What's in a Name?

by Timothy Howe

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

         Psalm 8:1a, 9

Psalm 8 uses the phrase above at the beginning and end of the psalm as a sort of frame. The phrase is poetic, beautiful and very descriptive.

In Hebrew, there are two different terms that are translated as “Lord” in many English translations. The first one is Yahweh (Jehovah) and the second is Adonai. Yahweh carries the meaning of “I AM WHO I AM” or “He who causes to be.” He is the one who spoke into existence all of creation and He is the one who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. This name must be respected (Exodus 20:7). It is beyond human understanding and embraces all His Divinity.

A reflection on this repeated verse might tell us a few things about the nature of the Divine.

God’s name is intimate.

In addition to the meaning described above, it is important to know that Yahweh, even with all of its intended grandeur, is also considered his personal name. This is how He called Himself to the Hebrew people. The use of a personal name indicates that God wants more than blind obedience. He initiated a relationship with His follows. He makes Himself accessible. The great, amazing Divine who created all things, is also available to us in our most secret place. He meets us where we are. He wants personal communication with His creation. He wants us to know him relationally.

God’s name is authoritative.

By attaching this Name to the term “lord,” the psalmist indicates that the personal God of Israel is also its ruling sovereign. He is in charge. He is certainly the supreme God above all things, but He is also “Adonai” who takes interest and charge of human affairs. David is showing the God who rules over all creation is the same God who has personally chosen the Israelites above all peoples to be a priesthood to the world.

God’s name is effective.

The double name indicates that God is the creator of everything and the one who gives order to everything. He is agent of both creation and re-creation (order). For Christians this carries the idea of God as Creator and Redeemer. We owe our existence to Him. He made us. And we also owe our redemption to Him. He remake us when the first version needs improvement.

God’s name is regal.

The word “majesty” carries with it magnitude and power and even suggests miracle. God operates in openly. Even as His name is intimate and He connects with us in a secret place, His domain also remains the public sphere. He is at work in the world, operating for the world to see. His creation is majestic to witness, His action on our behalf profound to consider.

God’s name is available.

Earlier we saw where the Lord makes Himself accessible. Now the end of the phrase expounds on that idea. He makes His names accessible to all people. There is not limitation on who can know Him. His name is majestic in all the earth. The psalmist declares that the name of the Lord should be worshiped openly and universally.

God’s name is marvelous.

David repeats the stanza in verse one again in verse nine. He reinforces the majesty of Yahweh by singing again of His Name. His name is marvelous. His name is magnificent. He is greater than the enormity of the universe and in comparison we are hardly anything. But in His majesty, He makes Himself available to us.

The following link is to "Blessed be Your Name" by Matt Redman. As you listen to it, may you be blessed.

He has entrusted us

 by Timothy Howe

Today, we finish looking at Psalm 8. 

               Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

                   and crowned him with glory and honor.

               You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

                   you have put all things under his feet, 

                         all sheep and oxen, 

                         and also the beasts of the field,

                         the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, 

                        whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

               O Lord, our Lord, 

                      How Majestic is you name in all the earth!

                                                                  Psalm 8:5-9 ESV

The glorious God shares His authority with us. 

The Psalmist understands something that we take for granted today, but should be considered shocking. We have seen how that we are puny in the grand scheme of the universe. Yet the maker of the universe, the One who dwarfs it in every way imaginable, this same God esteems us. God esteems you. David says that he has made us just a little lower than the heavenly beings and given us glory and honor. David is aware that we were shaped out of the dust of the earth, but also made in the “image of God.” We share in glory and honor only so far as the Lord gives it to us. We are of the earth and in charge of the earth. We rule over everything on the earth.

This metaphor of a created being, yet one having authority, the work of God who has all things under our feet hints of the Messiah who is coming who will be both fully Human and fully Divine.

