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THE
GLORY
WHICH IS PRAISE
Volume III
In
this third volume we are going to look into what the everlasting gospel
declares in the midst of the nations.
Its declaration is about true and living worship, which Jesus came
to restore. Hear its
message and exhortation.
“And
I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting
gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation,
and kindred, and tongue, and people.
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the
hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and the fountains of waters” Rev. 14: 6-7.
I want to draw your attention to one aspect in particular concerning the
preaching of this gospel. The
messenger said, “Give God the
glory.” Now the very
objective of this book is to expand the subject of glory in its other
meaning. Remember in the first book, “The Glory of God” we
discussed the third usage of the word glory on page 39. There we
saw that to give God the glory means to give Him praise and honor. This then is part of the message of the everlasting gospel; forever
give God the praise, and forever we shall.
It is not a new message, but it is an everlasting one.
“Honor and majesty are before
him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD
glory and strength. Give unto
the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his
courts. O worship the LORD in
the beauty of holiness: fear
before him, all the earth,”
Psalm. 96:6-9. See also I
Chronicles 16:28-29.
The
everlasting gospel declares what our response should be to the glory of
God. It consists of three
things: fear
Him, praise and honor Him, and
bow down (worship) before Him.
This present study will deal with praise as an
aspect of worship. Our
English word worship does
not specify any particular manner or expression of worship as does the
Hebrew and Greek. The English
word seems to be all-inclusive.
Though the Hebrew and Greek do specify an expression, it is
understood that this expression is indeed worship. Chambers Etymological
English Dictionary defines worship as follows: “fervent esteem;
adoration paid to God; submissive respect; to pay divine honors to; to
perform acts of adoration; and to take part in religious services”.
As you can see, no particular act of worship is specified.
Some make a distinction between worship and
praise saying that praise is occupation with our blessings and worship
with God. As we shall see,
praise is indeed occupation with God.
My understanding from studying the word is that praise is a facet
of worship. We want to look at Revelation
14:7 again, by way of Young’s literal translation.
It reads as follows:
“Fear
ye God, and give to Him glory, because come did the hour of His judgment,
and bow ye before Him.”
The King James translates
the Greek word “proskuneo”
in this verse as worship.
Now remember our English word, worship, does not specify an expression of worship.
It is an inclusive term. In
Young’s literal translation, the Greek word, “proskuneo”
is rendered as “bow”. Rotherham
in the Emphasized Bible translates it as “do homage”.
From our word studies in volume 2, we saw that “proskuneo” meant, “to kiss, adore, do obeisance, show
respect, to fall or prostrate before”.
The word “obeisance”
means “a gesture or body movement expressing deference which is
submission and yielding to another who is greater in honor or rank”.
The English word worship
in this verse, seems to make a distinction between praise and worship,
but this is not the case. There are distinctive expressions in worship such as bowing, dancing,
singing, etc. but no distinction between worship and praise, for praise is
a facet of worship Light to our natural eye is without color.
It takes a prism for light to be separated in order that we may see
its color spectrum. The many
expressions of worship are also seen through the prism of spiritual
understanding and wisdom. The
everlasting gospel is telling the nations to bow down before God, give Him
homage, and show Him respect. This
is another facet of worship. The
Hebrew word, “shachah”
which is rendered worship
in the King James in Genesis 22:5, literally means to “bow down”.
Now notice what Abraham really said to his servants,
“I and the young man must go
yonder, that we may bow ourselves down, and return to you,”(Emphasized
Bible). This is indeed worship in an expression of bowing.
Here is the recognition of the greater in giving submission in the
act of prostrating themselves before God.
Although we talk about expressions of worship, worship is really what is
in the heart and what comes out of the heart as an expression.
The word shachah is also used in II
Chronicles 29:28, 29, 30. Note
other usages outside of homage to God.
Genesis 37:5, 9, 10; Ruth 2:10; I Samuel 24:8.
As we continue to emphasize that there is no
distinction between praise and worship, I would like to set before you Revelation.
7:11-12,
“And all the angels stood
round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell
before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen:
Blessings, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and
power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.”
What
I desire to point out here is what the elders and living creatures did.
They fell before the throne and worshipped (“proskuneso”
bowed down and gave homage) to God, saying...
The word saying in this
verse is an important key word in understanding praise.
We see two facets of worship here.
First, they bowed down and gave homage to God; next, worship was in
the declaration of their words. Notice
what they said,
“blessings,
glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be unto our God
forever.”
Now consider, they were worshipping God in a prostrated
position and with their mouths they were declaring in full recognition
the greatness and worth and honor of our God. This is praise in a bowed
position, a fuller expression of worship!
Note the same thing in Revelation 19:4.
And in Hebrews 13:15 it says
“Through Him, (Jesus) then, let us at all times
present a praise offering to God, which is the fruit of lips that confess
His name,” (Berkley Version).
Therefore the conclusion is this:
Praise is not occupation with our blessings and worship occupation
with God. There is
distinction in worship because of its many facets, but to say praise is
not worship is to misunderstand. See
the Hebrew word barak (praise)
#3 on page 7.
I want to reiterate that every thought, word and act
by which we come into relation with the Lord is an act of praise.
It is a revelation to
perceive that prayer is justifiable only in the light of praise. Note
Psalm 101:12. Why pray if one
does not believe that God is worthy?
True prayer is the evidence
of true praise. If we
truly believe what we are declaring in praise, then we can truly pray in
faith. We then must praise in faith and not religiously.
I have a question to ask and this may sound strange to you.
Do you believe what you say or sing in praise?
If you do, then what you pray will be answered.
Listen very closely; prayer is more than going to God about our
problems, because it is a worship experience.
Prayer first and foremost is a worshipping experience.
If I truly worship, He will truly come into the problem with His
wisdom and anointing and meet my need.
Do not attempt to use God, worship God.
Furthermore, praise in its true sense is
spontaneous. It may be
commanded and it may be rendered, but the real impelling cause is the
recognized glory of God. The
difference can be seen in the one who is doing it from command and the one
who sees the glory and praises from a spontaneous flow of the heart.
Now a word about hypocrisy. Hypocritical
praise ascribes greatness to God knowing full well His praiseworthiness,
while the heart is not right and the conduct offensive to God.
This is indeed a serious offense to His honor and only in the fear
of the Lord can it be avoided.
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