When the Lord taught us to pray,
one of the things that he teaches us is to pray, hallowed be thy
name. And certainly a part of prayer
is knowing who it is we are praying to. And if we do know who it
is we're praying to, we will have an attitude of reverence
and worship that is expressed in this statement, hallowed be
thy name, sanctified be thy name, holy be thy name. Now the name
of God is who he is. When I think of your individual
names, I don't see spelling of your names come out in my mind,
I think of a particular person that has particular attributes
and particular characteristics. Your name is who you are. There's only one of you, and
that's who I think about. I don't think about letters and
audible sounds. I think about the person behind
the name. And when we speak of the name of the Lord, we're speaking
of the person behind the name. The name of God is who he is.
I turn back to Exodus chapter 33. This is a passage of scripture
that we ought to look at very often. During the course of this time
of speaking with the Lord, Moses says in verse 18, and he said,
I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And God gave a specific answer.
Verse 19, he said, and I will make all my goodness pass before
thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. And I will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show
mercy. Now, when the Lord proclaims
his name, what takes place. This is part of his glory. This
is part of who he is. Look down in verse 5 of chapter
34. And the Lord descended in the
cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the
Lord. And the Lord passed by before
him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious. long-suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
and upon the children's children and to the third and to the fourth
generation. And Moses made haze and bowed his head toward the
earth in worship. Now you see where the Lord proclaimed
his name. It's where he told Moses who
he was, what he was like. The psalmist said in Psalm 111
verse nine, holy and reverend is thy name. I don't know of
anything that scares me more than to hear a sinful human being
refer to himself as reverend. I'm the reverend so and so. There's only one who's reverend. Holy and reverend is thy name. I think of the third commandment.
of the Ten Commandments. It's a prohibition of taking
his name in vain. What a name that must be where
one of his commandments is, thou shalt not take the name of the
Lord thy God in vain. The great work of Christ in coming
to this earth was to manifest his name and to make his name
known to you and I. Listen to this scripture from
John 17, six is great high priestly prayer for his people. He said,
I have manifested thy name unto the men, which thou gavest me
out of the world. That's what he did. He made his
name. Now look in verse 26, let me read it to you. And I've declared
unto them thy name and will declare it that the love wherewith thou
has loved me. may be in them, and I in them."
Now, the name of the Lord. Salvation is by His name. David
said in Psalm 54 1, Save me, O God, by thy name. And isn't
that what's going on when we're crying out and calling on his
name? Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. Now that doesn't just mean I'm calling out his name audibly.
I'm saying, Lord, save me by who you are. You're absolutely
sovereign. You can save me by an act of
your will. Will my salvation. You're absolutely
just. Save me by Your justice in a
way that honors Your justice. You're merciful. Save me by Your
mercy. You're all-powerful. Save me
by an act of Your power. All of His attributes we call
upon to save us when we call upon His name. We know we can't
save ourselves and we're calling upon His name. Lord, save me. How often, how often that my
prayer, I'm calling on His name. Lord, save me. The psalmist said, quicken us
and we'll call on my name. We realize that the only way
we'll really even call on his name truly is by him quickening
us and giving us life by his spirit. Turn to Psalm 106. This
is a very precious passage of scripture. Psalm 106, beginning in verse six. The psalmist
confesses his sin, he says, We've sinned with our fathers. We have
committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. Our fathers
understood not thy wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the
multitude of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even
at the Red Sea. Nevertheless, he saved them. Why? For his namesake. That's the only reason he has
to have. He saved them for his name's sake, that he might make
his mighty power known. David said in Psalm 124, eight,
our help is in the name of the Lord. The wise man said in Proverbs
18, 10, the name of the Lord is a strong high tower. The righteous run into it and
are safe. Is it any wonder David said,
oh Lord, our Lord, How excellent, how majestic, how glorious is
thy name. Let all those that love thy name
be joyful in thee, and I really do love his name. Hallowed be thy name. You're receiving the Lord Jesus
Christ, John 1 12, but as many as received him, to them gave
you the power to become the sons of God, even to them which believe
on his name. You believe that his name is
the only way you get into the presence of the father. His presence
is promised where two or three are gathered together in his
name. And you know what we're doing
right now? We're gathered together in His name. He has promised
His presence is here. Now believe that. Believe His
promise. Somebody says, well, I don't
feel His presence. Well, you may not feel His presence,
