PRESENTER: Rev. Dr. JoAnne P. King
DATE: January 21, 2024
The English word praise is derived from the French word preisier, which means to “prize.” When we sincerely praise someone, it conveys the meaning that the recipient of the praise is prized by another.
The Message from the Throne Room today is found in Psalm 150:6 which says: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” This scripture leaves no one or anything out from praising the Lord. If you have breath in your body, you should praise the Lord!
When a Saint receives a self-revelation of God, the only response is praise! For example: God’s deliverance and favor also elicit praise:
Psalm 34 has 22 verses and all of them praise God for the things He has done.
Psalm 107 has 43 verses and again all of them praise God. Psalm 102:18 says: “This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord.”
The Bible says the following about praising God: John 4:24 Amp.: “God is Spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.”
The book of Psalm is a collection of songs that are filled with praises to God as I have mentioned some earlier. Some additional scriptures are:
Psalm 9:2: “I will be glad and rejoice in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.”
Psalm 18:3: “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies,”
Psalm 150 uses the term praise thirteen times in six verses. The first verse provides the “where” of praise—everywhere! “Praise ye the Lord, Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the firmament of His power.”
The next verse teaches “why” to praise the Lord: “praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.”
Verses 3-6 notes: “how” to praise the Lord—with a variety of instruments, dance, and everything that has breath. In other words, every means we have to make sound is to be used to praise the Lord!
In the New Testament, here are a few examples of praise given to Jesus. Matthew 21:16 refers to those who praised Jesus as he rode on a donkey into Jerusalem. Matthew 8:2 refers to a leper who bowed and worshipped before Jesus who cleansed him.
Matthew 28:17 After Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples worshipped Him. Acts 2:42-43 refers to the first church in Jerusalem that followed the apostles’ doctrines and focused on times of praise and worship. Acts 13:1-5- When Paul and Barnabas were called into missionary work, the church leaders at Antioch prayed, worshipped and fasted. In many of Paul’s letters, extended sections of praise to the Lord were included for example: 1 Timothy 3:14-16 and Philippians 1:3-11.
God throughout His Word, again and again, He tells us what we should do under certain circumstances and in this case it’s praise.
Daniel 2:20-24 Amp.: “Daniel answered, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belongs to Him. “It is He who changes the times and the seasons. He removes Kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and [greater] knowledge to those who have understanding! “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers, for you have given me wisdom and power. Even now you have made known to me what we requested of You. For You have made known to us [the solution to] the king’s matter.”
At this time, let’s go deeper into our understanding of praise and worship. You have read many Psalms and probably have a favorite one. Quite a few of them contain the word praise. You think you know what they mean when they use the word praise but let me introduce you to seven Hebrew words and meanings for the word praise. You will probably be familiar with two of the seven. I will give you the definitions and list a couple of Psalms that use the word praise with the Hebrew word in parentheses.
If God didn’t expect and want praise, He wouldn’t have placed it in His Word.
Definitions of the 7 praise words in the Bible were taken from Strong’s Dictionary of Bible Words.
- Barak (baw-rak’)—Praise as adoration, to bow down to, or kneel before, the Lord.
- Halal (haw-lal’)—to shine, boast, rave about, celebrate or even to be clamorously foolish.
- Shabach (shaw-bakh’)—to shout loudly or command, specifically. Or, figuratively, to pacify (as if by words); commend, glory, keep in, praise, still, and triumphs.
- Tehilah (the-hil-law’)—to sing unrehearsed, unplanned praises as well as to glory in your Greek psalmos = “song accompanied by a stringed instrument.” In Hebrew, it means “songs of praise.”
- Towdah (to-daw’)—to extend or raise your hands in thanksgiving, or an expression of praise. In the Old Testament, it is used with an offering, extended hands in adoration, confession, sacrifices, thanksgiving, or a combination of all of these things. Towdah is a noun that can be used in different contexts, such as:
- Yadah (yaw-daw’)—to extend your hands vigorously as in complete surrender. Thanksgiving as praise (from Yadah) is not only giving thanks for past mercies, but for all His works, past, present and future, as well as, all of His attributes.
- Zamar (zaw-mar’)— is a Hebrew word that means to praise God by using music to express our adoration. It may be accompanied by instruments or even with our own voice. The word appears in several Bible verses, including:
- Healing the man with Leprosy is listed in two books of the New Testament—Luke-2 times, and Mark.
- Healing Peter’s Mother-in-law is listed in three books of the New Testament–Matthew, Mark and Luke.
