The Importance Of Biblical Expression

One of the things we will be doing when the King returns is singing. Isaiah 12:5-6 states, "Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel." The Hebrew word for "shout" means to cry out with great intensity.  In other words, when we see Him in our midst we will be expressing something physically and emotionally.

Depending on your background, which is probably filled with both good and bad examples of corporate worship, you are either way too reserved, or you are way too weird. There are a lot of words for "worship" in the Bible.  When you read your Bible in English, the English language does not have the means to express these differences and so I want to give you a list of some of these words to better help you worship with meaningful expression corporately and individually.  What follows is only a scratching of the surface.

Check out Psalm 34:1, "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth."
This word "bless" in the Hebrew is "barak" which means to specifically "kneel down".  You can't get that by reading the English.  Here it is again in Psalm 95:6, "Oh come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel 'barak"  before the Lord, our Maker!"  This physical expression can be expressed by a bowing of the head as well. 1 Chronicles 29:20 says, "Then David said to all the assembly, "Bless "barak" the Lord your God." And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and to the king." This is an expression that is done out of awe and reverence towards the Lord Jesus for his victory over our sin.  It should be a humble confidence to pay homage to the King, not a condemning hanging of the head.  In many congregations this expression is no where to be found.

Here's another example.  Psalm 21:13 we read, "Be exalted, O Lord, in your stregth! We will sing and praise your power."
This word for "praise" is "zamar" which specifically means to play a guitar or other stringed instrument with your fingers!  And some people have divided their churches over whether or not to allow instruments!  This word is also used in Psalm 57:8, and 1 Chronicles 16:9.  The music expressed in the Psalms are anything but boring, drab, or without instruments.  

Here's another. Psalm 22:3, "Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. This word "praises" is "tehilla" which means concretely  to sing a hymn.  God loves hymns!  It has been so exciting to see musicians singing hymns like "In Christ Alone" and "It Is Well" etc. Many well constructed hymns are jammed with the gospel truth.  The point of the word here is to have well constructed lyrics, rather than "it's all about me, Jesus."

Lifting of the hands is found multiple places in the scriptures.  There are different types of lifting the hands.  Here's one, Psalm 50:23 says, "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me."  Many translators translate "thanksgiving" with "praise" but the word is "todaw" which means to extend your hands in adoration and acceptance, thanking God for things not yet received, and things already at hand. If someone is lifting their hands high it ought to be expressed because of great thankfulness welling up in the heart, not because raising your hands is what you are supposed to do.  I have witnessed congregations believe that a lifting of the hands is a more spiritual expression.  Some people who are lifting their hands ought to have bowed their heads first to the gospel truth.  If you are full of anxiety towards unknowns, then lift your hands in expression of your reliance to God.  Another example of lifting the hands is found in Psalm 107:15, "Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!"  This word "thank" is "yawdaw" which means to hold out the hands with the expression of throwing something away or letting go of something.  This word is also used for making confession.  The Hebrews would extend their hand and place it on the head of the goat they would slaughter signifying their guilt and shame were being passed to the animal while with the other hand the throat of the animal would be slit.  In the same way we can extend out our hand recognizing Jesus made atonement for our sins by his blood.  I often do this while having communion as a powerful reminder of my dependency on Jesus. 

It's important to simply learn how to express what is going on within us.  This is pleasing to the Lord.  I am learning to communicate with my wife with much more intimacy, so that when she asks me, "how was your day", I can respond with more than..."fine".  May our worship be more than fine, but be vibrant and balanced to rightly reflect our relationship with him.  When the gathered church worships through the avenue of song, and the people are being open and honest with their God and each other, and the gospel is being grasped, the glory of God comes down. 

album almost ready for release!

I am excited to be wrapping up my new worship project come next month!  I've been amazed at how well it has been coming together.  The record will include 11 songs that are scripture driven and very acoustic mellow.  The songs have a mixture of cello, violin, piano, and some songs are simply me and a guitar.  I am experiencing a pressing desire to minister through the avenue of music and write more songs.  I am going to launch a personal website that will make my music available through itunes, amazon, and cd baby.  Bruce Milligan from Sound Ministries has been doing an excellent job with the recording and I am blessed to be getting to know him.  All that's left to record is the violin and vocals.  Jacob Balint has recorded piano, Olivia White on cello, Jacob again with the bass, and Michael Brown on banjo and harmonica on a song.  I am really thankful for their work on this project with me.  I'm looking forward to sharing it with you all.

blessings
Russell