but that doesn't mean He's not here. He is here speaking, and
it's always, this is one of the reasons why it's so important
to come to a public worship service. He's here. What other reason
do I need? He's here. And He has promised
He's here. And I know He's here. He's here wherever two or three
are gathered together in His name. He speaks through the preaching
of the gospel. It's really sad when people no
longer need to be where He has promised that He'll be there. We pray in His name. When we
pray in His name, we say, Lord, hear this prayer. For one reason,
because the Lord presents it to you. Your darling son presents
it to you. The disciples rejoiced that they
were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Now I think
of the preciousness of his name. Don't you love that verse of
scripture in Matthew 121 when it says, thou shalt call his
name Jesus. What a precious name. For he
shall save his people from their sins. What a precious name is
his name. I love the name of Jesus, don't
you? I love his name. His name shall be called Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is God with us, not God against us,
not God above us, not God afar away, but God with us. Wherefore God hath highly exalted
him and given him a name which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. The things in heaven
and things on earth and things under the earth and that every
tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. His name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor. the mighty God, the everlasting
father, the prince of peace. His name should be called the
word of God. Faith is said to be faith in
his name. Now, our father describes sonship. He's my father. Our describes
fellowship and brotherhood. which art in heaven, his dwelling
place, the place where his will is always done. Hallowed be thy
name. Now the Lord reveals himself
by several names in scripture. Elohim, the one to be worshiped. Elion, the most high God. El,
the strong and mighty God. El Shaddai, God all sufficient. The Lord of hosts, which speaks
of his power. Adonai, He's the Lord, it just
means Lord. Jah, he which is right. Ejah, I am that I am. I don't know if I'm pronouncing
these right, I hope I am, but I love his name, I am that I
am. And I read one Hebrew scholar who made this statement regarding
this. He said, what this means is what's
inherent in the actual name, I am that I am. I save in the
manner which I save. The way you know God is how he
saves sinners. All of his attributes are displayed
in how he saves sinners. But what's his most famous name
in the scripture? Jehovah. Jehovah. Every time you see the word Lord
in the Old Testament, in all caps, it's Jehovah. It's almost as if they thought
his name was too holy to just say Iran, so they just put Lord. I like that. His name is Jehovah. Isaiah 42
verse 8, I am Jehovah. That is my name and my glory. I will not give to another. Now in the Bible, there Eight
predicates attached to the name of Jehovah that gives us some
idea of who he is to the believer. There is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord
will provide. Jehovah Ratha, I am the Lord
that healeth thee. Jehovah Nisi, the Lord our banner. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our
peace. Jehovah Raha, the Lord is my
shepherd. Jehovah Tzikinu, the Lord our
righteousness. Jehovah Shana, the Lord is present. And Jehovah Kadesh, I am the
Lord that sanctify of thee. Now, each of these names are
his names and what he is to the believer. Let's consider briefly
each one of them. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will
provide. Isaac is going up the mountain
with his dad. He doesn't know he's gonna be
a sacrifice. He doesn't know that's what Abraham's intention
is. He says, Father, here's the fire, here's the wood, where's
the lamb for a burnt sacrifice? And Abraham replied, my son,
God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Jehovah
Jireh, God will provide. Now this is particularly thrilling
when you know that you can't provide anything. Now, If you
think you can provide something, this probably doesn't mean that
much to you. If you think you've got something God can accept and
God can receive, but if you really believe that you can't provide
a thing that God could accept, not even a good thought or a
good motive or a desire, if you really believe that about yourself,
this is good news. The Lord will provide all he
requires of you. He provides. Isn't that wonderful? Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will
provide. He provides the sacrifice. You couldn't provide a sacrifice
that he would accept. He provides himself as the sacrifice. He provides for himself. Jehovah
Jireh, the Lord will provide. Oh, I think of the way he provides
materially. And that almost seems like it
doesn't even be deserved to be mentioned with the same breath
as what he supplies and provides spiritually, but he provides
for us. The next bite of food you take,
he gave it to you. It's a shame that we're not always
aware of that. And it's also a shame that we
worry about material things. We say we trust Christ for spiritual
things. We worry about where the money's
going to come. No, the Lord will provide. He
knows your every need and He's going to provide all you need. That's His promise. But better
than that, He provides all you need spiritually.
Everything you need, He provides. There's not one thing that you
provide. He provides it all. He gives you His righteousness.
He gives you a new heart. He gives you the faith to believe.
He gives you the ears to hear. He gives you the heart to receive.
