I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
O magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together. (Ps. 34:1-3)

As a schoolboy I was fascinated by magnifying glasses. I loved placing intricate objects under my lens to study the details. My father gave me his navy telescope and I used it to survey mountains on the moon. Occasionally I was tempted to focus the sun’s rays on my brother’s hand, until he swatted me, or on a pile of sawdust to start a fire.

One of the Hebrew words for worship suggests the same imagery. Magnify (gadal) means to grow and relates to greatness. Of course, God can’t become any greater than He already is. However, our worship increases His reputation in our own eyes and the eyes of others. Worship is like a magnifying glass; when worship focuses on God it makes the details of His character and works clearer. It draws us closer too, just as a lens in a telescope makes distant objects seem nearer.

God is worthy in so many ways. As worship focuses us on Him. it has the power to light a fire in our hearts, a fire that will burn long and spread to other lives. Pray for fire!

Worship magnifies God.