Worship Wednesdays: What is Worship (Part 4)

So This is the Forth and Final part of this study on Worship. This time we want to talk about the differences between praise and worship, or is there any difference between the two at all.

So let's start by defining worship again:

worship is defined as reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem.

Now let's define praise:

Webster’s defines praise as to express approval, commendation.

Praise is more concerned with what someone has done, or in our case, what God has done.

Psalm 126 is an great example of praising God for what He has done.

Worship on the other hand focuses more on the worth of the being who is adored. We worship God because of who He is and because of His character. His grace, mercy, omnipotence, omniscience, faithfulness, holiness, etc., are all reasons to worship God.

Now this is not a hard and fast rule as the two are not always so clearly separated. We are often called to praise God for who He is and to worship Him for what He has done, but it is beneficial to remember these to areas of focus when entering into God's presence. God is worthy of worship for who he is and for what he has done.

One more note about praise and worship. You will notice that I haven't mentioned anything about the style or tempo of praise and worship songs. Praise does not mean "fast songs" just as worship does not mean "slow songs" These two terms are not exclusive to music either. It is completely appropriate to want to usher because of who God is and to clean toilets because of what God has done in your life, and vice verse. Remember serving and worshiping are synonymous in the Biblical context.