Praise is an expression of approval or admiration; thanksgiving expresses gratitude. The two are linked in worship, 1 Chr. 23:30. When the trumpeters and singers united in praising and thanking the Lord at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, the glory of the Lord filled the house of God, 2 Chr. 5:13, 14. Praise always glorifies Him, Psa. 50:23. When Paul and Silas prayed and sang in prison, God acted on their behalf, Acts 16:25. Their praise was literally hymn singing.
God delivered the people of Israel from their enemies when they began to sing and to praise, 2 Chr. 20:21, 22. This is an important element in the missionary enterprise, Psa. 96. Even though it may be only a joyful sound, Psa. 66:1, 2, it characterizes the homes of the godly, Psa. 118:15. Christ is said to praise God in the midst of the church, Heb. 2:12.
Thanksgiving can be expressed with vocal and instrumental music in worship, Psa. 147:7. As an indispensable element in prayer, the promise of peace is associated with it, Phil. 4:6, 7. The ungodly do not give God thanks, Rom. 1:21, but it is the revealed will of God that all Christians thank Him in everything, 1 Thess. 5:18. One mark of the filling of the Spirit is the giving of thanks to God always for all things, Eph. 5:18-20.
William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible, (Chicago: Bible Institute Colportage Assoc., 1912), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 310.