ZAIN

God’s Word Produces Remembrance

Psalm 119:49-56

Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.

The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.

I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself.

Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.

Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.

I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law.

This I had, because I kept thy precepts.

The key concept in this stanza is apparent at the first reading. Three times David writes of remembrance, the only mention of this concept in the entire Psalm. The Hebrew zākar—translated remember in verse 49 and remembered in verses 52 and 55—means not only to remember but also to think of or pay attention to. The fact that it appears some 238 times in the Old Testament, fifty-seven of which are in the Psalms, including the three here, dramatically demonstrates that remembrance in ancient Israel was a major part of proper worship. Psalm 22:27, for example, declares: “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.” Psalm 45:17 also declares, “I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever,” as does 63:5-6: “My mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.” The clear truth here is that we simply cannot worship unless we are remembering.

Indeed, one of the greatest acts of worship is to remember what God has done. As the psalmist again declares, “I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. . . . who is so great a God as our God?” (77:11, 13; cf. 105:5; 106:7). How this should be true of us today! Much so-called “worship” in churches revolves around people, what makes them feel good or “meets their needs.” But that is not worship. True worship considers God alone, lifts up only Him, and one way to do that is to recall His great works in the universe and in the hearts of His people.

Such remembrance also implies two results.

First, remembering results in repentance. As Ezekiel 6:9 declares, “And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.” How we need to remember our sin! David again writes in Psalm 38:1, “A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance,” and then describes his failures in the verses that follow: “There is no soundness in my flesh” (v. 3), “mine iniquities are . . . an heavy burden” (v. 4), and “I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh” (vs. 6-7). In verse 18, he then prays, “For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.” How different that is from what we hear today from many pulpits. While we hear much about having “a positive self-esteem,” David spoke of the “loathsome disease” of sin from which he needed to repent. So to truly remember is to mindful of our sin and to repent of it.

Second, remembering results in obedience, that is, observing God’s commandments: “Remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.” (Num. 15:39-40). Further, the word “Deuteronomy” literally means “second law,” and that book is Moses’ restatement of the Law that he passed down to the next generation. The word remember (zākar) appears some fourteen times, as in chapter 5 to challenge the people to remember and obey God’s commands. Likewise, the psalmist again declares, “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.” (Ps. 103:17-18). Phrasing it in the negative, Solomon also counsels, “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments” (Prov. 3:1).

It’s also significant that the Septuagint translates the Hebrew zākar with the Greek mnemoneuō (English “mnemonic”) which refers not only to the mental capability to recall something, but also “to be mindful” of it and “take [it] into account.”[1] With all that in mind, the stanza before us reveals three principles: we are comforted, confident, and challenged.

I. Be Comforted by Considering God’s Remembrance (vs. 49-50)

Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.

What does David mean by asking God to remember? After all, God is omniscient so he can’t forget anything. What David means, of course, is that God remembers in the sense of “paying attention to” or “working on behalf of.” The very first occurrence of zākar, in fact, reflects this very idea: “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged” (Gen. 8:1). Matthew Henry well says concerning this verse: “The whole race of mankind, except Noah and his family, was now extinguished, and driven into the land of forgetfulness, to be remembered no more; so that God’s remembering Noah was the return of his mercy to mankind.”

Also in Genesis, God “remembered Abraham” by delivering his nephew Lot from destruction in Sodom (19:29), and He also “remembered Rachel” by enabling her to conceive and give birth to Joseph (30:22-24). In Exodus 2:24, we also read that “God heard [the] groaning” of His people in their bondage in Egypt and therefore “remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.”

Because of such remembrance David, therefore, says thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction. Just knowing that God never forgets us, never forsakes us, and is always working on our behalf provides the greatest hope and comfort possible. As noted back in verse 43, hope (yāhal) means “confident expectation, trust, and patient waiting.” Further, comfort (nehāmâ) speaks of compassion and consolation. This same word is used in that great Psalm of comfort: “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” (Ps. 23:4) This is, indeed, the only thing that will [quicken] us (see verse 25b), that is, revive us in those times when distress, discouragement, and depression threaten to overwhelm us.

