Adoration

Narrator: Chris Genthree
Duration: 2min
 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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This word does not occur in the Authorized Version, but there are several attitudes described that form part of the outward acts of adoration which may be well considered under this title, leaving inward adoration to the article on WORSHIP. The homage given may be to God, to the Lord Jesus, to an idol, or by one man to another.
2. Kneeling, bowing the knee.
3. Falling down before. Demanded by Nebuchadnezzar in honor of his image (Dan. 3:55That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: (Daniel 3:5)); requested by Satan at the temptation of our Lord (Matt. 4:99And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (Matthew 4:9)); paid to the Lord when an infant by the wise men, and often in the Gospels (Matt. 2:1111And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11); Mark 5:3333But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. (Mark 5:33); Luke 5:88When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. (Luke 5:8); John 11:3232Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. (John 11:32)); and in heaven by the elders to God and the Lord Jesus (Rev. 4:10; 5:8,14; 19:410The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, (Revelation 4:10)
8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. (Revelation 5:8)
14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:14)
4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. (Revelation 19:4)).
4. Kissing. In idolatry (1 Kings 19:1818Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. (1 Kings 19:18); Hos. 13:22And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. (Hosea 13:2)). To the sun and moon by kissing the hand Job 31:26-2726If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; 27And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: (Job 31:26‑27)). (Tacitus, Hist. 3.24, says that in Syria they salute the rising sun; and that this was done by kissing the hand.) All the above actions are portrayed on ancient monuments. The word worship in the Authorized Version of the New Testament often signifies homage, such as one man gives to another in authority, or to one he wishes to honor, rather than worship in the sense which that word now conveys.