Let the LORD be magnified. A meditation on Psalm 40:16

The LORD Be Magnified! [ יִגְדַּל יְהוָה ]
Meditation on Psalm 40:16
Geoffrey R. Kirkland
Christ Fellowship Bible Church

The Scripture declares that all who seek the Lord should rejoice in Him and say continually: “The Lord be magnified” (יִגְדַּל יְהוָה; yigdal Yahweh) This brief meditation strives to provide a number of specific reasons why believers must remember this chorus continually.

Because You Rejoice in God.
The text declares that those who ‘rejoice and are glad’ in the Lord should be those who acclaim the magnification of God. Believers should rejoice in God because he inclines and hears our cries (Ps 40:1), he rescues us (v.2), and puts a new song in our mouths (v.3). The Lord deserves the highest praise and worship because the wonders He has done are innumerable (v.5). Thus, those who have been delivered by God, who have a new song in their mouth because of the newly revealed grace fully unveiled in the Lord’s salvation should rejoice heartily in God and proclaim His magnificence.

Because You Seek the Lord.
The Lord deserves to be hailed as the magnificent sovereign because His people seek Him. Psalm 40 tells the Godly who seek the Lord to rejoice and be glad in God. Those who seek the Lord and desire to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ should proclaim His preeminence and glory!

Because You Receive His Blessings.
The thoughts that God has toward His people are many (Ps 40:5). Indeed, his thoughts toward His people cannot be counted (v.5). None can compare with this all-wise and all-knowing God! The wonders, the blessings, and the thoughts toward His own saints provide endless reasons for God’s people to praise Him! The blessings of God beckon believers to bow & utter that the Lord must be magnified!

Because You Benefit from Grace.
Those who love God’s salvation should always have on their tongues that the Lord is to be magnified. All boasting in self must cease & all boasting in the cross of Jesus Christ must abound! The believer who benefits from God’s grace revealed in the cross of Christ should proclaim the Lord’s magnificence daily. This proclamation should come to his own soul in reminding him of his lostness and of the Lord’s unspeakable love that provided salvation. This proclamation should also include telling others of the manifold benefits of God’s grace that are found in salvation. The one who loves God’s salvation, who has experienced God’s mercies, and who has been wooed by the supremely tender cords of divine love is one who must herald the Lord’s magnificence!

Because You Wait with Hope.
The psalmist says that he waited patiently for the Lord. Literally, waiting, he waited for the Lord. To wait on God requires the hard discipline of quieting oneself and stilling oneself before God with active, aggressive, persistent — and undistracted — praying. To wait on God is to pray to God and expect God to bring an answer to the petition. To wait on God is to actively hope and confidently trust in His sovereignty and His goodness. To wait on God is never to live lazily, act indifferently. Rather, it is to confidently pray while waiting for God to answer. This person who waits on God, praying to God, confident in God, trusting in God is one who can honestly say that the Lord is to be magnified in and through all things. To wait is to trust. To wait is to affirm the Lord’s magnificence.

Because You Hail His Incomparability.
Every person worships. There is, however, only one God who exists. Only one God is worthy of worship. Only one God is real, living, active, wise, good, and sovereign. The psalmist proclaims the priority that God cannot be compared with anyone or anything else (Ps 40:5). He far surpasses all other gods. None can compare with God. To whom would someone liken to God or what likeness can be compared to Him (Isa 40:18). God alone must be elevated as the magnificent one, the great one, the highest one, the supreme one, and the praise of His sovereignty should drip from the lips of His children continually. O let all God’s children join the heavenly chorus and continually say, the Lord be magnified!

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