II. Be Confident by Remembrance of the Word of God (vs. 51-53)

The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from thy law.

I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself.

Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.

As mentioned back in verse 21, “the proud . . . are cursed” by God because they “do err from [His] commandments.” Pride is a self-sufficiency that that disregards what God says. As a result, therefore, the proud will arrogantly mock those who stand on God’s Word. The Hebrew behind derision (lūts) is a strong word for scorn and mockery, expressing utter contempt (cf. Prov. 9:7-8; 13:1; 20:1; Job 16:20; etc.). Sadly, a prominent philosophy in the church today is that we must appeal to the world, make the “unchurched” feel comfortable in our church services by giving them whatever they want. David says quite the opposite, however, that the world will mock and scorn God’s people as they stand for truth. Indeed, we will be held in contempt by the rationalist, scorned by the relativist, and even hated by the religionist.

Like David, however, this should never cause us to [decline] from [God’s] law. “No matter what they say,” David continues, “I will lean on nothing else but God’s Word.” The word declined is the same word used back in verse 36 for “incline”: “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies.” As noted there, it’s usually used in a figurative way, such as inclining or leaning toward something. The godly Believer, then, never leans away from God’s Word, regardless of what attacks that come. He is absolutely confident is God’s Word.

If I might share a personal thought, when someone approaches me with a supposed “contradiction in Scripture,” or asks, “Well, what about this problem? How do you reconcile that with this other thing over here?” I am never worried. It never enters my mind to fretfully say, “Oh, no, what I am going to do now? How am going to answer this?” Such thoughts never occur to me because of my obsolete confidence in God’s Word. I know God’s Word is right, so I know the answer is there. If the answer is not immediately forthcoming, I will find it. My confidence is never shaken by the childishness, foolishness, or wickedness of men.

David makes an interesting statement in verse 53: Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law. That word horror captures our attention. The Hebrew (zal‘āpâ) seems to refer to the Arab simoom, a hot, dry, violent, dust-laden wind that occurs in Asian and African deserts. David, therefore, recognized the approach of the horrible, devastating “storm of burning wind and sand” that sin is. Anyone who has ever been in sandstorm understands the metaphor. Blowing sand cuts the skin, blinds the eyes, and can choke a person to death.

That is, indeed, what sin does because men forsake [God’s] law. Here is a challenge to every Christian to be as horrified at sin as David was, to recognize what it does to every person who lives in its storm. The only safety, the only confidence that exists lies in remembering the Word of God.

III. Be Challenged by Remembrance of the God of the Word (vs. 54-56)

Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.

I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law.

This I had, because I kept thy precepts.

While the previous verses underscore the Word of God, I was profoundly struck by the fact that these stress the God of the Word. The key words are I have remembered thy name, O LORD. The names of God are one of the most enlightening Bible studies one can do, for His names actually describe His nature. Further, they tell us not only Who He is, but also what He does. Theologian Louis Berkof points out a very important foundational truth:

While the Bible records several names of God, it also speaks of the name of God in the singular . . . [which] stands for the whole manifestation of God in His relation to His people. . . . This usage is due to the fact that in oriental thought a name was never regarded as a mere vocable, but as an expression of the nature of the thing designated.[2]

In other words, while in our western culture names often don’t mean much, in eastern thought a name was indicative of an object’s nature. In a very real sense, then, God’s name is His own self-revelation. Isaiah 12:4, for example, declares, “Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.” This becomes all the more vivid as we note the various names used of God in Scripture. How important this is in our day!

At the root of the problems we see in society, and even the Church, is a wrong conception of God. We simply do not know Who He is. Instead of the shallow fluff, and even heresy, that lines the shelves of many Christian bookstores, would that pastors encouraged their people to read books such as A. W. Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy, or Arthur W. Pink’s, The Attributes of God. Better yet, we should point them to Puritan Steven Charnock’s, The Existence and Attitudes of God, which will furnish them a lifetime of depth and meditation.

