Magnify

David writes, "O magnify YHWH with me, And let us exalt His name together" (Psa 34:3).

David asks us to do two things -- magnify and exalt God. To "magnify" means to make something appear larger than it appears -- to increase the apparent size of something. If, for instance, you use a microscope to magnify a bacteria, you do so because the bacteria is too small to see with the naked eye. On the other hand, if you use a telescope to enlarge, say, the Sun, it's not because it's too small to see. It's because it's simply far away. We don't make the Sun larger; we simply get a closer look at it. And it is huge - 109 times bigger than our planet. "Exalt" is similar. To "exalt" means to hold up high, to highly regard, or to speak highly of. We also use it to indicate raising to a higher rank or making a more noble character. But we cannot increase God's rank or ennoble His character. No, we're not being asked to make His name better. We're being asked to hold it high because there is none better.

We are not asked to make God better. When we glorify God, we don't make Him more glorious. We are simply asked to see Him as He is and express that to others who don't. Like that look at the Sun through a telescope. (You'll need special filters or you'll be blinded.) See Him for who He is, speak of Him as He is, and give Him the attention and praise He deserves. It's simply our job (1 Cor 10:31).