Psalm 33:1-2: “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise (TEHILLAH) is fitting for the upright. Praise (YADAH) the Lord with the harp; make music (ZAMAR) to Him with a ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with shouts of joy.”
1/ YADAH – yaw-daw (To lift hands towards God)
YAD: to extend the hand; AH: Lord (Jehovah) = To lift hands towards God.
⦁ Psalm 9:1: “I will give thanks (YADAH) to You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.”
YADAH expresses a heart toward God by the act of lifting hands, symbolizing surrender and acknowledging that we belong to Him.
⦁ Genesis 29:35: Leah gave birth to a son and said, “This time I will praise (YADAH) the Lord”; so she named him Judah.
⦁ Genesis 49:8: “Judah (YADAH), your brothers will praise (YADAH) you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.”
⦁ 2 Chronicles 20:21: “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise (YADAH) Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.’”
YADAH the Lord is the key to victory in life’s battles. When we YADAH God—praising Him with hands lifted—He moves to defeat our enemies.
2/ TOWDAH – toe-dah (Raise hands with a confession)
Psalm 69:30-31: “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving (TOWDAH). This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves.”
TOWDAH involves lifting hands toward God and proclaiming a specific truth about Him and His word—both in public and private.
⦁ Psalm 50:23: “The one who offers thanksgiving (TOWDAH) as a sacrifice glorifies Me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God.”
⦁ Jonah 2:9: “But I, with shouts of grateful praise (TOWDAH), will sacrifice to You. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”
3/ SHABACH – shaw-bakh (Loudly praise the Lord)
Psalm 63:3: “Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise (SHABACH) You.”
SHABACH is loud praise to God, often in the form of testimony. It doesn’t always have to be quiet or solemn to honor the Lord.
⦁ Psalm 145:4: “One generation shall praise (SHABACH) Your works to another and declare Your mighty acts.”
⦁ Psalm 32:11: “Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; shout for joy (SHABACH), all you upright in heart.”
4)/ BARAK – baw-rak (To kneel or bow down in reverence)
Psalm 34:1: “I will bless (BARAK) the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
BARAK means to kneel or bow in submission and reverence before God. It represents both inner humility and outward expression.
⦁ Psalm 68:19: “Praise (BARAK) be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”
⦁ Genesis 24:1: “The Lord had blessed (BARAK) Abraham in every way.”
5/ ZAMAR – zaw-mar (Singing with musical instruments)
Psalm 57:7: “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music (ZAMAR).”
ZAMAR means to praise God with music and instruments, even when things are not going well.
⦁ Psalm 146:1-2: “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing (ZAMAR) to my God as long as I live.”
6/ HALAH – ha-lah (Praise with reckless abandon)
Hallelujah comes from the root word “HALAH,” which means to celebrate, to boast, and to be clamorously foolish about God—to the point that you may seem undignified or even crazy.
⦁ Psalm 34:1-2: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise (HALAH) shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast (HALAH) in the Lord.”
⦁ We HALAH God when we face challenges, after He helps us, and because of our relationship with Him.
7/ TEHILLAH – teh-hil-law (Spirit-inspired praise, connecting to God’s presence)
Psalm 22:3: “But You are holy, enthroned in the praises (TEHILLAH) of Israel.”
TEHILLAH is spontaneous, Spirit-led praise that flows from deep within, often connected to a tangible sense of God’s presence.
⦁ Isaiah 61:3: “To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise (TEHILLAH) instead of a spirit of despair.”
When we enter into this kind of praise, God’s presence surrounds us like a garment, lifting off the heaviness and burdens.
