Psalm 34- Magnify the Lord

 Psalm 34- Magnify the Lord

Psalms 34:3 (NKJV) 

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

Psalm 35:27 (NKJV)

27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

Psalm 40:16 (NKJV)

16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!”

Psalm 69:30 (NKJV)

30 I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Luke 1:46 (NKJV)

46And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,

Acts 19:17 (NKJV)

17This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

So what does it mean to magnify the Lord? Having a background in physics, I tend to think literally. The Lord created all the universe, so He is pretty large already, so how do you make Him bigger? Let’s start with the definition of the Hebrew word used here in the Psalms.

Strong's Definitions: גָּדַל gâdal, gaw-dal'; a primitive root; properly, to twist (compare H1434), i.e. to be (causatively make) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride):—advance, boast, bring up, exceed, excellent, be(-come, do, give, make, wax), great(-er, come to... estate, things), grow(up), increase, lift up, magnify(-ifical), be much set by, nourish (up), pass, promote, proudly (spoken), tower.

A few things stand out to me in this definition. To boast, to lift up, to promote. This gives us a sense that magnify in this context means too promote or make his name and reputation known to a larger population. This is certainly what Mary was doing in her famous prayer that is sometimes called the Magnificat.

Luke 1:46-55 (NKJV) 

46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy [is] His name. 50 And His mercy [is] on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered [the] proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from [their] thrones, And exalted [the] lowly. 53 He has filled [the] hungry with good

things, And [the] rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of [His] mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

She is telling us all the great and marvelous things that the Lord has done for her. She is rejoicing, magnifying the Lord and exalting His name. Shouldn’t we do the same? 

This was the same thing happening in the book of Acts.  In this story the misfortune of the sons of Sceva actually served to magnify the name of the Lord!

Acts 19:14-18 (NKJV) 

14Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.

Everyone likes a good story and these seven men certainly provided an entertaining bit of news that people loved to talk about. It is a bit humorous but was rather unfortunate for them, but the net effect of the spectacle was to magnify the name of the Lord and to spread the word of the gospel far and wide.

Another modern word that comes to mind is amplify. I work a lot with music and sound and amplification is very important. One voice or guitar can play a beautiful song, but without amplification few will hear it. With proper amplification a very large crowd can hear and appreciate the music. This is magnifying the sound. That is what we do when we magnify the Lord. We proclaim His goodness and loving kindness to as many people as will listen.

Today, can you find something good that the Lord has done and tell someone about it?

Psalms 34:3 (NKJV) 

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.