- The healed paralytic man is listed in three books of the New Testament –Matthew, Mark and Luke. This is a remarkable story about true friendship, where this man’s friends wanted their friend to be healed. So, they took him to Jesus’ home on a bed. They found that it was impossible to enter the house by the door, they climbed on the roof with him and removed enough tiling where they could lower him down in front of Jesus. Jesus honored their faith and said: “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” The scribes and Pharisees began saying … “who can forgive sins, but God alone.” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said which is easier, to say, “thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, rise up and walk?” “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (He said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. “And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God” (Luke 5:22-25). He had breath in his body, so he praised the Lord for his healing.
- Blind Bartimaeus is listed in three books in the New Testament—Matthew, Mark and Luke. When Jesus and His disciples and a great number of people came to Jericho, blind Bartimaeus was sitting on the highway begging. “When he heard it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. “And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal. Thou son of David, have mercy on me. “And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. “And they called the blind man, saying unto him, be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. “And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. “And Jesus answered and said unto him, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. “And Jesus said unto him, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and follow Jesus in the way” (Mark 10:47-52).
- The woman bent double with a spirit of infirmity is listed only in the book of Luke.Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the sabbath. “And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. “And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. “And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God” (Luke 13:11-12). Yes, she had breath in her body and she glorified Jesus for what He had done for her. Imagine how painful that must have been not being able to raise yourself up straight for 18 years!!
- Zacharias giving praise to God for the birth of his son, John the Baptist. Luke 1:68 Amp.: “Blessed (praised, glorified) be the Lord, the God of Israel, Because He has visited us and brought redemption to His people.” What a change has taken place in Zacharias at the birth of his son John, from when we saw how he responded to Gabriel in the Holy of Holies. His eyes are now open and he has witnessed the greatness of His God. He has to praise and worship Him!
- The Demon Possessed Man of Gadarenes is listed in three books of the New Testament—Matthew, Mark and Luke.
- It was at this time, He performed two miracles there. The first one was Jairus who was a ruler of the synagogue and “he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought Him that He would come into his house: “For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as He went the people thronged Him.
Psalm 63:3-4
“Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise (Barak) thee.
“Thus will I bless (Barak) thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.”
When he says: I will bless thee as long as I live. He is not just saying the words. He is committing himself to God in devotion and service for the rest of his life. This is what adoration is all about.
Psalm 103:20-23
“Bless (Barak) the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
“Bless (Barak) the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
“Bless (Barak) the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless (Barak) the Lord, O my soul.”
In the above Psalm, we see the word bless (Barak) used with service and obedience. Anyone who wants to bless the Lord must also serve Him in obedience. Remember, the Lord said in His Word that “obedience is better than sacrifice.”
The Hebrew word halal is found more than 160 times in the Old Testament. The translation gives the idea of celebration, singing, shouting, boasting and jubilation. This kind of praise is used more in public worship where not only humans are invited but all of creation.
Psalm 48: 1-5
“Praise (Halal) ye the Lord, Praise (Halal) ye the Lord from the heavens; praise (Halal) him in the heights.
“Praise (Halal) ye him, all his angels: praise (Halal) ye him, all his hosts. Praise (Halal) ye him, sun and moon: praise (Halal) him, all ye stars of light.
“Praise (Halal) him ye heavens of heavens; and ye waters that be above the heavens.
“Let them praise (Halal) the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.”
Psalm 149:1-2
“Praise (Halal) ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song and his praise (Halal) in the congregation of saints. [At party much singing.]
“Let Israel rejoice (Halal) in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful (Halal) in their King.”
Hallelujah comes from this word.
1 Chronicles 23:5 “Moreover, four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised (Halal) the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise (Halal) therewith.” David wrote this scripture when he made Soloman king. Can you just imagine the praises that went up to the Lord by four thousand musicians with their instruments!
Psalm 65:7
Which stilleth (Shabach) the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.”
Psalm 145:4
“One generation shall praise (Shabach) thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts.”
Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise (Tehillah) shall continually be in my mouth” Psalm 40:3 “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise (Tehillah) unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”
Leviticus 7:12
“If he offer it for a thanksgiving (Towdah), then he shall offer with the sacrifice (Towdah) of thanksgiving unleavened caked mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.”
Nehemiah 12:31
“Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks (Towdah), whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:”
Psalm 67:5-6
“Let the people praise (Yadah) thee, O God let all the people praise (Yadah) thee.
“Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.”
Chronicles 20:21
“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise (Yadah) the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and to say, Praise (Yadah) the Lord; for his mercy endureth forever.”