Yes, God’s names tell us much. Let us take just a few moments to mediate on a few of God’s Old Testament names.

Elohim

In the very first verse of the Bible we read, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1), acknowledging Him as the Creator of the universe and exposing the evolutionist as the fool he is. The Hebrew here for God is Elohim, the plural of Eloah. The singular Eloah occurs only in poetry (e.g., Ps. 50:22; Is. 44:8), while the plural Elohim appears more than 2,600 times in the Old Testament and usually refers to the one true God. Not only does it speak of God as the Creator (Gen. 1:1; 5:1), but also as the King (Ps. 47:7), the Judge (Ps. 50:6), the Lord (Ps. 86:12), and the Savior (Hos. 13:4).

A basic fact of the Hebrew language is that any word ending in im is plural, making Elohim plural. This fact, however, has created three views as to why it appears in the plural. Some regard it as an intensive to signify God’s fullness of power, others see it as a majestic form to indicate God’s kingly rule, while still others believe it is as an allusion to the Trinity. There is no doubt, however, that it is the third meaning that is correct, and few have challenged this biblical and historical view through the ages.[3] While the doctrine of the Trinity is not as prevalent in the Old Testament as the New, it is there nonetheless, and to deny it is one of the most serious heresies of all false teaching. Genesis 1:1-2, for example, alludes to two members of the Trinity, as the “Spirit of God [Elohim] moved upon the face of the waters.” We then read in 1:26-27, “And God [Elohim] said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . . So God [Elohim] created man in his own image.” Isaiah 48:16 also declares, “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me” (cf. 63:7-10). Ecclesiastes 12:1 also declares, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,” where “Creator” is actually the plural “Creators” in the Hebrew, as is “Maker” in Isaiah 54:5 the plural “Makers”: “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”

Finally, while some scholars trace the origin of this amazing word to a root that means “The Strong One,” others trace it to a root that denotes “fear,” which therefore creates the idea of reverence. Others believe, however, that it is possible for some names to be derived from two or even three roots, which means that Elohim is both, The Strong One who is to be feared and revered because of Who He is.[4] That is, indeed, the challenge to us, to remember Who Elohim is and what He has done.

Jehovah

Here is a fascinating name indeed. In spite of years of scholarship, little is known of the word Jehovah outside the text of Scripture. Even its original pronunciation has been lost because for centuries Jews would not even utter it, sometimes out of reverence but more often out of superstition. Pronunciations include Jehovah, Yehovah, Jahweh, and Yahweh. Up until the Renaissance it was only the consonants YHWH (called the Tetragrammaton) that appeared in the Hebrew Bible, at which time the vowels from another name of God, ’Adōnāy, were added with the hope of recovering the pronunciation. Even today, however, Jewish students and scholars read ’Adōnāy (Lord) when they see the Tetragrammaton, and even several English translations indicate this by using the word “LORD” in all uppercase letters.

On the other hand, Jehovah is actually more fully defined in Scripture than all God’s other names and is the most significant, appearing 5,321 times in the Old Testament.[5] It comes from the Hebrew verb “to be” (hayah) and therefore emphasizes God’s self-existence and unchangeableness, as He revealed Himself to Moses saying, “I AM THAT I AM” (Ex. 3:14), that is, “I Am the One Who Is.” It was this name, in fact, that God chose as His personal name by which He related specifically to and most dramatically with His chosen people.

Jehovah is also the name that is specifically God’s “covenant name,” the name He usually used when making covenants and giving promises to His people, such as Noah (Gen. 8:20—9:27), Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:1-18), and Moses (Ex. 20:1—31:18). In those passages, in fact, we find the word Jehovah some sixty-eight times.

One of the chief uses of this name for God relates to His work of redemption. Leviticus 26:45, for example, declares, “I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD [Jehovah].” Psalms 19:14 proclaims, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD [Jehovah], my strength, and my redeemer.”

