What Does It Mean to Magnify God?

8 
Psalm 34:8-14

 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

 "David thought praising God was to magnify Him – that is, to make Him larger in one’s perception. Magnification does not actually make an object bigger, and we can’t make God bigger. But to magnify something or someone is to perceive it as bigger, and we must do that regarding the Lord God." (Guzik)

 This is another Psalm of David, when he is hiding out in the cave of Adullum with a rag tag bunch of those fleeing from King Saul.  It was at these low points that David humbled himself and led people to praise God. David was able to "taste and see that the Lord is good".  Of course this was not to taste in a literal sense, but to experience God's spiritual presence as if were physical. 

 Then, David three times tells his fellow brothers to, "Fear the Lord".  Why do you think he means?  For David to "fear the Lord" was the same as to "trust the Lord".

 He describes it like this, 'Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it."

 It meant both with words and actions. By avoiding evil they could pursue good. David had confidence in these desperate times, because he knew that he was living a life worthy of his calling. 

 Where can a difficult time in your life result in a magnification of who God is in comparison?  As we humble ourselves he can increase as we decrease!






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