Extol

Friday, February 3, 2023

“I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me” (Psalm 30:1 KJV).

Our King James Bible features “extol” six times, and today’s Scripture is the first occurrence. Can you deduce what the term means?

“I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me” (Psalm 30:1). “I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue” (Psalm 66:17). These psalms both look to Jesus Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, yet future from us. “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him” (Psalm 68:4). This is Christ’s glorious Second Coming, yet future from us. “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever” (Psalm 145:1). Here again is Christ’s Millennial Kingdom.

“Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high” (Isaiah 52:13). In the context (reaching to the end of chapter 53), we find Christ’s two comings, with this verse being Father God seeing “the sufferings of Christ” (First Coming) and “the glory that should follow” (Second Coming and Millennial Kingdom). See 1 Peter 1:10,11. “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase” (Daniel 4:37). These words anticipate Jesus Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, when the Gentiles or nations are converted to the one true God (see Isaiah 60:1-3, Zechariah 8:20-23, and Matthew 28:18-20).

Our English term “extol” is derived from Latin, with the prefix “ex–” defined as “out of” or “from” and “tollere” as in “to lift, raise up.” The underlying Hebrew words (“nasa,” “salal,” “rum,” and “romam”) convey just that sense—“carry,” “bear,” “lift,” “raise,” “exalt.” Therefore, to “extol” the LORD means to “lift Him out.” In other words, we are to magnify or elevate Him above anything and everyone else, lifting Him to the uppermost, most prominent, or supreme position. “He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.”