“Magnify the LORD!” they said,
“Exalt his name together!”
“Which name?” I asked,
to understand this better.
‘He has a great collection
all explaining his perfection!”
And “magnify?” Can I make letters
bigger, clearer, bright and legible?
I stretch out the arms of my soul
holding a magnifying glass,
straining to understand
the many pieces of the whole:
the essence of the Trinity,
gracious love, infinity,
delightful creativity
that’s building a new world
where all will be made right.
Come join me in this song!
Let’s project what we have found!
May it leap into the sky
like fireworks shooting high,
reverberating sound
that cannot be ignored!
This is God, the LORD,
whose name denotes “forever”,
the great I AM, our Yahweh,
beloved and adored!
My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! (Ps. 34:2,3 ESV)
Isn’t it reassuring to know that boasting can actually be a really good thing? It depends on what you are boasting about, personal accomplishments or those of the Most High God, the LORD. It is the humble, those who are not proud, who want to honor him rather than themselves. And those who hear the boasting and are thrilled with it are those who need encouragement: the oppressed, the afflicted, those who cannot help themselves (often translated “humble,” as in ESV). This whole verse contrasts self-focused conceited people with those who are deflecting praise to the one who deserves it, the LORD.
And then we hear that invitation to “magnify the LORD” with the psalmist! The first meaning of the word “magnify,” according to Merriam-Webster, is this: “To magnify means to make something appear larger than it is—such as through a lens—or to make an actual situation seem more important or intense.” Applying that use of the verb to how we talk about God is ridiculous—we cannot make him appear greater than he actually is. In fact, we wrestle with honoring him as we should, running out of words, unable to do it well. Applied to God in this spiritual sense, “magnify” is “archaic” according to the same dictionary: “Archaic: To formally praise, glorify, or extol (e.g., “to magnify the Lord”).”
That is why some newer, less literal translations try to make this more relevant to our times:
Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me; let us exalt His name together. (Ps. 34:3 CSB)
Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt his name together. (Ps. 34:3 NLT)
Thinking this through, when we gladly laud God for what he has done for us, our “boast” is recognition of the person who actually accomplished that rescue or provision—not us, but the LORD himself. Our humble souls are deeply grateful, and so are those who hear the news. It brings joy!
And when we invite others to join us in the praise with the call to “magnify” the LORD, we are proclaiming his greatness, the attributes that he is demonstrating for us in what he has done and is doing. We are expressing our worship of the Almighty, detailing what he has shown us about who he is! In that way, we are clarifying who he is, kind of like the way a magnifying glass helps us to see small print.
That leads us to the next urgent invite or command: “let us exalt his name together!” In other words, we lift up to the attention of others the glory of his name and its extreme importance. One problem is that our translations have covered up which “name” is being underlined as worthy of this exaltation. Whenever they capitalize LORD, the name behind it is Yahweh.
Why do they not use the name that is in the original Hebrew text? For a clear historical explanation, go here: https://bibleproject.com/articles/god-name-many-actually/ . In Hebrew it was YHWH, and in the 3rd or 2nd century the Jews began to cover it up with their word for “Lord”, adonai, out of reverence for its holiness and so as not to slip and irreverently use God’s actual name. The word “God” is not his name, but rather the word for a divinity, THE Divinity for us. In Old Testament times (and around the world today) many “gods” were worshiped. Those who believed in the Most High God used it specifically for him, and he received many other names to describe his character and sovereignty.
The name YHWH, probably pronounced Yahweh[1], is his true name, the one that he shared with Moses at the burning bush:
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” (Exod. 3:14 ESV)
This name refers to his eternal being: HE WAS, HE IS, HE WILL BE. Always! The Alpha and Omega!
Praising and honoring him do not make God greater, but these practices are part of true worship that spreads the good news about who Yahweh is. And the commands to “magnify” or “proclaim” his character and identity should incite us to truly do so with all that is in us! This can definitely lead others to understand more clearly God’s character.
[1] If you would like to know why “Jehovah” is not the recommended reading of the name, see https://www.logos.com/grow/nerd-jehovah-in-bible/ .
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