I have magnified my word

Combining Young’s Literal Translation with his Analytical Concordance seems to give clarity. It is true that various translations have given different renditions of the Hebrew, so that the only way to sort this out is to be as literal as possible. Robert Young is. Here is the verse in his translation:

«I bow myself toward thy holy temple. And I confess Thy name, for Thy
kindness, and for Thy truth, for Thou hast made great Thy saying above
all Thy name.» (YLT)

The key words seem to be God’s ‘saying’ and God’s ‘name’. In what sense do those words relate? That should give the meaning for this verse. For ‘name’ Young identifies the Hebrew word ‘shem’ (which means ‘renown’), quoting the A.V. phrase, «…magnified thy word above all thy name». For ‘saying’ Young identifies the Hebrew word ’emrah’ (which means ‘a saying’, ‘speech’), quoting the A.V. phrase, ‘…thou hast magnified thy word above all…’

Putting that together, the verse seems to show that God has magnified his word above all his name, and the way David understands that comes out when David says that he confesses God’s name, for what God says is above his name. Therefore, when David confesses God’s name, he is magnifying God’s word (or, sayings).

The two are utterly linked to the point of being united, and inseparable, for what God is, so is his name and his word. His name is his renown, and in this Psalm David is exhorting the nations to confess God’s name in worship. Further, he shows that it’s declaring God’s renown that brings the nations to that point of confessing his name:

«O Jehovah, all kings of earth confess Thee, when they have heard the
sayings of Thy mouth.» (YLT)

Therefore, when God’s people spread abroad the sayings of God’s mouth, they are magnifying God’s renown, which is his name, to the extent that the nations will come to acknowledge that Jehovah is the only God to bow in worshipful confession of: as David already does, because he is living out the high honour of the Almighty (vss. 5 & 6). It is necessary to magnify the sayings (the renown) of God before others will appreciate the magnificence of God’s name.

This morning I was reading Psalm 138 and came across an intriguing statement: «You have magnified Your word above all Your name.» If you think through the implications of this statement, then you can see why it’s so intriguing. God’s name speaks of His great power and majesty, His perfect character and utter holiness. His is the name which is above every name (Phil. 2:9). Since God’s name represents His person, how can anything – including God’s word – be magnified above His name?

To answer this question, we must go to the context in which this statement occurs. Psalm 138 is written by David, after having been delivered from a difficult or perilous situation. Here are the first three verses of the psalm in their entirety:

I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
In the day when I cried out,
You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

So the context has to do with God’s faithfulness to His servant. Other gods (notice the small ‘g’) are everywhere, but David worships the one true God — the God who has been true to His word. God did not only do what He said He would do, but a whole lot more. Through the abundant fulfillment of His promise to David, God showed Himself to be more than what David had already thought Him to be.

Along these same lines, it may also be said that this demonstration of God’s faithfulness surpassed all previous revelation concerning Himself. This would be very consistent with David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 7, which he gave after receiving the Davidic promise. In verses 21-22, David prayed, «For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.» God, through His faithfulness, showed Himself to be even greater than that which had been previously revealed to His people. In this way, He magnified His word above all His name.

There’s a third and final sense in which this statement might be interpreted, and this is in reference to Christ Himself. What if this statement, like so many others in the Psalms, is Messianic in nature? That is to say, perhaps it has an immediate reference and application to David’s present circumstances as well as an ultimate reference and application to the Lord Jesus Christ. If «Your Word» in Psalm 138:2 refers to the Incarnate Word, then it means that God has magnified His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, above every other manifestation of Himself. Consider the following Scriptures:

John 1:14, 18 — «And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.»

Colossians 1:15 — «He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.»

Hebrews 1:1-4 — «»God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. . . who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.»

The name of Jesus Christ is indeed the name «that is above every name» (Phil. 2:9). Now this is pretty exciting stuff, but it gets better! Second Corinthians 3:18 says, «But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.» The mirror is the Word of God. As we go to the Bible, we see Jesus revealed in all His splendor. We don’t see Jesus simply in the light of His moral beauty – and certainly not His manly beauty (Isa. 53:2) – but in His present glory, exalted at the Father’s right hand (Phil. 2:9-11; Col. 1:15-18; 1 Tim. 6:15-16; Heb. 1:1-13; Rev. 1).