Of such pivotal importance is this word that we discover several compounds of it, each of which reveals a special way that God deals with His people.[6]

First, we encounter the name Jehovah-jireh in Genesis 22:14. The scene is when Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac but God stops his hand and provides a ram in the thicket instead. It was then that “Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh,” that is literally, “The LORD Will Provide,” or even more significant, “the LORD will see to it.” That latter idea is perhaps the most blessed. As Paul declares, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). Indeed, the Lord will see to it, He will take care of it.

Second, He is Jehovah-rapha, “The LORD That Healeth,” in Exodus 15:26. After the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea, the Israelites found themselves in the wilderness of Shur, where they found no water. When they finally did find water in Marah, the water was bitter and undrinkable. After God sweetened the water, he said, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” As Paul reminds us, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered [i.e., dismayed sighs that cannot be expressed in words]” (Rom. 8:26).

Third, He is Jehovah-nissi, “the Lord My Banner,” in Exodus 17:8-15. The scene is Israel’s battle with the Amalekites, “when Moses held up his hand . . . Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed,” so Aaron and Hur “stayed up his hands” and Israel was victorious. We then read, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi.” We, too, are victorious when we fight in His power alone, when we put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:12-20). Was it Israel who in truth prevailed against the Amalekites? No, it was God. Likewise, God will win the victory as we trust in His Word alone. Victory comes only with obedience.

Fourth, He is Jehovah-shalom, “the Lord Is Peace,” in Judges 6:23-24. This was the name God used to reveal himself to Gideon: “And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom.” And only to the Christian does God, through Christ, bestow upon us the “peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Fifth, He is Jehovah-sabaoth, “the LORD Of Hosts,” first mentioned in I Samuel 1:3, the first occurrence of some 240 instances of this wonderfully descriptive name. It’s rooted in Genesis 2:1: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” One commentator puts the meaning well:

It represented Jehovah as ruler over the heavenly hosts (i.e., the angels, according to Gen. 32:2, and the stars, according to Is. 40:26), who are called the “armies” of Jehovah in Psa. 103:21; Psa. 148:2. . . . It is simply applied to Jehovah as the God of the universe, who governs all the powers of heaven, both visible and invisible, as He rules in heaven and on earth.[7]

It’s also worthy of note that this name appears twice in the New Testament, once in Romans 9:29 (which is a quotation of Is. 1:9), and again in James 5:4: “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.” Here James declares that this God of Hosts, this God of Armies, is not oblivious to the cries of those who have suffered injustice; He will vindicate them and judge the oppressor. That is our assurance, an assurance we see many times in Psalm 119.

Sixth, He is Jehovah-rāah, “the Lord Is My Shepherd,” in Psalm 23:1. In David’s great Psalm of comfort, he declares, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” As Charles Spurgeon writes in his Treasury of David, “What condescension is this, that the Infinite Lord assumes towards his people the office and character of a Shepherd!” Think of it! God descends and assumes one of the lowliest occupations in the ancient world. As a shepherd, therefore, leads, feeds, tends, and protects the sheep, so God does for us in all ways.

Seventh, He is Jehovah-tsidkenu, “the Lord Our Righteousness,” in Jeremiah 23:6. In His promise of the Righteous King Who will come (Messiah), God declares, “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” God is not only righteous in Himself, but He produces righteousness in those who He saves through Christ. While many in pulpits today go out of their way to avoid mentioning sin, salvations is about sin and righteousness, that is, our sin and Christ’s righteousness that saves us from our sin. Further, this is also wonderful prophecy of Christ’s Second Coming, when He shall return and the nation of Israel will be saved (cf. Rom. 11:26).

Based on this name of God, the beloved Robert Murray M’Cheyne wrote the wonderful hymn, “I Once Was A Stranger,” (which can be sung to the melody of “My Jesus, I Love Thee” by Adoniram Gordon):

I once was a stranger to grace and to God,

I knew not my danger, and felt not my load;

Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree,

Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me.