Psalm 21:13 “Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so, will we sing (Zamar) and praise (Zamar) thy power.” I Chronicles 16:9 “Sing (Zamar) unto him, sing (Zamar) psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.” Psalm 57:9 “I will praise (Zamar) thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing (Zamar) unto thee among the nations.”
Now that we have covered the 7 meanings of praise, we want to look at some of the people that Jesus healed in the New Testament. Their approaches to Him and their responses to the healing power of the Lord.
In his approach to Jesus, it is listed that he was kneeling down and another said that he fell on his face and worshipped Him. The Leper said, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” This moved Jesus to compassion and He healed him. He was told “See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”
Did he keep quiet about his healing? No, he had breath and He was going to praise him. “…He went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter” (Mark 1:44-45).
When Jesus entered Peter’s house, He saw his Mother-in-law “laid and sick of a fever.” Jesus touched her hand and the fever left her.
The Mother-in-law’s way of giving praise was to minister unto them.
I bolded casting away his garment because in those days for a blind person to be able to beg, he had to wear a government issued beggars’ jacket that identified him as a blind person. Jesus rewarded him for his faith because before he even asked Jesus for healing, he took off his beggars’ jacket in anticipation of his healing. Praise the Lord.
The ruler of the synagogue had the nerve to tell the people that there are 6 days in which to be healed and not to be healed on the sabbath. Jesus called him a hypocrite, and said “doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? “And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him” (Luke 13:15-17).
A certain man of the Gadarenes had devils a long time, wore no clothes and lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, “he fell down before Him and said: What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. “For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him, and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
“And Jesus asked him, saying, what is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. “And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. “And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they be sought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
“Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. “When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. “Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
“They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. “Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes’ round about besought Him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and He went up into the ship, and returned back again.
“Now the man out of whom the devils were departed be- sought Him that he might be with Him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him” (Luke 8:27-39).
I bolded clothes a few paragraphs above, remember this man wore no clothes and lived in the tombs! I heard Pastor Copeland say that Jesus knew He was going to call him into the ministry, so He carried clothes there for him to wear.
This newly called man into the ministry certainly did a fantastic job of praising God and letting the people know what God had done for him. Remember when Jesus was last there, the people asked Him to leave but when He returns a few verses later the people gladly received him. For they were all waiting for Him.
Second miracle: “And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, “Came behind Him, and touched the border of His garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
“And Jesus said, who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, who touched Me? “And Jesus said, somebody hath touched Me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me. “And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately. “And He said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
When He made her whole, it meant that anything missing in her life was returned. For example, all the money she had paid out to doctors; any bodily organs that might have been damaged from the bleeding were healed. I want to point out that in order for her faith to work, she had to have forgiven the doctors who didn’t heal her.
I want you to realize that this woman with the issue of blood was not standing upright but she was on her hands and knees in that crowd just to touch the hem of His garment. She could have been stoned to death because women with an issue of blood were not allowed to be out in public. Also, Jairus was the head of the synagogue and was with Jesus leading Him to his house to minister to his dying daughter; could have carried out the sentence of stoning her.
In fact, Jairus could have been angry with her interrupting and delaying Jesus from going to see about his dying daughter but he wasn’t. Faith works by love, so Jairus was walking in love.
“While He yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. “But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
“And when He came into the house, He suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. “And all wept, and bewailed her: but He said, Weep not, she is not dead but sleepeth. “And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. “And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. “And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and He commanded to give her meat.
“And her parents were astonished: but He charged them that they should tell no man what was done” (Luke 8:40-56). You know that everybody in that city knew that the daughter died and now they see her full of life after Jesus and the disciples leave. Because they have breath in their bodies, they had to praise the Lord for restoring their daughter to life and the daughter had to praise him as well!
Yes, that demon possessed man turned preacher sure had a message to tell that even the head of the synagogue believed him and went to Jesus for healing for his dying daughter!
When Christ returns and raptures all of the Saints, all of God’s people will join eternal praise of God. “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him” (Rev. 22:3). With the curse of sin removed, those who are with the Lord will forever praise the King of kings in perfection.
It has been said that our worship of God on earth is simply preparation for the celebration of praise that will take place in eternity with the Lord.
At many funerals, the closing song as they roll the casket down the aisle and out of the church, the choir sings: “When we all get to Heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we will sing and shout the victory!
If you didn’t get anything else from this message, I hope you got the message from the seven Hebrew definitions of praise and the healing examples given that as long as you have breath in your body, YOU ARE TO PRAISE THE LORD, BECAUSE IT IS YOUR DUTY!!