Epaggelia

We have seen many different reasons for praising God in the past 149 Psalms. The word “praise” is repeated in Psalm 150, thirteen times, and this word is different from “worship”. The Jews were to teach and show the world WHO the true, one and only God is. The Jews were also to exemplify to the world, the type of worship God was worthy of. Today, Christians are now in that position, because of Israel’s rejection & role they filled in the death of Christ. But to praise God, is something anyone can do, and indeed might do without even knowing it. Creation can praise God when a tree is in full bloom, but being totally unaware of this, means creation can not worship God, only humanity has this capacity. You might be surprised to learn that both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, the original words used for translating “Praise” and “Worship” are NEVER interchanged as synonyms when the context is referencing God’s praise or worship. Only one word in the New Testament Koine Greek is translated as a synonym for praise and also used as a word for worship, and it is not in either case, in reference to God’s praise or worship, it’s actually in both cases used in reference to men praising or worshiping each other, Luke 14:10 (worship KJV) and in John 9:24 (praise KJV). All other cases of Greek and Hebrew words for praise and worship are never translated as synonyms. Why? Because Praise is more generic and Worship is always unique in humbling yourself in adoration and/or reverence to God, whereas, Praise exalts God and loves and thanks Him, it isn’t necessarily a reverent, humbling experience.

v1, Inside and outside the Temple, Praise is desired. 

v2, For what God does and who God is, Praise is due.

v3, Both in public (trumpets), and/or in private (strings), Praise is good.

v4, Both excitedly (dance) and/or calmly (strings) Praise is beautiful.

v5, Both distinct tones of clarity, and/or sounds of brash & loud beats, Praise is appropriate.

v6, If life is present, praise is purposeful.

But not all of the above fits appropriately into Christian public “worship”, see 1st Corinthians 14:40, however, everything above does have an acceptable place within the context of personal praise, remember “ALWAYS…CONSTANTLY…IN EVERYTHING…”, 1st Ths. 5:16-18. By God’s provision of everything good & praiseworthy, “we exist for the praise of his glory”, Eph. 1:6.

The word praise is even used in a grammatical play on words by the Apostle Paul, he uses praise in describing who and who is not a Jew, Romans 2:29, but the pun is lost if you don’t know the background. In Genesis 29, when Leah gives birth to a son of Jacob she said, “Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah.” In Genesis 49, Jacob upon his death bed gathers his sons and says: “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.” The Hebrew word for “praise” transliterates into yadah! The Hebrew word for “Judah”, transliterates into yehudah. The pronunciations of both praise and Judah are very similar. Judah originates from another word which means to thank or to give thanks, which is the basis for praise. Understanding that Judah, from which the word Jew is derived, means praise sheds additional light and places more emphasis on Paul’s statement in Romans 2:29. Placing extra emphasis on what is being said is the entire point of using a pun! So a spiritual Jew is real today as the “PRAISER” of God, Rom. 2:29 & 15:11, Php. 3:3, Gal. 6:16