The Service of Animals 

By claiming that man rules over the animals, David is making a bigger claim about God. He states that God has given authority to humans to rule over the animals of the earth, the birds of the heavens and the fish in the seas. This means that human beings are higher than those creatures. He has already hinted at our resemblance of God’s very image. What he is doing is tearing apart the religious myth systems of all the peoples around Israel. Egypt may be the best example. Egypt had a system of gods who ruled the world and the cosmos. These gods were different forms of the heavenly bodies – the sun, the moon, the earth, and the underworld. Other gods were deified animals – the jackal, the bull, the ram, a bird, etc. David is shouting out loudly that the Lord is not a cow or a dog. He is the Divine and these false gods are really nothing more that our subject.

He also declares that God esteems us higher than the animals we are put in charge of, but we are their caretakers. We are God's stewards of this planet and all species on it. We must protect it. The things of this world are not greater than humanity, but they are humanity's responsibility. You are God's most prized creation and you are set in charge of the rest.

Practical Dominion

How do we have dominion over all the earth practically speaking? There was a time when our society was agrarian that this was more easily understood. Well, obviously taking care to not pollute, to not waste and to not harm animals continues to fit this description. So does recycling, eating healthily and taking care regarding what products we purchase.

There is another way that most of us demonstrate dominion in our lives, however. This is with regards to our personal environment. I have often heard people who got themselves into to trouble find ways to blame some one else. It's the "the-devil-made-me-do-it" syndrome. People blame the way that they were raised, life's disappointments, temptations, emotions, and many other things for making poor decisions. We were created to have dominion. You have authority over all these things.Take charge and be a good steward over what God has given you.

The Marvel of the Name 

David reinforces the majesty of the Lord by singing again of His Name. He is a marvel, he is magnificent. He is greater than the enormity of the universe and in comparison we are hardly anything. But in His majesty, He has made us just below Him. We dangle just between the angels and the beasts and it God who redeems us to glory.

This Psalm teaches us to set our attention on the one Who created all things, Who sustains all things, and Who esteems us above all things. 

Know that you are special 

and choose to live like it.

His Love is Amazing

by Timothy Howe

In looking at Psalm 8, we have seen how glorious is the Lord. We have seen how he has shared a measure of that glory with us His prized creation. Today we see how this glorious God relates to this sometimes inglorious creation. 


This psalm speaks to the Fragility of Man.

                When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

                      the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

                What is man that you are mindful of him, 

                      and the son of man that you care for him?

The raw wonder of God in the voice of the shepherd is loudest in this stanza. Perhaps on starry night David is looking up and trying to comprehend the wonder of the universe and then realizes that God was even greater. He tries to say this by stating that God created everything not by his hands, but by his fingers. And yet, quickly returns to earth and sees that the great heavenly bodies that God was able to create with just His fingers far outweigh mere mankind who is bouncing around on one of these heavenly bodies. David could not have known just how tiny of a speck our earth and our existence in the universe really is.

The glorious God is caring. 

Yet, he captures very well that the idea is marvelous that God who is greater than all in existence, which makes human beings look puny in whatever formula of comparison you can come up with, cares for us puny beings. The poetry slips right off the tongue.

What is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

“The Son of Man” is a phrase that literally translates “son of Adam.” Simply put, it is a human being. But David did not just say “a human being.” He chose a phrase that was picturesque and descriptive which showed the nature of human beings. We are the descendants of a created being, not even the created being itself. Once against illustrating the gulf between us and God. In addition, this phrase came to be a royal title. 

The Gap Bridged

By using this phrase David is asserting several claims and thereby bridging the gap between God and man: (1) he is royalty, (2) this Psalm is not just a praise of God, but is meant to be understood that God cares for people personally, (3) and that God cares for him (David) personally. It makes the Psalm very intimate. 

