When saying God is exalted, we mean He is high above all else, placed at the highest or most powerful level; held in highest regard and standing. God is lofty, eminent, superior, and distinguished. God is to be honored, revered, and esteemed.
Understand this though, that God is exalted whether we exalt Him or not. He is the exalted supreme being over all at all times. He doesn’t need anyone to exalt Him to a position that He already holds or to a place He already is. He is never low that He becomes exalted due to our exaltation of Him. Nothing is above Him and nothing is beyond Him. He can never be brought down nor can He be promoted from an outside source. He cannot actually be raised or lifted higher in the truest sense because He alone holds that solitary and solid highest position now and forever.
We can only raise Him high and lift Him up in the position He holds in our hearts. If anyone is worthy, God is worthy to be exalted. We are the ones who should exalt Him for who He is, who He’s always been and always will be. We should exalt Him in our thoughts, words, and actions. We should praise Him and worship Him for His esteemed position as Creator of the universe and sovereign Lord over all the earth. We should elevate Him in our hearts and increase our estimation of Him. Nothing we think or do, affects that He is the High and Exalted One. That position that He alone holds is stationary. It is we who are either elevated towards Him or descend away from Him. It is we who decide whether we will give Him the highest position in our hearts or not.
If no one on the earth were to exalt God, it could not affect God in any way. Who He is, is not affected by those He created. Tozer says, “He is what He is in Himself without regard to any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfections; to doubt Him takes nothing away.” God desires our praise and deserves our praise; but our worship or lack of worship doesn’t make Him more or less exalted.
One special thing that God created to exalt Him was music. I am particularly drawn to harmony like in a choir and love to hear voices singing together to create a united song of worship. God created different genres of music that appeal to different cultures and generations to praise Him. Sometimes we might have trouble or don’t know how to worship God. Music helps. A song can take you to a place of exaltation and praise. Corporate worship can elevate the worship experience. It is a prelude to heavenly worship. It is a way to pour out our hearts to God. Singing about praise, thankfulness, confession, petition and love. [Ex 15:1] “I will sing to the Lord for He is highly exalted.” Worship not only helps you focus on God but when God created music, He knew that worship benefits us as well.
Jesus as the second member of the Trinity is exalted too. [Heb 7:26] “A high priest, (who) meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” Because Jesus was sinless in all His ways, He is exalted. No other priest on earth can claim to have lived a blameless life. Only His pure shed blood could wash away the sins of the entire world. He was the final Lamb sacrifice. After His death and resurrection, He sat down next to the Father indicating that the work was done. No other sacrifices were needed. Jesus is given by God the exalted position of King of kings and Lord of lords. No other man or philosophy of man is to be exalted over Jesus Christ.
Acknowledge the exalted position that God holds and compare it to our humble position before Him. Although God allows us to be so familiar with Him to call Him Daddy, we also are to be reverent before an all-consuming, all-powerful, exalted God. It is so important to contemplate and worship God in His entirety of being. Let us not dwell on a few attributes of God which limits our thinking of who He is; but understand Him in all His divine attributes.
