Book Review: I Exalt You, O God

I Exalt You, O God: Encountering His Greatness in Your Private Worship. By Jerry Bridges. Colorado Springs, Colorado: WaterBrook Press. pp. 194. 2001. ($12.95 Kindle)

One of the benefits of digital books is the ability to bring back into circulation books that are no longer in print. Although you can find older copies of Jerry Bridges’ I Exalt You, O God in used bookstores and online, e-publishing has made it available anywhere in the world on most any computing device.

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Jerry Bridges’ name is not foreign to my bookshelf. I’ve certainly enjoyed some of his books before, such as his best-known book, The Pursuit Holiness, and Trusting God, both of which I highly recommend. I Exalt You, O God is a 31-day devotional, which makes it a little different than his other works.

The book is intended for daily use in private devotions over a month-long period. I used to subscribe to the Our Daily Bread devotional, and I’ve participated in many devotional projects of varying length, so I can say that about thirty days seems standard for these kinds of books. It keeps the devotional manageable while not calling to such a long commitment like the many year-long devotionals I never got around to reading. To make it even more manageable, the book is divided into four sections to direct the reader’s focus to worshipping God for His 1) Greatness, 2) Holiness, 3) Wisdom, and 4) Love.

Bridges typically begins each daily devotional with a Bible passage along with some thoughts about it and the section theme it touches on. I appreciate that Bridges doesn’t simply rely on isolated verses, but gives clear explanation of the surrounding context and gets to the point of the main passage he’s discussing. His thoughts are well-organized and he doesn’t jump around from day to day—he has clear transitions. At the end of each day is a written prayer that incorporates Scripture touching on the day’s topic.

Most devotionals I’ve seen (especially those that emphasize how short they are) are light on Scripture and fairly shallow. Thankfully, Bridges anchors everything he says in Scripture and touches on some weightier topics like God’s sovereign control of all the universe, His wrath and love displayed in the cross, and the multi-faceted meaning of the “fear of God.”

I don’t always read devotionals, but if you need help getting into the Bible and praying on a consistent basis, or if you just need to fan into flame your desire to do so, I Exalt You, O God stands a pretty good chance of helping you do that.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review.