My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears”. Psalm 34:2-4
The boasting that David is talking about here is his passionate, exuberant acknowledgment and declaration of His rock-solid covenant relationship with God. He doesn’t just merely make the claim because it is true, he shouts it openly, and without shame, and those (the humble) who hear about it are glad. The humble are those who from the heart rejoice in hearing about the goodness of God, whether it is from the King or from a servant. That God is glorified rejoices the humble in heart. Why? Because in humility there is gratitude and recognition that the source of all good and perfect gifts is God, and God alone.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning”. James 1:17
David was the king, and in declaring His absolutely dependence on, and confidence in God, the people were made to feel more safe and secure knowing that their King was under the authority and submission to the will and goodness of God.
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” Proverbs 29:2
David’s boasting was not about selfishness or pride, but about confident leadership and compassionate submission to the power of God. This is the boasting of one motivated by love; love of God and love for his people. So, the invitation is made.
“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.” Psalm 34:3
“Come on!” he’s saying, “Join with me, boast with me!” “Rejoice in the God of our salvation with me!” “Let us together exalt His name!” “Exalt the name of our God of covenant promise, the only true and living God; God who dwells with us and favors us and causes us up to triumph over our enemies! Magnify the Lord our God, who gives us life and provides all that we need!
Praise God Who makes our armies to withstand nations bigger and stronger than ours; the God who in our praises cause our enemies to turn back on themselves and flee before our eyes.” “Let us exalt the name of the Lord, our God.”
“Be glad all of you who are humble, realizing that apart from our God we are nothing, but, with the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob we are more than conquerors!”
“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.”
To magnify the Lord is not to artificially cause Him to appear greater than He is. Rather, it is to expand our capacity to encompass more of who He is realizing that we could never in human form comprehend all of who God is. But when we magnify Him in our understanding, giving Him the honor and the glory due Him, we worship Him and glorify His name.
We measure greatness and power by the extent to which it is limited in its capacity to express or display its greatness and power. Great athletes are not great because of their boasting and bravado. They are great by the measure of what they accomplish in the sport.
God has proven and will forever prove His transcendent greatness. There is no other God before Him and He alone is above all power, majesty, authority, dominion, strength, glory, honor, wisdom and blessing.
We magnify Him when we recognize and acknowledge that transcendent nature that He alone possesses. Our agreement about God in worship and the declaration of His Word, His covenant promises and His demonstrated and proven love for us, is a powerful force in the world.
The people of God, gathered together for worship, to sing together, to pray together, to intercede for one another, to encourage one another, to bless, to edify and extend the kingdom of God through love and the proclamation of the Gospel, bring joy to the Father and make room for the throne of God to be established in the lives of the lost, the lonely, the sick, the weak and the dying. So that, they, by the love of God flowing in and through us, see and hear the Gospel preached and they come to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the center and exclusive focus of our worship.
We are called and equipped to live lives of continual praise to God. To God be the glory!
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad”. Psalm 34:1-2