There are two Hebrew words that are regularly translated "worship" in modern English versions of the Bible. Both of them have important implications for the way we think of the act of worship. The first, and the one that is regularly translated "worship" in the King James Version as well as in the modern versions is hishtahwa, which only occurs in a rare reflexive, causative form. That is, you make yourself do something. The "something" in this case is fall on the ground! This aspect of "bowing down to the ground" is made explicit in Genesis 37:10 where Jacob says to Joseph with some astonishment, "Do you mean that I and your mother and your brothers will bow down to the ground before you?" This speaks of the awe that is central to worship in the Old Testament. To worship God is to "bite the dust." The worshipper recognizes the awesome power and terrible holiness of God and falls on his or her face in terror, wonder and surrender. There is none of the "good buddy" syndrome that sometimes characterizes worship today. On the other hand, there is none of the formalism which sometimes distanced the worshipper from God in the traditional liturgies of the past. God is immediately, frighteningly, wonderfully present and that presence - like a roaring blast furnace - is both terrifying and fascinating.

The second word that is often translated "worship" in modern versions (though not in the KJV) is the word 'abad (pronounced "avad"), which means "to serve."" the Lord (Ex. 7:16). The point here is that the worshipper is the servant of God. We are doing something for Him that is of value to Him. How many of us ever think on a Sunday morning, "I am going to church today to serve the Lord?" Normally, we think of a worship "service" as an event that will somehow serve us! But how in the world do we in the congregation "serve" God? Yes, perhaps the pastor does by leading us in worship and preaching the word, and yes, perhaps the musicians do by lifting our spirits in expressions of awe and joy. But us? Yes, us. We "serve" the Lord as we fall down before Him, lost in wonder, love and praise. We are "working" for God, doing something of value to Him, when we remind ourselves and the watching world who He really is, what life is really about, and what really matters in life. When we declare that He is the supreme value in the universe, we are serving His purposes in the world. But in the prostration and the service, there is almost always an incredible sense of joy. That joy is because of the character of this One who is so terrifyingly other than we. He is love - the love that chose Abraham out of a life of pointlessness; the love that redeemed the descendants of Jacob from the brickpits of Egypt; the love that refused to let Israel go when they had broken their covenant a thousand times. So, Psalm 2:11 encourages us: "Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling." That is what Isaiah experienced. He recognized that he could no more live in the presence of God than a bale of straw could live in a blast furnace. Yet God in His grace cleansed those filthy lips (with fire!) and made it possible for Isaiah to become a "servant" (worshipper) of the Lord. Rejoice before Him with trembling!

John Oswalt is research professor of Old Testament at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. The author of several books, he is a noted authority on Old Testament prophets and recently wrote the 2-volume commentary on the book of Isaiah for the New International Commentary on the Old Testament.