Posts Tagged ‘Name of God’

O God, save me by your name

Posted: March 7, 2012 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, March, Psalms
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O God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
O God, hear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth. —Psalm 54:1-2

C. H. Spurgeon, in The Treasury of David:

By thy name, by thy great and glorious nature. Employ all thine attributes for me. Let every one of the perfections which are blended in thy divine name work for me. Is not thine honour pledged for my defence? And judge me by thy strength. Render justice to me, for none else will or can.

Need a glimpse into the nature of God?

Posted: February 12, 2012 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Exodus, February
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John Piper, in a sermon on Exodus 33, “I WIll Be Gracious to Whom I Will Be Gracious”

Now the question rises why in 33:18 Moses prayed to see God’s glory? “I pray thee, show me thy glory.” I think the reason was this: Moses knew that his request for God’s presence with a stiff-necked people would never succeed if it were based on any qualification in himself or in the people. (In 34:9 he included himself in the sin and iniquity of the people.) So for Moses to have assurance that God would actually be this gracious to Israel, he needed to see some basis in God and not in himself or the people. He needed a glimpse into the nature of God.

He knew God was an all-glorious God. But was this glory of such a nature that it would encourage Moses to believe that God would really be gracious to a stiff-necked people? So Moses says, Show me your glory. Let me have a glimpse into your divine nature. Let me see the meaning of your great name. Show me the foundation of this amazing promise. Give me some assurance that you will indeed grant your saving presence to this stiff-necked people!

To this God responds in verse 19, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name YAHWEH; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” In other words, when Moses asks to behold God’s glory, God reveals as of first importance his name, which he explains with the words, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.”

So in its Old Testament context the declaration of God’s absolute freedom to be gracious to whomever he pleases is intended to give Moses hope and assurance that God indeed can and will be gracious to the stiff-necked people of Israel and go with them to the promised land.

Theology and Everyday Life

The Bible never gives us glimpses of God’s nature merely for intellectual discussion. It opens the name and glory of God to our understanding in order to help us revere God and love him and trust him and obey him. So when God stands before Moses and uncovers his innermost soul—the glory of his absolute divine freedom—he is doing it for a very practical purpose, namely, to give Moses encouragement to get on with his mission of leading a stiff-necked people on to the promised land.

The deepest doctrines of God have to do with everyday life. Theology is the most relevant and practical of all the human disciplines. If that isn’t our experience, it’s either because our theology is untrue, or because we go about it in a spirit of irreverence and make a game of it. The doctrines of God revealed in the Bible are of immense personal, practical, and eternal importance. O how we need to study the name and glory of God.

What’s in a Name?

Posted: May 20, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, May, Psalms
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Charles H Spurgeon on Psalm 113:1-2

Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!

Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!

By mentioning the name, the Psalmist would teach us to bless each of the attributes of the Most High, which are as it were the letters of his name; not quarrelling with his justice or his severity, nor servilely dreading his power, but accepting him as we find him revealed in the inspired word and by his own acts, and loving him and praising him as such. We must not give the Lord a new name nor invent a new nature, for that would be the setting up of a false god.

Spurgeon: Let every one of the perfections which are blended in thy divine name work for me.

Posted: March 7, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, March, Psalms
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O God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
O God, hear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth. —Psalm 54:1-2

C. H. Spurgeon, in The Treasury of David:

By thy name, by thy great and glorious nature. Employ all thine attributes for me. Let every one of the perfections which are blended in thy divine name work for me. Is not thine honour pledged for my defence? And judge me by thy strength. Render justice to me, for none else will or can.

Spurgeon: The name of our God

Posted: January 21, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries
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Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Psalm 20:7

C. H. Spurgeon, in The Treasury of David:

“Our God” in covenant, who has chosen us and whom we have chosen; this God is our God. The name of our God is JEHOVAH, and this should never be forgotten; the self-existent, independent, immutable, ever-present, all-filling I AM. Let us adore that matchless name, and never dishonour it by distrust or creature confidence. Reader, you must know it before you can remember it. May the blessed Spirit reveal it graciously to your soul!

Every attribute of God was on display in Jesus

Posted: December 11, 2010 by Pam Larson in December, Devotionals/Commentaries, John
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“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.” John 17:6-7

John MacArthur, in a sermon, “Jesus Prays For His Disciples, Part 1″

Jesus came into the world to do this, to manifest the name of God. That little statement there is loaded, friends, grab that one, that is loaded. “I have manifested Thy name …” Jesus Christ came into this world to declare God, did you knowthat? He came into this world to manifest God to men.

Now, let me show you two thoughts that are inherent in that statement. Number one thought is: in the Old Testament the use of the expression “the name” was very special. It does not mean simply the name of a person. He’s not saying — I have declared the name of God in the sense that I’ve told people Your name. It’s not as if He were to say — Listen, I’ve told people Your name is Jehovah, now I’ve done my job … running around saying God’s name is Jehovah. That’s not it. It’s not like, you know, saying Joe or Mary or Bill, it’s not like giving somebody’s name. When it uses the word “name” it means the whole character and the nature of the person as far as it is known. And when Jesus says, “I have declared Your name,” He means I have revealed Your character. That’s what He means.

Illustration: Psalm 9:10 says: “They that know Thy name will put trust in Thee.” And the point of the verse is anybody who really knows the character of God will trust Him. Right? A lot of people know His name. Why … there are some people halfway down the street, they know God’s name. They don’t know God. They know His name, title and letters, they don’t know His character. If they knew His character they’d trust Him. There are people all over the world who know His name. Just listen, next time, in a shop and hear how many people know His name.

