Faith)

Towdah translated means 'thanksgiving' and involves the raising of hands in adoration. It suggests an attitude of sacrificial praise. In other words, we give thanks and praise before we receive from the Lord, and/or before being delivered out of a situation. We rejoice and thank God for His promises. Our praise and thanksgiving become a sacrifice unto the Lord when we are ill or in dire straits. See Psalms 50:14, 95:2, Colossians 4:2, 1 Timothy 4:4-5, Isaiah 51:3 and Amos 4:5. TOWDAH (-to-daw) – means to give worship by the extension of the hand in adoration or agreeing with what has been done or will be. This word is commonly found in connection with sacrifice-applying the giving of thanks or praise as a sacrifice before reception or manifestation. Thanking God for something that I don't have in the natural. Agreeing with His Word - faith in His Word. This form of praise goes in operation just because His Word is true. "Father, I thank YOU that YOUR WORD is TRUE.” As we raise our hearts and hands in praise to the Lord, it involves a sacrifice, especially if one is very sick in body. The carnal mind would fight and ridicule this particular action, but there is great faith in TOWDAH as praise. The lifting of the hand symbolizes agreement. The right hand symbolizes my covenant with my Father. As I go through the scriptures, God is seen extending His Right Hand to me. That's the covenant. When He extends His right hand to me, He's saying to me - ALL THAT I AM IS YOURS, and when I extend my right hand to Him, I am saying "All that I am is yours and I agree with what You're saying. It is the sacrifice that God honors by performing His miracles.  

The ATTITUDE for TOWDAH is: I'm thanking God. I'm agreeing with God that it is as He says. I don't care what it looks like. I'm agreeing with what His Word says. Example: Father, I thank you that I am healed. I receive my job, spouse etc. See also: Psalm 42:4, 50:23, Jer. 17:26  

8.      “ZAMAR” PRAISE: This Form Of Praise Releases Us To Play Instruments. 

(Psalm 21:13 and 1 chronicles 16:9). Sing to him, sing Psalms to Him, and talk of His wonderous works. In the Hebrew language there are several musical verbs, but the one that is predominant throughout the book of Psalms is called ‘Zamar’. It demonstrates music in praise to God and advocates that praise and music are similar. In the Old Testament the Hebrews used music as an expression of praise and worship. The popular praise & worship chorus: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord" is really Psalm 150 set to music. See Psalms 92:1-3, 81:1-2, and 1 Chronicles 15:16. ZAMAR (zaw-mar) is to sing with instruments. To make music accompanied by the voice. It is one of the musical verbs for praise in the book of psalms. It carries the idea of making music in praise to God as in Psalm 92:1. The word ZAMAR also means to touch the strings, and refers to praise that involves instrumental worship as in Psalm 150. The same word is usually translated "sing praises".  

In conclusion having began with looking at High Praise and the procedural way of realizing it, we looked at the levels of worship and have finally concluded with the terminologies and meaning from which praise and worship is derived. The knowledge, you now have from this message on Praise and Worship can be exercised from a personal level to a congregational level and the desired results realized. Remember you were created to worship God. Therefore go ahead and worship Him without limitations or hindrances in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen! 

Message by David Afasi on Sunday 17th October 2013 at Deliverance Church Nkoroi, fine edited by Rev. Peter Odhiambo; Senior Pastor and Sub regional Overseer Kajiado East Sub region.