GLORIFYING GOD, MAGNIFY GOD

The whole duty of the Christians can be summed up as follows: we have to feel, think, and act in a way that will make God look as great as he really is. Be a telescope for the world of the infinite starry wealth of the glory of God. There is nothing and nobody superior to God. And so the calling of those who love God is to make his greatness begin to look as great as it really is.

This is what it means for a Christian to magnify God. But you can’t magnify what you haven’t seen or what you quickly forget. Therefore, our first task is to see and to remember the greatness and goodness of God. So we pray to God to, “Open the eyes of our hearts,” and we preach to our souls to not forget all his benefits.

To “glorify” God means to give glory to Him. The word glory as related to God in the Old Testament bears with it the idea of greatness of splendour. In the New Testament, the word translated “glory” means “dignity, honour, praise and worship.” Putting the two together, we find that glorifying God means to acknowledge His greatness and give Him honour by praising and worshiping Him, primarily because He, and He alone, deserves to be praised, honoured and worshipped. God’s glory is the essence of His nature, and we give glory to Him by recognizing that essence.

The offering we bring to God as we come before Him in the splendour or beauty of His holiness involves agreement, obedience, submission, and rehearsing His attributes or extolling Him. Glorifying God begins with agreeing with everything He says, especially about Himself. In Isaiah 42:5, God declares, “I am the Lord God. I created the heavens like an open tent above. I made the earth and everything that grows on it. I am the source of life for all who live on this earth, so listen to what I say.” Because of who He is, holy and perfect and true, His proclamations and statutes are holy and perfect and true (Psalm 19:7), and we glorify Him by listening to and agreeing with them. God’s Word, the Bible, is His Word to us, all that we need for life in Him. Listening to and agreeing with Him, though, will not glorify Him unless we also submit to Him and obey the commands contained in His Word. “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts” (Psalm 103:17-18). Jesus reiterated the idea that glorifying and loving God are one and the same in John 14:15: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

Psalm 117:1-2; “Praise the LORD, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!”