If you have repentance, it's because He gave it to you. If
you persevere, it's because He causes you to. Every aspect of
salvation is of the Lord. The Lord will provide. Isn't that a precious name of
our God? Jehovah Jireh and that just right
now I'm thinking Lord's providing I feel in and of myself I feel
so incomplete and so lacking and so many things I need but
bless God the Lord will provide all that he requires of me every
bit of it he provides Jehovah Jireh the Lord will provide. Now the second Jehovah is Jehovah
Ratha I am the Lord that healeth thee now this was said after
the water was undrinkable it was bitter they couldn't drink
it and the lord said take a tree and you put it in the water which
represents the cross i have no doubt about that and all of a
sudden the bitter waters were sweet and drinkable and he said
after he did that for them i am the lord that healeth thee Well, you can take that in so
many different directions. If you're sick and you're healed,
why were you healed? The Lord healed you. And you
know, we're encouraged to pray with regard to these sick bodies,
whatever it is. We're encouraged to pray. Is
any sick? Let him pray. I am the Lord that healeth thee. Now, he uses means. Don't say,
well, I'm not going to use means because I'm just going to trust
the Lord to heal me. Now, that's foolish. He provides means for
us to use for his healing, but he is the Lord who heals. And
if I'm healed physically, it's because the Lord healed me. And
I'll tell you, remember this, too. If I'm sick, it's because
he made me sick. And he's got a purpose for it,
a wise and holy purpose. You see, he's in control of all
of that. But he says, I am the Lord that healeth thee. But more
than anything else, sin to a believer is a disease. It's a disease. It's a loathsome disease. David
said, my loins are filled with a loathsome disease, and there's
no soundness in my flesh because of my sin. Sin is a disease. And you know, when somebody has
a disease, you feel sorry for them, don't you? Now, that's
the way it's with a believer. Sin is different than it is with
an unbeliever. I mean, the Lord looks at his sin-sick child.
He says, my boy is sick. My girl is sick and he heals
our diseases. By his stripes we are healed. Isn't that wonderful to have
the Lord to heal you? You'll be my sin sick soul. The
Lord heals me. He, I love that scripture, he
whom thou lovest is sick. Jehovah Nisi, the Lord our banner
or the Lord our ensign. Now, the context of that is found
in Exodus chapter 17, where the first attack that the children
of Israel had was from the Amalekites. They attacked them from behind.
And you remember that story where Moses lifted up his hands and
whenever his hands were lifted up, Israel won. Whenever his
hand grew tired and he put him down, then the Amalekites would
win. And finally Aaron and Hur representing the priesthood of
Christ and the Holy Spirit lifted up his hands and they won. And
God said I'm determined to fight against the Amalekites from generation
to generation. There's going to be no peace
for the Amalekites. Now the Amalekites represent
what? The flesh. You know you don't even know
what the flesh is until you're given a new nature and a new
spirit. And your problems begin really when you're given this
new nature, all of a sudden you see the Amalekites attacking
you from every aspect, the flesh. But here is our victory cry over
the flesh, Jehovah Nisi, the Lord, our banner, he is our victory. Now understand this, he is our
victory. It's not our victory over sin,
it's his victory for us. The Lord, our banner, Jehovah
Nisi, the Lord, our banner. And then, in Judges chapter six,
verse twenty-four, we read Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace. Gideon saw the angel of the Lord
And he saw the consumed sacrifice and he cried out, Alas, O Lord
God, because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face. He
was scared to death. He thought he was going to get
killed. And the Lord said to him, Peace be unto thee. Thou shalt not die. And he built
an altar there and named it Jehovah Shalom, the Lord, our peace. Now. Peace. is a feeling. I don't know what
else to call it. It's a feeling. And there's got
to be a ground of that feeling. You can have peace with a bad
ground. I'm sure that the cow that's getting ready to slaughter
feels a certain amount of peace. It doesn't know what's ahead.
So you can have peace, and it can be an ill-grounded peace.
But oh, if you're a believer, the peace we have because He
is our peace. Ephesians 2.14. Now here's what
gives me peace, and I have peace. I have peace. Lord knows whether
I really do. A lot of folks would say I have
peace, you know, and whether they do or not, I don't know.
I've had some Jehovah's Witnesses come up on my porch yesterday,
the day before yesterday, And in the course of talking to him,
I said to him, I said, you fellas don't have any peace. What? We
do too. I said, no, you don't. You don't
have a bit of peace. Because the only peace there
is, is knowing that all God requires of me, I have in Christ Jesus. He was delivered for our offenses.
He was raised again for our justification. Therefore, having been justified. Now there's peace. There's peace
with God. I'm justified. God doesn't have
any reason to be mad at me. God doesn't have any reason to
be angry with me. He sees nothing but that which
pleases Him. That's what justification is.