In Psalm 20 verse 7 it says, “Some trust in chariots,” ridiculous, imagine trusting in a chariot? “Some trust in horses,” listen to this, “but we’ll remember the name of the Lord our God.” And it’s talking about putting your trust in a person. The name implies all the character. Psalm 22:22, listen to this, it’s a prefacy of the Messiah and it says this, here’s the words of Messiah centuries before He was born: “I will declare Thy name unto My brethren.” And what did Jesus do? He came into the world a Jew and He declared God’s name unto the brethren. And what does it mean when it says He declared His name? It means He opened up to men the entire character of God. Did He not manifest God’s character? He said to Philip, “Philip, have you been with Me so long and you don’t know who I am? If you have seen Me … what? … you’ve seen the Father.” He came to manifest God. And when it says “I will declare His name,” ohh, it means a lot more than He just gave the title. So, He rightly says — I have manifested Your name.

Oh listen, every attribute of God was on display in Jesus, wasn’t it? Boy, there’s a Bible study for you. Just get a list’ of all the attributes of God out of the Old Testament and go back over that list and mark every New Testament passage where every one of those attributes is on display … every attribute of God was displayed in Jesus Christ … every one of them. Most of them all together displayed on the cross. You want to know what God’s like? Who do you look at? Jesus Christ. So, He said — I have manifested Thy name. Isn’t that a beautiful insight into His work?

Missions flows from JOY in God!

Posted: September 5, 2010 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Isaiah, September
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Isaiah 12:3-5  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
 call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.

Missions flows from JOY in God, the Source of Living Water and eternal life, according to Isaiah, and RESULTS in more  JOY in God, as it is spread!    Here we see that those who have found their joy and satisfaction in God, in Jesus Christ, will be the kind of people that:

  1. Give thanks to God
  2. Call on His name (trust in His character, His reputation, His reknown)
  3. Tell  of what He has done, and in doing so, exalt (lift up) His name (His character, His reputation, His reknown)–and they not only tell, they SING for joy!

Who do they tell?  Where do they sing?  Why do they do this? 

Among the peoples, in all the earth, for the joy and glory of God…MISSIONS!

Name of the Lord=Strong Tower

Posted: September 1, 2010 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Proverbs, September, Videos
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Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

See how many Biblical names of God you see in this video; the music is “Strong Tower” by The Newsboys:

“When we worship the Creator let us increase our trust in our Comforter.”

Posted: July 1, 2010 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, July, Psalms
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Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:8

Charles H. Spurgeon, in “The Treasury of David”

trust2Our help, our hope for the future, our ground of confidence in all trials present and to come. Is in the name of the Lord. Jehovah’s revealed character is our foundation of confidence, his person is our sure fountain of strength. Who made heaven and earth. Our Creator is our preserver. He is immensely great in his creating work; he has not fashioned a few little things alone, but all heaven and the whole round earth are the works of his hands. When we worship the Creator let us increase our trust in our Comforter.

Did he create all that we see, and can he not preserve us from evils which we cannot see?

Blessed be his name, he that has fashioned us will watch over us; yea, he has done so, and rendered us help in the moment of jeopardy. He is our help and our shield, even he alone. He will to the end break every snare. He made heaven for us, and he will keep us for heaven; he made the earth, and he will succour us ripen it until the hour cometh for our departure. Every work of his hand preaches to us the duty and the delight of reposing upon him only.

God’s Glory, God’s Name and God’s Sovereign Freedom

Posted: February 12, 2009 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, February
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Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”  And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.   Exodus 33:18-19

John Piper, in a sermon titled, “I Will Be Gracious to Whom I Will Be Gracious” says:

God’s Glory and God’s Name

Moses asks to see God’s glory. God proclaims to him his name. In other words, if you grasp the name of God, you have seen his glory. God is not playing games with Moses when Moses cries out, “Show me your glory!“ and God answers, “This is my name!” 

“The names of God are the manifestations of his glory.

The name in verse 19 is Yahweh, the same name we saw last week (the LORD, in your versions). But this time the name is given a different explanation, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.”

In Exodus 3:14 the name Yahweh was explained with the words, I AM WHO I AM. Here it is explained with the words, I WILL BE GRACIOUS TO WHOM I WILL BE GRACIOUS. Notice how these sentences are both built in the same way. In Exodus 3:14 the focus was on the existence of God—that he is what he is without anything outside himself determining his personality or power. In Exodus 33:19 the focus is on the gracious action of God—that he does what he does without anything outside himself determining his choices. This is what God reveals about himself when Moses asks to see God’s glory.

The Glory of God Is His Sovereign Freedom

Therefore, I would draw out this doctrine for us this morning: It is the glory of God to be gracious to whomever he pleases apart from any constraint originating outside his own will. Or another way to put it would be that sovereign FREEDOM is essential to God’s name.

God is utterly free from the constraints of his creation. The inclinations of his will move in directions that he alone determines. Whatever influences appear to change his will are influences which ultimately he has ordained. His choice to show mercy to one person and not to another is a choice that originates in the mystery of his sovereign will not in the will of his creature. And Exodus 33:18–19 teaches us that this self-determining freedom of God is his name and his glory. If God ever surrendered the sovereignty of his freedom in dispensing his mercy, he would cease to be all-glorious, he would no longer be Yahweh, the God of the Bible.

To read or listen to the entire sermon, please click here:

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