October 5, 2015
Worship: Blessed Be the Name by William H. Clark & Ralph Hudson; Blessed Be the Name of the Lord by Don Moen
Blessed Be The Name
Blessed Be The Name
Words: verses by William H. Clark; Refrain by Ralph E. Hudson
Music: Ralph E. Hudson; harmony by William J. Kirkpatrick
1 Cor 15:25
Topics: Adoration, Worship
All praise to Him Who reigns above
In majesty supreme,
Who gave His Son for man to die,
That He might man redeem!
Refrain
Blessed be the Name! Blessed be the Name!
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Blessed be the Name! Blessed be the Name!
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
His Name above all names shall stand,
Exalted more and more,
At God the Father's own right hand,
Where angel hosts adore.
Refrain
Redeemer, Savior, Friend of man
Once ruined by the fall,
Thou hast devised salvation's plan,
For Thou hast died for all.
Refrain
His Name shall be the Counselor,
The mighty Prince of Peace,
Of all earth's kingdoms Conqueror,
Whose reign shall never cease.
Refrain
(from Biblesoft Hymnal, PC Study Bible electronic database Copyright © 2003-2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord
Blessed be the name of the Lord
He is worthy to be praised and adored
So we lift up holy hands in one accord
Singing blessed be the name
Blessed be the name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Don Moen (Google Play • iTunes • AmazonMP3 • eMusic)
He is worthy to be praised and adored
So we lift up holy hands in one accord
Singing blessed be the name
Blessed be the name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Don Moen (Google Play • iTunes • AmazonMP3 • eMusic)
Witness:
I found my new credit card that came in the mail last week. Yes, I know, credit card – Baaaad, the evil invention of some greedy person. Never-the-less, for better or WORSE, I have debts I have to repay. This card had 0 interest on it till 2017. I got it to consolidate some debt from high-interest cards I have and pay it off without the interest costing me an arm and a leg by the time I finished paying it off.
I called today to activate the card and find out again the terms of the card and to transfer some of my balances from other cards. I asked if I could do the transfer online. The person I was speaking to said yes, but he offered to do it while I was on the phone. I said, okay – that was a big mistake. He said, for security purposes, he had to ask me a series of multiple choice questions. They were about cars I owned and places I lived. Well, maybe you remember every car you had, but I evidently didn’t, or their information was incorrect. So of course I failed and he sent me to the security division to help me solve the problem. More question about cars. Don’t know if I passed or failed (I suspect I failed again), but she informed I would not be able to transfer anything today anyway because my account was under review. I was incredulous. I haven’t even used the card yet and my card was under review? I would hear within two days if I could transfer funds. This was something they did randomly she assured me and had nothing to with how I answered the car ownership questions. They did that with some… Um… most card holders. Needless to say, I was annoyed and frustrated.
I thought about this afterward. What if God treated us that way? Which sin did you commit on such and such day 50 years ago? Did you receive Christ? A) at church camp B) Altar call in church C) Billy Graham Crusade? D) None of the above? After you answered all questions, God says, sorry you didn’t answer all questions correctly. I’m sending you to the “sincerity and truth” department to see if we can get this resolved. After speaking to that Angel (?) you are informed that your account is under review and you would be informed if your sins were truly forgiven and Christ’s righteousness would then be transferred to your account. Ridiculous you say. That’s what I told the credit card folks.
But thanks be to God He does not treat us so! Our Lord informs us of this when He says:
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
John 6:37-38 ESV
WORD:
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. |
2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,a
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
|
“What’s in a name?” Juliet asks. These are words from the famous balcony scene in “Romeo and Juliet”. She asks this question because Romeo is a Montague and she is a Capulet. Both families have a feud going on, both families are enemies. I found a synopsis of this line’s meaning online.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
By any other name would smell as sweet."
Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet meet and fall in love in Shakespeare's lyrical tale of "star-cross'd" lovers. They are doomed from the start as members of two warring families. Here Juliet tells Romeo that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention, and that she loves the person who is called "Montague", not the Montague name and not the Montague family. Romeo, out of his passion for Juliet, rejects his family name and vows, as Juliet asks, to "deny (his) father" and instead be "new baptized" as Juliet's lover. This one short line encapsulates the central struggle and tragedy of the play, and is one of Shakespeare's most famous quotes.
That names are an artificial and meaningless convention may be so in today’s society. Though many have picked up a name book at the bookstore or gone online to see the meaning of a name in order to name their child because they like what it means. Yet names don’t necessarily line up with who a person really is. However, in the Hebrew mind, a name did represent who that person was or will become. God is seen changing names in the Old Testament. Abram became Abraham. Sarai became Sarah. Jacob became Israel. All these changes had specific meaning behind them. Isaiah was given names for his children by the LORD, as a sign to His people and other nations. Jesus was given His name by command of His Father. These and many other examples could be given.
Let’s backtrack for a minute to set this up right. We just finished talking about our Shepherd guiding us in right paths or paths of righteousness. Now we are supplied with a motive or reason for why He’s doing this. The answer seems shocking and incongruous with what has been said so far. Up until now we were delighted by all the things our great Shepherd did for us. All the blessings we received from the hand of our Shepherd. Shouldn’t it say something like “for our sake” or “for our blessings and protection” or “to bring us to that great pasture in the sky, by and by”? After all, isn’t this psalm all about me, all about I, all about number one, oh my me my (sorry for the Toby Kieth reference)? In a word, NOPE! He does these things for a much higher reason, Himself! Hmm, sounds selfish doesn’t it? He leads and guides for “His name’s sake”. Going to leave you hanging on till next time as you think about that. Is God some self-serving fatuous being or is His desire to glorify and honor Himself the highest thing He could do for His people? Think about it, but with a reverent heart.
John 12:23-28
23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!"
Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again."
NIV
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