I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your heart shall live.
--Psalm 69:30,32 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on April 6, 2013 of Psalm 69:30-36; Romans 6:1-14; Deuteronomy 15:12-17.
So often David's psalms sing praises to God, so often does he give thanks to God in song. In this case though, he admits to being "afflicted and in pain" (please see verse 29). Up to this point in the sixty-ninth Psalm, David has mainly bemoaned his current state, despairing in his persecution, asking God for help in his troubled times. Some of his woes are self-inflicted but many are unjustified. And since David serves as an imperfect model for the perfect Christ, we can foresee from David's psalm that our Lord Jesus would experience unjustified persecutions in the harshest and cruelest ways and to the ultimate degree.
Yet now David turns from thinking only of himself and his prayer for rescue from his woes and praises God for all He has and will do, thanking Him for the deliverance David knows will come. But David doesn't want to only just sing God's praises, he wants to magnify God, to make Him even larger than He already is. This phrase in verse thirty brings to mind the Song of Mary, also known as the Magnificat, the prayer that Mary lifted while visiting her cousin Elizabeth and Elizabeth recognized that Mary carried the promised Messiah: "My soul magnifies the Lord." (Please see Luke 1:46-55.) Mary magnifies the Lord with her soul, and David with his thanksgiving.
So why this need to magnify God? Don't all the awesome works He accomplished for the children of Israel make Him great enough? Sure. God is the Lord of all creation and you can't get any greater than that. But David wants to make it more personal, and so did Mary. They both want to set themselves up as an example that no matter their current station in life, no matter the situation they may find themselves in, they can still sing praises to the Lord and glorify Him. David is on the run for his life; Mary is pregnant while betrothed but not married (and certain to be shunned by her community). Both are in dire straits, yet they glorify God and sing praises and thanksgivings to Him.
Again we ask, for what purpose? Why did David feel it so necessary to magnify and glorify God that he would expose his own weaknesses and failings for all to see? For that very reason: because all would see it. The humble, those who seek after God, will see David's example and will be encouraged by it. They will be revived and refreshed knowing they also can endure, just as David did, by God's almighty hand. Be glad, take heart, and feel alive again. Amen.
O mighty God, thank You for Your promise of deliverance from the woes of this world. Even though You are the Creator of all things, may we magnify You in our praises, our thanksgiving, and our very lives. May others see You in us and may how we live our life glorify You and increase You in the hearts of those we come in contact with and witness to. In the glorious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Yet now David turns from thinking only of himself and his prayer for rescue from his woes and praises God for all He has and will do, thanking Him for the deliverance David knows will come. But David doesn't want to only just sing God's praises, he wants to magnify God, to make Him even larger than He already is. This phrase in verse thirty brings to mind the Song of Mary, also known as the Magnificat, the prayer that Mary lifted while visiting her cousin Elizabeth and Elizabeth recognized that Mary carried the promised Messiah: "My soul magnifies the Lord." (Please see Luke 1:46-55.) Mary magnifies the Lord with her soul, and David with his thanksgiving.
So why this need to magnify God? Don't all the awesome works He accomplished for the children of Israel make Him great enough? Sure. God is the Lord of all creation and you can't get any greater than that. But David wants to make it more personal, and so did Mary. They both want to set themselves up as an example that no matter their current station in life, no matter the situation they may find themselves in, they can still sing praises to the Lord and glorify Him. David is on the run for his life; Mary is pregnant while betrothed but not married (and certain to be shunned by her community). Both are in dire straits, yet they glorify God and sing praises and thanksgivings to Him.
Again we ask, for what purpose? Why did David feel it so necessary to magnify and glorify God that he would expose his own weaknesses and failings for all to see? For that very reason: because all would see it. The humble, those who seek after God, will see David's example and will be encouraged by it. They will be revived and refreshed knowing they also can endure, just as David did, by God's almighty hand. Be glad, take heart, and feel alive again. Amen.
O mighty God, thank You for Your promise of deliverance from the woes of this world. Even though You are the Creator of all things, may we magnify You in our praises, our thanksgiving, and our very lives. May others see You in us and may how we live our life glorify You and increase You in the hearts of those we come in contact with and witness to. In the glorious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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