Names
Read Psalm 95:1-7a.
How many names are you known by? As a pastor, I often (especially each time I have started a new appointment) get asked, "What should we call you?" Used to be, folks automatically referred to the pastor as "Reverend." Unless you are from the southern part of the United States; there, pastors are called "Brother." But the days of "Reverend" have passed for many people. I often say I'm not old enough to be "Reverend." So my usual response is, "Well, my name is Dennis." Some call me that, some call me Pastor Dennis, or Pastor Ticen. Some just call me Pastor. I'll answer to just about anything. (The first time someone asked me what to call me, though, my smart aleck nature kicked in and I replied, "You can call me 'Your Majesty.'" She never did call me that.)
I have other names, as well. My wife usually calls me "DT." My children call me, "Dad" (or, if my daughter really, really wants something, "Father" or "Father Dearest"). Only my grandmother ever called me "Denny" (though when I worked at Denny's, some customers found great joy in realizing that Dennis worked at Denny's). I go by many names, and so do you.
So does God.
In the psalm for this morning, the worshipper celebrates just a few of those names. Just like with us, every name reveals something about God as well as something about the worshipper's relationship with God.
LORD - Anytime you see this in "small capitals" in the text, it's actually "Yahweh," God's personal name that the Hebrews refused to actually say. God has a name. Roughly translated, it means, "I am." God is—and that is enough. But think what it means to know someone's name. It means you are close to them.
ROCK - A rock implies steadiness, fixed-ness. A rock is solid and, if it's large enough, will not move. God is our rock, the rock our salvation is built upon.
KING - He's in charge. He rules over us. He owns it all and whatever we have is only "on loan" to us from the King. (For more on "king," see yesterday's blog.)
MAKER - He is the creator. He is the one who put it all together, who, in C. S. Lewis' imagination, sang the world into existence (see The Magician's Nephew). And if he is the one who made it, he alone knows how it best works, how life ought to be lived.
These are just a few names for God; there are many, many more throughout the psalms and the rest of Scripture. But, think for a moment, by what name do you call God? What does that tell you about the nature of your relationship with this one who longs to love you more than anyone else?
How many names are you known by? As a pastor, I often (especially each time I have started a new appointment) get asked, "What should we call you?" Used to be, folks automatically referred to the pastor as "Reverend." Unless you are from the southern part of the United States; there, pastors are called "Brother." But the days of "Reverend" have passed for many people. I often say I'm not old enough to be "Reverend." So my usual response is, "Well, my name is Dennis." Some call me that, some call me Pastor Dennis, or Pastor Ticen. Some just call me Pastor. I'll answer to just about anything. (The first time someone asked me what to call me, though, my smart aleck nature kicked in and I replied, "You can call me 'Your Majesty.'" She never did call me that.)
I have other names, as well. My wife usually calls me "DT." My children call me, "Dad" (or, if my daughter really, really wants something, "Father" or "Father Dearest"). Only my grandmother ever called me "Denny" (though when I worked at Denny's, some customers found great joy in realizing that Dennis worked at Denny's). I go by many names, and so do you.
So does God.
In the psalm for this morning, the worshipper celebrates just a few of those names. Just like with us, every name reveals something about God as well as something about the worshipper's relationship with God.
LORD - Anytime you see this in "small capitals" in the text, it's actually "Yahweh," God's personal name that the Hebrews refused to actually say. God has a name. Roughly translated, it means, "I am." God is—and that is enough. But think what it means to know someone's name. It means you are close to them.
ROCK - A rock implies steadiness, fixed-ness. A rock is solid and, if it's large enough, will not move. God is our rock, the rock our salvation is built upon.
KING - He's in charge. He rules over us. He owns it all and whatever we have is only "on loan" to us from the King. (For more on "king," see yesterday's blog.)
MAKER - He is the creator. He is the one who put it all together, who, in C. S. Lewis' imagination, sang the world into existence (see The Magician's Nephew). And if he is the one who made it, he alone knows how it best works, how life ought to be lived.
These are just a few names for God; there are many, many more throughout the psalms and the rest of Scripture. But, think for a moment, by what name do you call God? What does that tell you about the nature of your relationship with this one who longs to love you more than anyone else?
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