The Gap Further Bridged

The good news is that God did not just permit the divide between His glory and His creation to remain permanent. He met us on our terms. He walked with Adam in the garden, spoke to Moses through the bush, met Israel at the Temple and ministered to Elijah in the cave. For Christians this phrase would take on a whole new meaning as it was understood in the light of the Messiah, the Son of Man who was also the Son of God. This mixture of imagery is evident in Philippians 2:6-11.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.                             Phil 2:6-11 ESV

The glorious One set aside His glory temporarily to walk among us and to begin the process of transferring that glory to us. He demonstrated his Amazing Love by coming to this earth and offering Himself on our behalf. 

Listen to "Amazing Love" 

Wherever you are in life, 

Whatever you are going through,

Trust that God already sees it, 

Trust that God already knows it, 

Trust that God already has plans 
to walk you through it.

He Is Amazing.

by Timothy Howe

Yesterday I wrote about the amazing the universe, our amazing world and the amazing micro-world. I then wrote about how the psalmist declared God's glory and then subsequent transferal of a measure of His glory to us. Today and tomorrow, I want to return to the subject of God's glory. 


Read Psalm 8 again.
                   O LORD, our Lord, 
                      how majestic is your name in all the earth! 
                   You have set your glory above the heavens. 
                   Out of the mouth of babies and infants, 
                      you have established strength because of your foes, 
                      to still the enemy and the avenger. 


                 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, 
                      the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 
                      what is man that you are mindful of him, 
                      and the son of man that you care for him? 


                 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings 
                      and crowned him with glory and honor. 
                 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; 
                     you have put all things under his feet, 
                     all sheep and oxen, 
                     and also the beasts of the field, 
                     the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, 
                     whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 


                 O LORD, our Lord, 
                      how majestic is your name in all the earth! 
                                                                    Psalm 8 ESV


Today, I want to look at the first two verses. 


                   O LORD, our Lord, 
                       how majestic is your name in all the earth! 
                   You have set your glory above the heavens. 
                   Out of the mouth of babies and infants, 
                      you have established strength because of your foes, 
                      to still the enemy and the avenger. 

God's glory is marvelous.

The Psalm begins and ends with the same verse: O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! The first “Lord” is actually the special name of God by Israel, Yahweh, and the second is Adonai, which means "Lord." Since the Psalmist is praising the very name of the Lord, Yahweh – let’s look at it for a moment. Yahweh comes from the meaning “I AM WHO I AM.” One other translation could be “He who causes to be” (Ex 3:15-16). He  spoke into existence all of creation and He  spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. His name is not to be used lightly or wrongly (Exodus 20:7) and represents all that is Divine. 

     God’s name is for all.

This Name is the Personal God of Israel. He is Lord, Supreme and also Personal. The same God who rules over all creation is the same God who is personally interested in your life. 

     God's name is above all. 

The double name emphasizes that God created and gives order to everything. He brought into existence the original creation and He returns into harmony the fallen creation. For Christians this carries the idea of God as Creator and Redeemer. 

     God’s name is regal and majestic.

The word “majesty” carries the idea of power demonstrated in a public fashion. It was used of a king and of pomp and circumstance. It reinforces the idea of God as Sovereign. 

God’s glory is complete. 

The psalm elaborates on God’s majesty set in the heavens above. Yet, the word “glory,” used to describe that heavenly majesty is a word that describes the inward, defining essence of an individual more than external magnificence. This conveys the idea that to see God’s glory is to know him personally. As wonderful as the heavens are, His glory is in another realm, even greater than the night sky and yet it is personal. 

God’s glory is ultimate. 

God’s majesty is further illustrated by the phrase “mouths of babes and infants.” Children are innocent and will only be able to communicate out of that innocence. Many parents have been embarrassed in such scenarios because a child will simply say what is true. So any declaration attributed to a child is understood to be inherently true and uncluttered. 

God’s glory is victorious. 

                   you have established strength because of your foes, 
                      to still the enemy and the avenger. 

