What's your name?

There is great power in a name. Names are significant. This is true today, but it was even more so in the Hebrew culture we read about in the Bible. A Hebrew name is no mere label. The name of the Lord reveals who he is.

Praise the name of the Lord - Psalm 68:1-6

David urges: ‘sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds – his name is the Lord’ (v.4).

God reveals himself through his name. He gave his name to Moses (‘I AM WHO I AM’) when he came to liberate his people from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 3:14). Likewise, in this psalm, we see that the God who bears this name has a particular concern for the marginalized in society.

God is ‘a father to the fatherless’ and ‘a defender of widows’ (Psalm 68:5). ‘God sets the lonely in families’ (v.6a). ‘God makes homes for the homeless’ (v.6a, MSG). ‘He leads forth the prisoners with singing’ (v.6b).

One of the ways to honour the name of the Lord is to love and serve the marginalized: widows and orphans, the lonely, the homeless, and those in prison.