PRAISE is the recognition and acknowledgment of merit. Two parties are involved: the one possessing at least supposed merit, the other being a person who acknowledges the merit.

Men may praise men. Forms of praise may be used without genuine feelings of praise, and extravagant praise may be rendered Intentionally, because of the advantage that will be gained thereby. This is downright hypocrisy, and the whole burden of the moral teaching of the Bible, and especially of Christ, is against hypocrisy. Again, the estimate of values may be so completely false that praise may be felt and expressed genuinely in cases where it is undeserved. And Jesus' whole influence is directed towards the proper appreciation of values so that only the good shall appear to us good.

In its common Biblical use, however, praise has God for its object. This restriction does not involve an essential difference either in the praise or in the sense of moral values. The difference lies rather in the greater praiseworthiness of God. Praise of God is of course called forth only as He reveals Himself to men, only as men recognize His activity and His power in the event or condition which appears to them adequate to call out praise. Men praise God in proportion as they are religious, and so have conscious relations with God. The praiseworthiness of a god is involved in the very definition of a god. If men postulate a god at all, it is as a being worthy to be praised. Every thought and act by which men come into relation with God is a thought and an act of praise. Petition is justifiable only if behind it is the belief that God is worthy of such approach. If the act is confession of sin, the same is true, for confession is not made to a being who does not hold a place of honour and praise. If some active service is rendered to God, this subjugation of ourselves to Him can be explained only by the conviction that God is in every way entitled to service.

Moreover, as in the case of praise of men, there is a very clear distinction to be drawn between genuine and hypocritical ascription of praise to God. The temptation to the latter is extreme, because of the immense gain presumably to be secured by praise; but the hypocrisy and the sin of it are equally great. Indeed, the seriousness of the offence is evident when one reflects that he who praises God knows full well the praiseworthiness of God, so that if he praises while the genuine feeling is lacking and the sincere act of praise is unperformed, only moral perversity can account for the hypocrisy.

In order to genuineness, praise must be spontaneous It may be commanded by another human being, and the praise commanded may be rendered, but the real impelling cause is the recognized merit of God. God may demand praise from His creatures in commands transmitted to them through prophets and Apostles, but if man praises Him from the heart, it is because of the imperative Inseparable from the very being and nature of God.

We are prepared, then, to find that in the Bible praise to God is universal on the part of all who acknowledge Him. It is the very atmosphere of both dispensations. It is futile to attempt to collate the passages that involve it, for its expression is not measured by special terms or confined to special occasions. The author of Ge 1, like every reader of the chapter, finds the work of creation an occasion for praising God. The chapter is a call to praise, though the word be not mentioned. We have but to turn to the Psalms (e.g. Ps 104) to find formal expression of the praise that the world inspires.

The legal requirements of the Law likewise depend for their authority with men upon the recognition of the merit of the Law-giver. 'Ye shall be holy, for I Jehovah your God am holy,' has no force except for him who acknowledges holiness in God who commands; and obedience is the creature's tribute of praise to the holy God.

The whole history of Israel, as Israel's historians picture it, has in it the constant element of praise to Israel's God: we turn to the Psalms (e.g. Ps 102) or to other songs (e.g. Ex 15), and find the praise of the heart rising to formal expression.

In the NT, praise of Christ and of God in Christ is the universal note. It is the song of those who are healed of their sicknesses, or forgiven their sins; of Apostles who mediate on the gospel message and salvation through Christ; of those who rehearse the glories of the New Jerusalem as seen in apocalyptic vision.

We are also prepared by this universality to find that praise cannot form a topic for independent treatment. There is no technical terminology to be examined in the hope that the etymology of the terms used will throw light upon the subject, for in this case etymologies may lead us away from the current meaning of the common words employed. The history of praise in the OT and the NT is the history of worship, temple, synagogue, sacrifice, festivals. The literature of praise is the literature of religion, whether as the product of national consciousness or of personal religious experience.

It will suffice to mention one or two points of Interest which the student may well bear in mind as he studies the Bible and consults the articles on related subjects.

The Heb. word oftenest used for praise is hill