Magnify the Lord
Today’s Passages – Psalms 69-72; Proverbs 29
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 20 – 22; Haggai 1:5 – 6)
“Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.” (Psalm 70:4)
As I was reading the passage this morning, my attention was drawn to the phrase, “let God be magnified”. The word magnify or magnified is used a couple of dozen times in the Bible, but I was interested to discover that most of the occasions for its use was to record men who have attempted to magnify themselves over God. We are certainly prideful creatures by nature. We do an awful lot in order to make ourselves bigger in the eyes of our peers. I was forced to do a little self-examination about myself while pondering this thought. How much do I do in order to enlarge myself. Even this daily blog that I do: is it all about God, or is it all about the magnification of me? Sobering thought. Am I trying to keep up with the spiritual Jones’ (the “big preachers” who all use this type of format)? Don’t misunderstand, I think this is a great tool for communication, but what is the motivation behind it? How about the church? Do I want to see it grow so that God will be glorified, or is there hidden down deep in my soul a secret, prideful agenda of self-elevation? I am just trying to be honest. How about you? Is your life’s pursuit the magnification of self; or are you trying to magnify the Lord?
The Bible is clear, we are to magnify God! Now that does not mean that we make God bigger. We can’t possibly do that. God already is infinite in everything that He is. What God is, He is infinitely and completely. All of His attributes are who He is. He does not just possess love, He IS love. No, we can’t make God bigger, but we can see Him bigger. A magnifying glass does not make the words on the page bigger, but it does allow us to see them bigger. How big is your God? Perhaps you cannot see God as big as He really is because you have magnified yourself. The bigger you are, the smaller God is. Make yourself smaller in your sight, and God may just get bigger to you.
Two more thoughts. God does not just want us to magnify Him, He also wants us to magnify:
1 His Name
“And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel:…” (2 Samuel 7:26)
“Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel:” (1 Chronicles 17:24)
2 His Word
“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Psalm 138:2)
Let us all try to minimize ourselves and exalt the Lord Jesus Christ!
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
These are very key ways to become a Winner, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that is it simple. It takes consistent action. One must be a constant state of growth to achieve the level of a winner. The advice that you give in your article is definitely a good place to start.
The scriptures you sighted above are from the Hebrew Scriptures , therefore, when speaking of magniFying God’s name they are not referring to Jesus Christ. They are referring to God the Father, the Almighty who tells us thousands of times that his name is Jehovah.. In Ps 83:18 most Bibles have left the Divine name there in its proper place. We are to call on his name, exalt his name, declare it to the nations & in that wat we will be magnifying his glorious name.
Very appropriate thoughts. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.