Day Twenty-Six

This week we are reflecting on songs that speak to some of the names by which we know God.

We would be remiss to spend a week meditating on some of the names we’re give for God without devoting some time to think about the primary revelation given to Moses at the burning bush. It is a singularly significant moment in the history of God’s people, indicated by the reverence with which they treated the divine name in generations to come. It comes after God has commissioned Moses to go to the Hebrew people and lead them out of slavery in Egypt:

“But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

God replied to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.

This is my eternal name,
my name to remember for all generations.’”—Exodus 3:13-15 (NLT)

We can’t overstate the important of this moment in the history of the Hebrew people. The God of the universe, the God of their ancestors, the one and true Lord of all creation reveals his name to his people. They are given the task of remembering that name “for all generations.” According to Jewish tradition, it is a name so holy that it should never be pronounced, seen as a way of keeping the commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Exodus 20:7, ESV)

The meaning of the name Yahweh, I AM WHO I AM, is related to the Hebrew word hayah, meaning “To be.” It speaks to God’s self-existence, the truth that God simply “is,” and has been for all eternity. He does not rely on any other being for his existence. As one scholar put it:

“All other creatures are links; this is the staple from which they all hang. All other being is derived, and therefore limited and changeful; this being is underived, absolute, self-dependent, and therefore unalterable forevermore.”—Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture

When we encounter the name Yahweh, we are reminded of God’s unchanging, eternal greatness. His name calls attention to the truth that he is infinite and glorious, that he alone stands above all creation as Lord. No wonder Scripture calls us to hold his name in esteem, exalted and worthy of praise. As the psalmist writes:

“Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.”—Psalm 34:3 (NIV)

“I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.”—Psalm 69:30 (NIV)

“Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.”—Psalm 103:1 (NIV)

So far this week we have meditated on the meanings of names by which we know God, but for today let’s focus less on the meaning and more on the call which David understood so well: we are called to praise God’s holy name. To praise his name is to simply worship him for who he is: the one who declares “I AM.”

And as we do this in the context of Eastertide, we remember, too, that Jesus associated these words with himself. One of the most striking examples of this occurs in the 8th chapter of John’s gospel:

“Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, ‘He is our God,’ though you do not know him. But I know him; if I would say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day; he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.”—John 8:54-59 (NRSV)

This is, perhaps, the most striking claim to divinity that we see Jesus make in all the gospels, seen clearly in the response of the people who want to stone him for blasphemy. Jesus is applying the same name to himself that was revealed to Moses at the burning bush. He is claiming preexistence and personal knowledge of Abraham, the spiritual father of Israel. In fact, he says that Abraham rejoiced in the knowledge of his coming, that the salvation work God initiated in his covenant with Abraham would find its joyful completion in the person and work of Jesus.

What choice do we have in response to that, but to fall on our face in worship?

Not only did I AM appear to Moses, he has now appeared in the person of his one and only son. Yahweh, the self-existent and eternal one, has once again led his people out of slavery.

May his name be exalted forever.

Blessing and honor
Glory and power unto the Lord be praised
Sing with a chorus resounding before us
Holy is his name, his name, his name

Read the rest of the lyrics here.

Time of Reflection

For today’s time of reflection, you are invited to sit prayerfully with these passages of Scripture inviting us to praise and exalt God’s name. How do they speak to you? What movement do you notice in your soul as you contemplate them?

Psalm 148 (NRSV)

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 66:1-4 (NRSV)

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.” Selah

Isaiah 25:1-10a (NRSV)

O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you, I will praise your name;
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
For you have made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of aliens is a city no more,
it will never be rebuilt.
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
For you have been a refuge to the poor,
a refuge to the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,
the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place,
you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;
the song of the ruthless was stilled.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.