Word of the Day: Magnify

Word of the Day: Magnify

            In the Collect for Purity, said at the beginning of Anglican eucharistic services, the last line bids us to “worthily magnify your holy Name.” Pondering this exhortation, it seems almost impossible for any of us as a human being not only to magnify the name of the Lord God Almighty but to do but to do it in any fashion that would be considered “worthy” in God’s sight. This is a tall order.

            The definition of magnify is to “make something appear larger than it is.” Its synonyms include: enlarge; boast; enhance; maximize; increase; amplify. If we use this explanation it can hamper our concept of God. How can anything we do make God appear larger than he really is? This would assume that he is small and in need of help and enhancement. In addition, we would have to believe that we can personally be able to increase any attribute or characteristics of God by our own efforts and abilities. There is total folly in this endeavor. God is just too big – way too big – to be put under the lens of a microscope of our limited finite minds. Our grasp and comprehension of God is so lacking that it would prove the height of arrogance to even attempt it.

            So, the question remains: how can we, sinful limited temporal human beings “worthily magnify” God’s holy name? In Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass,” Humpty Dumpty tells Alice that a word “means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” Delving deeper into the meaning of magnify is another synonym “intensify.” This is more in tune with what Archbishop Thomas Cranmer had in mind when he translated this prayer from Latin to be used in his Anglican prayer book. Intensification still seems to do an injustice to what we are called to do and to God himself. It does not point to the exalted value of the One who created the universe with a single word, the One who made the stars brighter and more intense than the sun that warms our planet.

            More research reveals another archaic definition of magnify. It means to “extol; glorify.” To extol is to praise enthusiastically and this is closer to what I am capable of doing. I can praise enthusiastically God’s holy name knowing him to be the source of light and life, forgiveness, grace, mercy and, most especially, love. I can extol his virtues with the assurance that his ways are much higher, much purer, more dignified than anything I can produce. Allowing God to occupy that elevated sphere where I cannot even touch him because he is so holy, so righteous, so just, so worthy of praise is good and proper. I have to acknowledge how great he is and how in need of a Savior I am.

            King David wrote in Psalm 69 that “I will praise God’s name in song and will magnify him with thanksgiving.” (30 – AMP) I know I could never enhance God’s reputation or standing. He does not need my help. He doesn’t need me to be his PR guy trying to augment his status and stature. He possesses the highest place naturally just by being who he is. But, I can praise him enthusiastically calling attention to all those around me of who God is and what he has done and continues to do. God would rather have the praises of his people instead of sacrifices on an altar. He would much prefer that we extol and glorify him rather than wallowing in the muck of our lives. He enjoys us boasting of what he has done in and for us. 

            I have a greater appreciation and better understanding of how to “worthily magnify your holy Name.” Like that old Alka-Seltzer ad said, “Try it. you’ll like it!” It is going to take a lifetime to perfect, but the endeavor will certainly be worth it.