I oft read with pleasure, to sooth or engage,

Isaiah’s wild measure and John’s simple page;

But e’en when they pictured the blood sprinkled tree

Jehovah Tsidkenu seemed nothing to me.

Like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll,

I wept when the waters went over His soul;

Yet thought not that my sins had nailed to the tree

Jehovah Tsidkenu—’twas nothing to me.

When free grace awoke me, by light from on high,

Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die;

No refuge, no safety in self could I see—

Jehovah Tsidkenu my Saviour must be.

My terrors all vanished before the sweet name;

My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came

To drink at the fountain, life giving and free—

Jehovah Tsidkenu is all things to me.

Jehovah Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast,

Jehovah Tsidkenu! I ne’er can be lost;

In thee I shall conquer by flood and by field,

My cable, my anchor, my breast-plate and shield!

Even treading the valley, the shadow of death,

This “watchword” shall rally my faltering breath;

For while from life’s fever my God sets me free,

Jehovah Tsidkenu, my death song shall be.

Eighth, because of His perfect, absolute righteousness, God is also called by two names that speak of His judgment upon unrighteousness. In Jeremiah 51:56 He is called Jehovah-Gemûlâ, “the Lord Will Recompense,” where the prophet foretells that God will come “upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompenses shall surely requite.” The Hebrew gemûlâ speaks of full repayment of what is deserved. There are some seventeen other instances of this word that speak of recompense, both of judgment and blessing.[8]

As if that is not clear enough, God is also called Jehovah-Nākâ, “the Lord That Smiteth” in Ezekiel 7:9. Writing about Israel’s own rebellion, the prophet declares that God “will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smiteth.” The Hebrew nākâ means to beat, to strike, or to wound, usually in non-lethal way. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah, for example, were stricken blind by the two angels (Gen. 19:11), and God struck the Egyptians with plagues (Ex. 3:20).

In a day when God is viewed as a tolerant grandfather who simply smiles understandingly at sin, men need to be told that God is a God of retribution and wrath, Who will bring judgment on those who reject Him. Likewise, we as believers need to be reminded that God disciplines and chastises His own people when they rebel: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb. 12:6; cf. vs. 7-8).

Ninth, He is Jehovah-Maccaddeshcem (or M’kaddesh), “The Lord Who Sanctifies,” in Exodus 31:13: “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.” Maccaddeshcem is derived from the Hebrew qâdash, which “signifies an act whereby, or a state wherein, people or things are set aside for use in the worship of God: they are consecrated or ‘made sacred.’”[9] The scene in this verse, of course, is the setting aside of the Sabbath as holy. It was a sign to Israel alone of God’s covenant with them and marked Israel out as His people. Observing the Sabbath showed that the Israelites were set apart (i.e., holy) to God.

This word is, in fact, one of the most dramatic examples of a New Testament doctrine that is rooted in Old Testament doctrine. The Greek is hagios, which appears some 231 times in the New Testament. While in secular Greek it meant “to stand in awe of or be devoted to the gods,” Paul lifted it to a new level of meaning: “to set apart or be separate.” It is translated by such words as holy, sanctification, and saint. Particularly significant is “saint,” which refers to every believer, not some “especially holy” person who has been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. Paul uses this term some forty-two times, and in every instance he refers to one who has trusted Christ as Savior and Lord, one who has been set apart.

We see the title Jehovah-Maccaddeshcem again in Leviticus 20:8, “And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you,” which couples God’s setting apart Israel with their keeping of His Word. We again find the same principle even more strongly stated in the New Testament. Our Lord Himself declared that He will “Sanctify [His people] through [God’s] truth” because [His] word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). Paul likewise writes that Christ will “sanctify and cleanse [the church] with the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26). Let us be reminded moment-by-moment that Scripture is the source of sanctification.

