December 23, 2024

I Exalt Thee

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all gods
For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted high above all gods

I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord
I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord

please take the time to enter into a time of worship with your God!

 *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Does it not thrill your heart to sing this simple song…glorifying and exalting the Lord God?!!?  I just love that the LORD, our God IS exalted…and that is one reason why we exalt Him.  He IS exalted—high above the cherubim, high above the peoples, high above the earth—we simply voice our confession and belief of this Truth!

The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble [with reverential fear]! He sits [enthroned] above the cherubim, let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples.
Let them confess and praise Your great name, awesome and reverence inspiring! It is holy, and holy is He!
The strength of the king who loves righteousness and equity You establish in uprightness; You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob (Israel).
Extol (exalt) the Lord our God and worship at His footstool! Holy is He!
Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel was among those who called upon His name; they called upon the Lord, and He answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept His testimonies and the statutes that He gave them.
You answered them, O Lord our God; You were a forgiving God to them, although avenging their evildoing and wicked practices.
Extol (exalt) the Lord our God and worship at His holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy!

Psalm 99

ex·alt

: to raise (someone or something) to a higher level

: to praise (someone or something) highly

: to present (something) in a way that is very favorable

 

And here are some synonyms for the word exalt; perhaps these are part of your vocabulary?

praise, acclaim, applaud, pay tribute to, bless, worship, magnify (archaic), glorify, reverence, laud, extol, pay homage to, idolize, apotheosize, set on a pedestal

This—praising, extolling, blessing, worshipping, magnifying—is exactly what Moses led the Israelites to do when they stood on the far shore of the Red Sea.  I can only imagine that their feet were still sandy and mucky from that trek across the ocean floor!  Their hearts must have been utterly amazed and their mouths filled with praises for God’s miraculous saving of their lives from what should have been utter demise at the hands of their captors.  Listen to Moses’ words…

The Lord is my Strength and my Song, and He has become my Salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
Exodus 15:1

Even more than using our words and praises to exalt Almighty God, our actions prove what our hearts and minds hold. What does it look like to ‘exalt’ God in our daily lives? Here are a few I thought of:

  • to exalt God is to put Him above all else in your life
  • to exalt God is to surrender yourself to Him
  • to exalt God is to recognize that He is over all, above all
  • to exalt God is to praise His mighty works

What are some other ways you can add to this list? (I would love it if you would  leave your answers in the comments section below!)

O Lord, You are my God;
I will exalt You, I will praise Your name,
for You have done wonderful things,
even purposes planned of old [and fulfilled] in faithfulness and truth.
Isaiah 25:1 (and the rest of the chapter, too!)

And we know that for all eternity we will have the privilege and the blessing to exalt and praise our great God along with the saints and the angels, all the living creatures and the elders…all those gathered around His throne…forever and ever!

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
Revelation 5:11-13

For now, we can rehearse our eternal ambition and bow our hearts, our bodies, our whole selves before the throne of God singing loudly or quietly within ourselves but always acknowledging Him and exalting Him Who is worthy to be praised!

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34:3