Praise & Worship by Peggy Britt
Writer: Peggy Britt / Album: Strength to Win / ℗© 2001 Tyscot Records, LLC.
“We worship You for who you are, and we praise you for what You’ve done. We praise and worship You Lord, we must worship and praise You.”
There has been a miss conception in the church for as long as I can remember, that worship is equated to music. More specifically, praise is upbeat/uptempo while worship is ‘the slow song’ particularly before the sermon. This song, while not defining praise and worship, gives purpose to our worship and praise while indicating that while their definitions differ, they hold a similar function.
“Praise and Worship, Worship and Praise
How the Lord of All, deserves our worship and praise
We worship You for who You are
And we praise You for what You’ve done
We praise and worship You Lord,
We must worship and praise You”
Lyrically, the song takes us through the biblical [Hebrew] names that refer to God and their equivalent meaning in English. This engages the worshipers and expands the thoughts of who God is, by what He is and has been called dating back to Scripture.
“Jehovah Jireh, My Provider (Genesis 22:9–14, Philippians 4:19)
Jehovah Nissi, My Protection (‘banner’ Exodus 17:8–15)
Jehovah Rapha, My Healer (Exodus 15:22–26)
Jehovah Rohi, My Shepard (Psalms 23:1, 6, Psalms 100:3, 1 Peter 2:25)
Jehovah Tsidkenu, My Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5, 6)
Jehovah Shalom, My Peace” (Judges 6:16–24)
Praise and Worship was originally recorded in C#, yet can be transposed to lower keys for the worship leaders with a lower range. This allows for modulations to be added (while not being in the rafters), which would make it difficult for the congregation to sing along. Although it is slower in tempo, it requires high energy; as it is ‘call and response’ in nature, clarity when singing is important for the leader to ensure that the those who are following can understand in order to be included.
“El-Gibbor, God of Strength (Isaiah 9:6)
El Elyon, God of Might (Numbers 24:16)
El Shaddai, God Almighty (Genesis 17:1)
Elohim, God, My Creator” (Deuteronomy 10:17)
I was blessed to learn ‘Praise and Worship’ from and provide supporting vocals for Peggy Britt herself, back in 2015 at a ministers’ conference. Hearing her heart in ministering this song was an inspiration. Since then, I have lead it frequently at my church and surrounding churches of which I have been a guest worship leader. I am always amazed at the response and how it is received, as it is a lesser known worship song. Whether at my church, where our members are familiar with it, or other churches where it is completely new, the response of the congregation to the written lyrics as well as those I chose to improvise is incredible. It is wonderfully written and arranged, but there is room to adapt it to any corporate worship setting and great for congregational singing.
“We praise and worship You Lord, we must worship and praise You.”
