What is praise according to the Bible?
To praise is to acknowledge and celebrate who God is and what he has done. In the Bible, praise is not an ornament of worship but the natural response of the creature before its Creator. The book of Psalms, Israel’s songbook, ends with the invitation: “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.” Hebrew has several words for praise: halal, to celebrate enthusiastically, from which “Hallelujah” comes; yadah, to praise with outstretched hands; zamar, to sing with instruments; todah, to give thanks; and barak, to bless, sometimes kneeling. Biblical praise involves the voice, the body, instruments, the mind and the heart.
Jesus taught that God seeks worshippers who worship him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). Singing beautiful songs is not enough: the praise that pleases God springs from a sincere heart and is reflected in a consistent life.
A brief history of music in the Church
The first Christians sang psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16). Some New Testament passages, such as Philippians 2:6-11, may be hymns of the earliest communities. In the following centuries plainchant or Gregorian chant arose in the West and the rich Byzantine tradition in the East. The sixteenth-century Reformation promoted congregational singing in the people’s language: Martin Luther wrote hymns such as “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”. In the eighteenth century Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley wrote thousands of hymns. Johann Sebastian Bach signed many of his works with the initials SDG, Soli Deo Gloria, “glory to God alone”, the very motto of this site. The nineteenth century brought the gospel hymns of Fanny Crosby and African American spirituals. The twentieth century saw gospel music, Pentecostal choruses and, from the 1970s, contemporary praise and worship music. In Latin America, composers such as Marcos Witt and Jesús Adrián Romero, among many others, brought Spanish-language praise to millions.
Praise that overcomes
The Bible shows the power of praise in hard times. When King Jehoshaphat faced a great army, he set singers before the troops who praised, saying: “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever”, and God gave the victory (2 Chronicles 20:21-22). Paul and Silas, beaten and chained in Philippi, sang hymns at midnight, and an earthquake opened the prison doors (Acts 16:25-26). Praise is not a magic formula, but it changes our gaze: we move from looking at the problem to looking at God.
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
Psalm 100:1-5
How to choose praise music
Biblical lyrics: what is sung should be faithful to God’s Word. God-centred: it should exalt God, not the singer. Understandable: the congregation should be able to understand and sing it. Variety: ancient hymns and new songs; the Bible invites us to sing “a new song” without despising the heritage received. Excellence and simplicity: prepare the music well without turning worship into a show.
You can follow the latest Christian music news, awards and concerts in our Christian music section, and read more about the meaning of the words we sing in Hallelujah and Hosanna.
Praising in daily life
Praise is not limited to Sunday. You can begin the day with a psalm, sing while you work, play Christian music on the way or thank God before sleeping for three concrete things from the day. The psalmist said: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1). In this way, all of life becomes a song to God.
And when you have no words, remember that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26). Even a weary heart can praise God in silence.