If all this were not astounding enough, there is yet another glorious reality expressed in 2 Corinthians 3:18. Did you catch it? Paul says that as we behold the glory of Christ in Scripture, we «are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.» Herein lies the secret to Christian holiness: Preoccupation with Christ as revealed in Scripture. The more we truly come to know Him, the more we become truly like Him.

Granted, this transformation is not automatic or immediate, but gradual. As we let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16), our lives increasingly reflect His glory. What a great incentive to study God’s Word! May we give ourselves to this worthy endeavor, knowing that God has exalted His Word above all His name!

Словосочетания

a magnified view of the image — увеличенное изображение картинки  
magnified copy — увеличенная копия  
magnified hologram — увеличенная голограмма  
magnified view — увеличенное изображение  
oscillograph magnified sweep — развёртка осциллографа с изменением масштаба усилением  
magnified image — увеличенное изображение  
magnified response — чрезмерная реакция; гиперреакция  
magnified sweep — развёртка с изменением масштаба усилением  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Возможные однокоренные слова

magnifier  — лупа, увеличительное стекло, усилитель

The Verse of the Day for July 8, 2018 comes from Psalm 138:2 in the Amplified Bible Classic Edition:

I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!

Without question God is great and greatly to be praised. Throughout the Psalms and elsewhere in the Scriptures, we find references to the name of the Lord who is great and greatly to be praised:

Psalm 148:13 proclaims:

Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

Proverbs 18:10  declares:

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

The lyrics to this scripture memory song reiterate this message:

Praise Ye the Lord

(Psalm 113:1-3)

Praise ye the LORD.

Praise, O ye servants of the LORD,

Praise the name of the LORD.

Repeat

Blessed be the name of the LORD

From this time forth and for evermore.

Blessed be the name of the LORD

From this time forth and for evermore.

Repeat

From the rising of the sun

Unto the going down of the same

The Lord’s name is to be praised.

From the rising of the sun

Unto the going down of the same

The Lord’s name is to be praised.

So we see that the name of the Lord great, for the Bible states that He has “a great name.” Just as our individual names reveal our identity, so the name of the Lord reveals who He is:

1 Chronicles 29:11 reminds us of just how great God is:

Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

The Psalmist also recognizes the magnitude of the name of the Lord:

Psalm 113:2-3 (AMP):

Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forever.

From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence].

Psalm 148: 12-13 (KJV) reinforces the same message:

¹² Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:

¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven

Although there is no greater power in the universe than God almighty, the latter part of Psalm 138:2 reminds us that God has magnified His Word above all His name. Once we recognize to a greater degree the magnitude of the Word of God which is expanded far beyond the greatness of God and all that He is, our hearts should overflow with gratitude for the privilege of not only reading the Word of God, but have the privilege of teaching it. He has committed unto us “the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5: 19). What an indescribable honor to have access to the heart of God, for out of the abundance of His heart His mouth speaks, as we recognize and reverence

God’s Unfailing Power

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper

than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division

of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow,

and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 [NKJV]

No word of God spoken shall be devoid of power

But shall prosper in the thing to which it is sent,

Beyond all past limits, to its farthest extent

And thus abound in fruit as seed of the sower,

Returning four-fold measure to the one who lent.

It is impossible not to fulfill God’s will,

Once spoken and thus declared that the Lord might show

The wonders of His amazing ways and instill

In us His unfailing power that we might know

That in the beginning God spoke, and it was so.

Sharper than a two-edged sword, cutting as a knife,

The word is quick to energize and encompass

The past, present and future, merging to bring forth life.

While yet in our mouths, it has come already come to pass.

We close with a musical rendering of Psalm 138, a Christian Worship and Scripture Song by Esther Mui:

Tags: Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 138:2

This entry was posted on July 8, 2018 at 8:04 am and is filed under Application of Biblical Principles, Bible, Verse of the Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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