LET

 “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.” (Ps 70:4 AV)

It is those last three words that speak to me this morning.  Sounds simple enough and even a foregone conclusion.  However, we don’t always succeed.  Magnifying God is often reserved for church days.  Or, in the privacy of our cars, homes, or other secluded places.  We do not have an issue with having a come-a-part over the LORD as long as no one sees.  Magnifying God becomes a private thing.  We think that as long as we hold God dear in our hearts, pray often (mostly when we need something), or study, then we are magnifying the LORD to the degree He deserves.  But in reality, David is saying at the conclusion of his life that the whole duty of man is the magnify the LORD before all.  Not just ourselves.  The key word here is ‘let’.  Believe it or not, that one word holds the key to magnifying the LORD.  In all circumstances, letting is the key!

To let means to permit.  This tells us the reason the LORD is not magnified in all things is because we hinder what should come as a result of who God is and what God does.  Our own inhibitions stop us from magnifying the LORD in all things.  We do not magnify the LORD in all things because there are bigger things than the LORD.  There are things on our minds and hearts that compete with the LORD.  We do not retain God in all our thoughts.  We speak of that which is important to us.  We express the emotions that come naturally and easily.  We do not have an aversion to sharing other things.  We allow other things to be magnified.

There is another thought here to consider.  That being the first phrase.  As God’s people we seek joy and pleasure in everything but God alone.  God is a part of our pleasure.  He is one of many sources of joy.  What He is not is our chief joy.  He is not the sole source above all others.  We find our pleasure in relationships.  We find satisfaction in meeting goals or accomplishments. We find pleasure in the flesh.  We find joy in temporal things.  Our satisfaction comes from things of this life.  What we do not have is complete joy and contentment in the person of Jehovah!

Note there are three times David uses the word ‘let’.  Perhaps what David is trying to convey is the key to a life worth living is letting.  Allowing God to be the chiefist of all joys.  Allowing our salvation to be a blessing more than the mind can comprehend.  If these two are there, maybe the third ‘let’ will come more naturally.  A sizeable chunk of the Christian life is getting out of the way of the Holy Spirit’s work.  A large part of discipleship is learning to die.  The pure essence of Christlikeness is death to Self.  Or, as David puts it, ‘letting’.