Having justification, having been justified. By faith we have
peace with God. Colossians 1 20 says, having
made peace through the blood of his cross. Now here's what
gives me peace. The blood of his cross. It is finished. And do you know I receive such
peace from that? Having his own peace. And then there's Jehovah Raha.
the Lord is my shepherd. Turn there, Psalm 23. David said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Jehovah is my shepherd. I shall not want anything. He
makes me lie down in green pastures. I'm not going to want rest. He
leads me beside the still waters. I'm not going to want peace.
He restores my soul. I'm not going to want restoration.
Aren't you thankful when the Lord restores you? How many times
has the Lord restored you? Well, every day, every day. He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for his namesake. I'm not going to lack righteousness. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of the death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art
with me. I'm not going to lack his companionship.
I'm not going to want companionship. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. I'm not going to lack comfort.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.
I'm not going to lack provision. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. I'm not
going to lack joy. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me, pursue me all the days of my life. and I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord's my shepherd. And because
my shepherd's the Lord, I shall not want, isn't it wonderful
to have the Lord as your shepherd? The shepherd of your soul, that
great shepherd of the sheep is my shepherd. And then the sixth,
Jehovah is, oh, this one's precious. Jeremiah 23, six, Jehovah Tsidkenu,
the Lord, our righteousness. Isn't his name precious? He himself
is my personal righteousness before God. So truly so that
when my life is put up on a screen for everybody to see, all they're
going to see is the life of Jesus Christ. Now, that is precious. Jehovah Tsikenu, the Lord our
righteousness. Paul said, oh, that I may win
Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law. I don't want to have anything
to do with that, but that which is through the faithfulness of
Christ, the righteousness that he wrought, the righteousness
which is of God by faith. Oh, what a precious name. Jehovah
Zedkenu, the Lord our righteousness. That's his name, and I love it
the way in chapter 33 it says, this is the name wherewith she
shall be called. Talking about the church, talking
about every one of God's elect. This is the name wherewith she
shall be called. Jehovah Zedkenu, the Lord our
righteousness. And then seventh, Jehovah Shammah,
the Lord is present. That's found in Ezekiel 48, 35.
The temple is described in the boundaries of the temple, which
picture the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the church,
the Lord is present. He says, I walk among the golden
candlesticks. The Lord is present with the
church. Now he's present when you feel
it. You know, isn't it wonderful
to feel the presence of the Lord? But He's present when you don't
feel it. He's present when He hides His face from you. He's
still present. You see, He has promised, I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. So that we can boldly say, the
Lord's my helper. I shall not fear what man can
do unto me. The Lord is always present. What a precious promise. Jehovah
is always with me. And then in Ezekiel chapter 20
verse 12, Jehovah Kadesh, I am the Lord that sanctifies thee. Sanctification is perhaps the
most comprehensive word that describes the salvation of the
believer. It means to take something and
set it apart for holy purposes. It means to take something and
declare it to be holy. It means to take something and
make it holy. Now, I know this. I cannot make
myself holy. I know that as sure as I'm a
foot and a half high. I cannot make myself holy. But
also know this. He can. You see, God the Father set me
apart in eternal election to be holy, according as he has
chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him. Isn't that wonderful? I
was declared to be holy when Christ Jesus died for me by By
the witch will, we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. That's perfectly completed, never
to be repeated. God said the moment Christ died,
well, that was before then. Christ died before the foundation
of the world. And so in Christ, I'm holy. I'm made holy by the
God of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. I'm given a holy nature
that does not sin. Now the old nature, I know all
it does is sin, but the new nature, the holy nature, you see, holiness
cannot sin. Holiness is immutable. Holiness
cannot become unholy. Can't do it. If it could, it
would, but it can't. God is holy. God can't sin. God
begets his people in the new birth. And he says, I am the
Lord that sanctifies thee. I love that scripture in Hebrews
2.11, both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are
all of one. For the which cause he's not
ashamed to call them brethren. Let's take it to its utmost.
First Corinthians 1.30 says that Christ is made unto us sanctification. I don't even know how to explain
all what all that means but it's glorious isn't it? He's made
unto us sanctification. Do you believe yourself to be
a saint, a holy one? Yes I do. And Christ Jesus is
made unto me sanctification. He is my sanctification. He is
my holiness. Jehovah Kadesh, I am the Lord
that sanctifies thee. Truly. Truly. truly, hallowed be thy name. When we pray, may that come from
our hearts, not just as a matter of repeating something like a
parrot because we've taught it, we've been taught it, but may
we truly pray, hallowed be thy name.