Give
unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty
of holiness (Ps 29:2)
Worship
and praise are familiar words and concepts. They are the most common
activities known to followers of Yeshua. The original English meaning
refers to the act of expressing homage to God because He is worthy of it.
The Hebrew has an extensive vocabulary of words expressing the act of
worshiping God. The main one is
wwxtsh
Hishtachave
which literally means to bow down
before the Lord (Psalm 29:2, Psalm 45:11, Zechariah
14:16
). Its true meaning
is a human response to what God does for men. The Tanach primarily
expressed this via the sacrificial system. In Hebrew, the word worship
this is really expressed via a variety of activities. Therefore in Modern
Hebrew and in the Messianic congregations this word is very rarely used
and is only mentioned in its biblical context through Bible reading and
singing.
|
|
However
the word praise is much more common and expressed via the Hebrew words:
llh
Halel,
xbv
Shabeah
(Psalm 117:1, 145:4 Nehemiah
12:46
, Deuteronomy
26:19). These words are used in praise and worship in most Hebrew
congregations in
Israel
. Another modern
word with Biblical roots used to express the combined action of both words
is hdwb[e
Avodah
or LaAvod
et Elohim
which literally means to labour in
God’s work. This is a combination of the reciprocal action of
God’s grace towards the people and the people’s response towards God.
Praise and worship takes work, it is a spiritual discipline.
|