This phrase may seem harsh to 21^st century ears, so its context is required.  It was a phrase that was regularly invoked in war literature in the ancient Near East when speaking of the destructive, awesome power of an army or a ruler. In this case, David has turned the anthem away from human destructive power to cause it to focus on the awesome, infinity power of God. In that latter capacity, David declares that Yahweh has established strength against “his foes…the enemy and the avenger.” The terms “enemy” and “avenger” were common names of Satan. The enemy of God is obviously Satan.  

His name is above all. 
His gaze is fixed on you.

His name is glorious and yet personal. 
He knows you and your situation.

His name is victorious. 
He will lead you through today's difficulties.

You are amazing!

By Timothy Howe

I am continuously amazed at the creation around us. 

The Tiny World
Yesterday I was looking at  various microorganisms with one of my children for a school assignment. To see how all those bacteria, fungi, and micro-animals  were constructed left me with a since of amazement. The way in which they are vital to our environment and our personal health recalled my attention to the intricate nature of the world around us. 

The Cosmos
When I turn my attention  to the great cosmos, I am struck by the spectacular. The images from modern satellites leave me with a sense of awe. Our speck of dust floats through space, rotating about our star which rotates in our galaxy with billions of more also swirling around. What sights are displayed by craft such as the Hubble Telescope - gaseous clouds larger than galaxies, stars exploding,                  
stars merging together, 
or stars being "born." 


The World
Yet we live in between the infinitesimally small and gargantuan, in a world no less impressive. The vibrancy of the colors of flowers; the power of Iguazu, Niagara or Victoria Falls; the flight of bird high in the air; and the birth of a newborn baby each inspires us and reminds us of the magnificence constantly around us. 

And yet the splendor of this world begins with you. That's right. It begins with you and me, people. How is that? Well, certainly all of creation is amazing, but the scriptures tell us that we are God's most prized creation. 


Read Psalm 8 below.


                      O LORD, our Lord, 
                            how majestic is your name in all the earth! 
                      You have set your glory above the heavens. 
                      Out of the mouth of babies and infants, 
                            you have established strength because of your foes, 
                            to still the enemy and the avenger. 
                      When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, 
                            the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 
                      What is man that you are mindful of him, 
                            and the son of man that you care for him? 
                      Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings 
                            and crowned him with glory and honor. 
                      You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; 
                            you have put all things under his feet, 
                            all sheep and oxen, 
                            and also the beasts of the field, 
                            the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, 
                            whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 
                      O LORD, our Lord, 
                            how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

Psalm 8 ESV         

God Transferred His Greatness to Us
This psalm was written by David. You can imagine David the shepherd sitting out in the fields while watching his sheep and looking up at the sky and pondering the majesty of the Lord. The stars would have been a brilliant backdrop when considering the glory of God.


The psalmist acknowledged that creation is glorious, but he recognizes that the creator of that creation is more glorious since He created it. He also proclaims that of all of God's creation humans have a special place because God has chosen to transfer some of his greatness to us by creating us in His image. 


So, Celebrate
This particular psalm actually starts off with a technical term in its introduction. The term in Hebrew is gittith, which literally translates as “wine-press” in English. The phrase could mean “for a wine-press,” “to a wine-press,” “on a wine-press,” “at a wine-press,” “from a wine-press.” The first two possibilities are extremely doubtful. The last three all give the same idea – that the Psalm is meant to be sung while the grapes are being pressed for preparation of wine.


That would make this a harvest song, one full of joy and celebration. Indeed, all the Psalms with this term in the beginning are songs of celebration. The idea is that the song might be sung at the brief time in the ancient daily routine when people were most assured that they had enough. 


So, do you realize how much you are worth? You are amazing. Through out today, when things come along that get you down and cause you to think of the bad around you, remember that God created you special, and that He ranks you as important in His economy. You are not meant to only survive, but you are meant to celebrate. 

Remember,

God is glorious beyond measure.

God has made a glorious cosmos.

God made you His most prized creation.