We recently added a new piece of furniture to the house, a piano. I played as a kid and even tinkered some into my early adult years but it has been a long time since there has been any amount of time put towards the keyboard. Over the last week I have tried to play several songs by memory because I figured the old sheet music and songbooks disappeared long ago. Much to my surprise, last night Meredith came walking in from the garage with a stack of my old music. Flipping through the pages I found a song that I used to play, and sing, in church. It was an old Imperials song called “Because of Who You Are”.
I went to sleep singing it, woke up singing it and it continued to play through my head as I had my quiet time this morning. The song goes like this:
Verse 1:
You spoke the words and all the worlds came into order, you waved your hands and planets filled celestial skies. You placed the woman and the man inside the garden, and though the fell they found compassion in your eyes. Oh Lord I stand in awe of the wonders of your deeds, yet the greater wonder brings me to my knees.
Chorus:
Lord I praise you because of who you are. Not because of all the mighty things you’ve done. Lord I worship you, because of who you are. You’re all the reason that I need to voice my praise, because of who you are.
Verse 2:
One holy night you brought your promise from a virgin, and promise grew as He revealed to us your heart. Enduring love displayed through-out His crucifixion, and in the dark you tore the grave and death apart. Oh Lord I stand in awe of the wonder of your deeds, yet a great wonder brings me to my knees.
Chorus:
Lord I praise you because of who you are. Not because of all the mighty things you’ve done. Lord I worship you, because of who you are. You’re all the reason that I need to voice my praise, because of who you are.
As I meditated on these words I began to wonder what “worship” really means; and what is the difference between praise and worship? So as I am prone to do, I started researching it and once again, I found that we flippantly use words today that we really don’t understand.
Webster says that worship is “bowing down prostrate or paying homage”. Hmmm. What exactly is homage? Paying homage was a ceremony performed in Middle Ages to show the life submission of a subject to the Sovereign. The ceremony of doing homage was thus performed. The subject, being uncovered (naked), kneeled and held up both his hands between those of the lord, who sat before him, and there professed that “he did become his man, from that day forth, of life and limb and earthly honor,”
Praise, on the other hand, is a response to an action. Praise – Commendation bestowed on a person for his personal virtues or worthy actions. It’s honoring something that someone has done.
Now I know this may have gotten a little teachy, but it was necessary to make the point.
We seem to be willing to praise God for what He has done for us, but how are we at worship? We stand and raise our hands in praise, but do we come before God, naked, and commit our lives in service to Him?
I am reminded of Romans 12 when I think of this; worship being a binding commitment to live a life for someone else.
Rom 12:1 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
At the end of the Ceremony of Homage, the Lord would lean forward and kiss the forehead of the servant. Are we willing to commit that we belong to God? That from this day forth, of life and limb and earthly honor we commit it all to Him? Do we want that kiss from the Lord more than we want what this world has to offer?