The phrase “praise and worship” is frequently used by Christians, and yet these two words are rarely mentioned together in the Bible. Is there a distinction between praise and worship? What does it mean to praise the Lord? What place does praise have in our worship of God? Many have different answers. Webster’s New World Dictionary tells us that one meaning of the verb “praise” is “to laud the glory of [God], as in song.”

Hundreds of times throughout the Scriptures, particularly in the Psalms, we are exhorted to praise the Lord. In fact, the whole last segment of the book of Psalms deals with praise to God, and concludes, Psalm 150:6Psalm 150:6, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. .

Because there are so many verses in Psalms on the subject of praise, we may tend to think that praise is Davidic. But praise is divine. We are to follow God’s pattern when we praise, not man’s. Praise is God’s idea, God’s command, and also God’s pleasure. He loves to hear his people praising him!

Praise Is Different from Worship
There is a difference between praise and worship. Worship in its broadest sense encompasses thanksgiving and praise, as well as the Eucharist, the act of giving thanks. Praise is born in faith, is an instrument of war and a method of creating an atmosphere for the presence of the Lord. Worship is born from our relationship with God. We praise him for what he has done and worship him for who he is. Praise is a sacrifice we give in faith Hebrews 13:15Hebrews 13:15, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . Praise is our entrance into God’s presence. When we find him, we worship Psalm 95:2-6Psalm 95:2-6, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . Praise and worship are likened to rings that are linked together. They overlap, and yet they each have their own identity.

The Importance of Praise
As stated in Psalm 150, God has told us that we are to praise him, that this is his will for his children. Over and over again throughout the Scriptures we are exhorted to praise God and in turn he will communicate with us through praise.

Psalm 81 offers a clear picture of praise and its importance Psalm 81:1-4Psalm 81:1-4, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . This encourages both singers and non-singers to praise God in song. Praise is not an option for a few but a requirement for all.

All God’s creation, from the lowest to the highest, sings praise to him Isaiah 44:23Isaiah 44:23, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . The Scriptures say that the sun, moon, and stars praise the Lord Psalm 148:7–13Psalm 148:7–13, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . In the Apocalypse John said, Revelation 5:13Revelation 5:13, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. .

God’s created beings, including angels, are to praise him Psalm 148:2Psalm 148:2, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . In Isaiah 6Isaiah 6, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. , seraphim are described as praising before the throne of God. The same is true in Revelation 5:12Revelation 5:12, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. .

If all the ranks of God’s creation praise him, how can human beings, the highest of God’s creation, do anything else? Praise is not optional; it is obligatory. It is not a preference; it is a prerequisite.

One of the most frequently sung songs of praise sums it up: “Praise God from whom all blessings flow / Praise him, all creatures here below / Praise him above, ye heavenly host / Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!”

Praise Testifies
Praise is a testimony. It speaks forth wondrous things of God and his ways. He is lifted up for all to see and adore when we offer praise to him. The Scripture says, Psalm 40:3Psalm 40:3, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . Peter declared that 1 Peter1 Peter, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. .

People are supposed to see us praise the Lord. Praise is not just for our prayer closet but for public testimony. Praise is a witness of our redemption and new birth. We have been chosen to display the praises of our Savior. God is the center of attention because he is the source and the object of that praise. Our praise reveals God to the world.

Praise Is Associated with God’s Presence
It is in praise that God’s presence becomes evident Psalm 22:3Psalm 22:3, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . God dwells in praise; praise is his habitat. The Bible tells us to enter “his courts with praise” (bible-hover Psalm 100:4}. Praise is the open door to God’s presence.

Praise is appropriate for believers. We read in Scripture that “praise is comely” [becoming, or suitable] Psalm 147:1Psalm 147:1, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . The glow of God’s presence as his children praise him is very becoming to them. As Moses’ face shone with the glory of God, so the brilliant light of God’s presence will be upon the faces of those who spend time in his presence praising him.

His glory will be revealed in the countenances and lives of those who are close to him, for they will radiate God to the world. Their lives will emit the fragrance of his presence, causing others to realize that they have been with the Lord.

Praise Delivers
There is a power in praise that can bring deliverance. Because the all-powerful and all-knowing One resides in praise Psalm 22:3Psalm 22:3, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. , no adversary has a chance. The Lord our God in our midst will save us.

Praise brings deliverance from mourning, depression, and a heavy spirit. The results are as sure as God’s promises. Consider the prophetic word given through Isaiah Isaiah 61:1–3Isaiah 61:1–3, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . Depression, weighty spirits, heavy burdens, and accompanying worries fall away when praise begins.

Christians who “mount up with wings as eagles” are those who have learned to “wait upon the Lord” Isaiah 40:31Isaiah 40:31, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . As they confidently expect God to come, they exchange their own strength for God’s. Waiting on the Lord does not mean total passivity.

The House of Praise
In Isaiah 56 God declares that “mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people” Isaiah 56Isaiah 56, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . The word for prayer is the Hebrew word tephillah meaning “songs of praise and intercession.” God wants his church to be a place where prayers and praise are sung as well as spoken.

However, believers are praisers not because they sing for a half hour on weekends, but because they have a life of singing praise to the Lord. We are the house of the Lord; each Christian is a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” A temple is a place of worship. Wherever we go as the “house” or “temple” of the Lord, praise is appropriate. The church of the Lord is a fountain of praise to its exalted Head.

Praise Is Joyful and Loud
The Scriptures, particularly the Psalms, describe many kinds of praise. David and the other psalmists speak often of rejoicing and of expressing praise to God in an exuberant or demonstrative manner Psalm 111:1Psalm 111:1, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. .

Quite often praisers are criticized for being too emotional or too loud, but the Bible says, Psalm 149:2Psalm 149:2, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. and Psalm 89:15Psalm 89:15, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . The Hebrew word for joyful actually means “earsplitting.” How many of us have ever even come close to that level in our praising? Moreover, John describes heavenly activity Revelation 14:2Revelation 14:2, ESV  Version 2 of the ESV API has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact the developers of this app and ask them to update to the latest API version. Thank you for your patience. . Praise is the sound that fills heaven—loud spontaneous songs from millions of saints. God desires the earth to be filled with this praise, many voices in chorus singing their own song to the Lord.

Every creature, every nation, and every person in every language will sing glorious, audible praise to our exalted Lord. He delights in the praise of his people and is completely at home in their loud praises. Praise is a sacrifice of thanksgiving and honor to the Lord. It is a declarative statement and must come from the heart. It must start with God and end with God and speak of God in between.

Adapted from Music and the Arts in Christian Worship, Abbott-Martyn Press. Used by permission.