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Key Bible Verses:
3Do not worship any other gods besides me.
Exodus 20:3 (New Living Translation)
29Give to the Lord the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship Him. worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.
I Chronicles 16:29 (New Living Translation)
2Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him, singing with joy.
Psalm 100:2 (New Living Translation)
11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell face down before the throne and worshiped God.
Revelations 7:11 (New Living Translation)
Strong's Concordance Number:
Old Testament (Hebrew) 7812
New Testament (Greek) 4352
Translation:
(Hebrew) shachah (verb), means literally to "bow down" before a superior or monarch to show respect.
(Greek) proskuneo (noun), used to designate the action of obeisance, which involves falling down at the feet of a lord or superior and kissing their feet, the hem of their garment, or the ground. Can be translated as to "(fall down and) worship", to "do obeisance to", to "prostrate one's self before", or "to do reverence to".
Definition:
(Open Bible) An act of reverence
(Websters) (noun) 1. Adoration, homage, etc., given to a diety. 2. The rituals, prayers, etc., expressing such adoration or homage. 3. Excessive or ardent admiration or love. 4. The object of such love or admiration. 5. a title of honor in addressing certain persons of station.
(verb) 1. To pay an act of worship to; venerate 2. To have an intense or exaggerated admiration or love for. (v.i.) 3. to perform acts or have sentiments of worship.
(synonyms) 1. exalt, praise. 2. adore, dote on, idolize
(Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary) reverent devotion and allegiance pledged to God; the ritual or ceremonies by which this reverence is expressed. the English word "worship" comes from the Old English word "worthship", a word that denotes the worthiness of the one receiving the special honor or devotion.
Musical Example:
We Fall Down
We fall down,
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus;
the greatness of
Mercy and love,
At the feet of Jesus.
And we cry holy, holy, holy,
And we cry holy, holy, holy,
and we cry holy, holy, holy
Is the lamb.
21st Century Worship version performed by Passion
words and music by Chris Tomlin
Quotations:
"The purpose of God in sending His Son to die and live and be at the right hand of God the Father was that He might restore to us the missing jewel, the jewel of worship; that we might come back and learn to do again that which we were created to do in the first place - worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - A. W. Tozer
"...the goal of out worship should be that we come to the point where we do not see anyone or anything around us, but we become totally taken up with God. That is the supreme goal of worship; to see only the Lord. there is no higher fulfillment for us, nor will there ever be." - Bob Sorge, from "Exploring Worship"
"What, then, is worship? Worship is an active response to God whereby we declare His worth. Worship is not passive, but is participative. Worship is not simply a mood; it is a response. Worship is not just a feeling; it is a declaration." - Ronald Allen & Gordon Borror, from "Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel"
Comments & Conclusions:
Webster provides 5 definitions for worship as a noun and 3 definitions for worship as a verb - and they don't necessarily mean anything close to the same as one another. Herein lies the problem with worship in the church today. God wants us to worship Him. When I say this, I mean He is asking for us to fall on our faces in adoration and unbound love.
Too many times, people settle for that other definition of worship: the ritual. Many churches today call their weekly meetings "worship services", but in how many cases are they truly that? Most churches in our 21st century world would never tolerate something as disruptive in their service as a worshiper falling on their knees during service. Many others would not frown upon it, and go the other way - we have padded places for our knees to rest when we kneel. I understand that this allows some who otherwise would not be able to kneel (for health reasons and the like) to kneel, but they are the exception, not the rule. The end result is, worship is made to be too easy, and has lost its meaning.
In how many "worship services" are worshipers falling on their face at the feet of Christ? Not many. There are churches where this happens, but very few. And too often when it is happening, it's for all the wrong reasons (hyped up emotional furor, spiritual peer pressure when brother so-and-so goes up to the alter and you haven't, or moving to the alter because you know it is expected by those watching).
I won't go into this issue any further here except to say this - the true meaning of worship has been watered down by the alternative definitions, and it should be our goal as true worshipers of God, who worship in spirit and in truth, to restore, even if only in our own heart and on our own knees, the real meaning of worship.
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