Sunday May 12, 2019
When Is a Name Not Just a Name? When It’s HIS Name!
If I were to write a song, I think I would like it to be a psalm…one like Psalm 139. In it the psalmist declares the amazing attributes of God in the first three stanzas: His omniscience (v.1-6); His omnipresence (v.7-12); and His omnipotence (v.13-15). In the final stanza, he then sees himself in light of Who God is and his awareness of sin…including the taking of the Lord’s name in vain
We are surrounded by the name of the Lord. We hear it on TV. We hear it at the movies. It is thrown around in super markets, and schools, and offices. We read it in books and newspapers. It is plastered all over the internet. And we hear it spoken in church and speak it when we pray. The name is everywhere. It should be…just not in the wrong way.
We recollect from our earliest Sunday School memory that God admonishes us in the Ten Commandments not to “take the Lord’s name in vain.” But do we remember the rest of that verse? “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” Yikes!
What does it actually mean to speak His name vainly? The Hebrew word used in Exodus 20 is shav which means, “useless, destructive, and wasteless.” It denotes a sense of desolating and destroying His hallowed name. Psalm 139calls the one who does this an enemy of God! Why? The name of the Lord and His character are inseparable. When we irreverently speak His name, we irreverently impugn His holy character.
What does the Bible say about how we are to use His name? Oh, how beautiful His name! We are to:
Magnify His name. Magnify means to “make large, to advance, to increase, and to promote.”
So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Your servant David be established before You. (2 Sam.7:26)
Revere or Fear the name (Neh.1:11) Revere means to have reverence. (See WORD WISDOM for a deeper study of reverence)
O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”For I was the king’s cupbearer. (Neh.1:11)
Love His name. Love means to “have an affection for.”
But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. (Ps.5:11)
Glorify His name. Glorify means to “make weighty, to honor, to make rich.”
All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. (Ps.86:9)
Bless His name. Bless means to kneel, salute, act in adoration.”
I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. (Ps.145:1)
Praise His name. Praise means to, “make clear, to shine, to make a show.”
Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. (Ps.145:2)
Hallow His name (Matt. 6:9) Hallow means to “make holy, to consecrate, to set it apart.”
In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (Matt.6:9)
When you really know someone, you call them by their name. In the ancient Hebrew culture, a name meant so much more than just what you called somebody; it reflected a person’s character. Satan means “opposer” or “adversary”; Devil means “accuser” or “slanderer.” This tells us a lot about Satan’s role as he opposes God and man and seeks to accuse both.
The name of God gives believers tremendous comfort because it reveals aspects of His nature and character. The person who understands how to use God’s name will have a tremendous source of strength and protection while enduring the trials of life.
So if speaking His name in vain makes us an enemy of God, then speaking His name with reverence and awe must make us a friend of God. Which would you rather be?