Tenth, He is Jehovah-shammah, “the Lord Is There,” in the last verse of Ezekiel’s prophecy (48:35). In verses 28-35, we read the description of the New Jerusalem, which will have twelve gates, three on each side, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and its circumference will be “about eighteen thousand measures,” that is, almost thirty-seven miles. And what will its greatest feature be? “The name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.” What a joy that will be for all of us one day!

So as our text (v. 55) reveals, how important it is to able to say, I have remembered thy name, O LORD [Jehovah, Yahweh]! And this name should, indeed, be remembered above all others.

Adon, Adonai

The Hebrew ’Adōnāy, rendered “Lord” (initial caps) in most English translations, appears over 400 times. It is the word that expresses God’s dominion, possession, and sovereignty.

It is extremely significant that the direct Greek equivalent in the New Testament is kurios, which is frequently applied to the Lord Jesus. While “lord” is sometimes used as simply a title of honor, such as Rabbi, Teacher, Master (Matt. 10:24; cf. Luke 16:3), or even a husband (1 Pet. 3:6), when used of Jesus in a confessional way, it without question refers to His divinity. The simple but deeply profound confession Kurios Iēsous (Lord Jesus) is rooted in the pre-Pauline Greek Christian community and is probably the oldest of all Christian creeds. Jesus is Lord!

In a day when the Lordship of Christ means very little in the thinking of many who call themselves “Christian,” we must emphasize it all the more. There is simply no salvation apart from Jesus as Lord.

El-Shaddai

Here is the name by which God made Himself known to the patriarchs. El is one of the most ancient terms for God, god, or deity and means “mighty,” and Shaddai means “almighty, possessing all power, all-sufficient.” We find it first in Genesis 17:1: “When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” El-Shaddai, then, “is found in the passages that report God’s promises of fertility, land, and abundance to them, indicating that He, the Almighty, could fulfill His promises (Gen. 17:1; Gen. 28:3; Gen. 35:11).”[10] The other patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob, also knew Him by this name (28:1-3), as did Joseph (48:3).

It is most significant that this name is a universal name for God, as is demonstrated by the non-Israelite Job and his “friends,” who used it some thirty times. Here are a few of those encouragements:

Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty (5:17).

Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God (13:3).

Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God (22:25-26).

But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding (32:8).

The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life (33:4).

Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict (37:23).

El-Elyon

Elyon means Most High, the Highest, and appears thirty-one times in the Old Testament in reference to God. There is no one higher, no possibility of being higher. The most notable is in Genesis 14:18-20, where the non-Israelite Melchizedek, a vivid Old Testament type of Christ, was a king-priest of God Most High. So important is this incident, that is again referred to in Hebrews 7:1-2: “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness [the meaning of Melchizedek], and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.”

This name also appears in Isaiah’s recounting of Satan’s rebellion, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Is. 14:14). This demonstrates that this name refers to God’s rule and sovereignty. Here is a challenge to us to submit ourselves always to His sovereign rule.

Meditating on these names of God, therefore, presents us with at least three profound challenges.

First, they challenge us to stand for God’s nature. There are today countless oppositions to God’s nature. There is Arminianism that dilutes God’s sovereignty in salvation. There is Open Theism, which goes ever further to deny that God is fully omniscient. Even the ancient 4th Century heresy of Arianism, which taught that Jesus was not coequal with God and was a created being, still exists today in various disguises. As a by-product, this caused (and still causes) some to deny the cardinal doctrine of Trinity, thereby blaspheming all God’s manifestation: God the Father, God Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. To stand for Who God is, therefore, is just one aspect of what it means to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).

Second, these names of God challenge us to stand for God’s Word. As the expression goes, “A man is only as good as His word,” and God’s nature is inseparable from His Word. As majestic and awe-inspiriting as God’s names are, David makes one of the most astounding statements of Scripture when he writes, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (Ps. 138:2). Think of it! It is impossible to elevated God’s Word too high because God Himself elevates it higher than His own name! Why? Spurgeon well answers:

The name of the Lord in nature is not so easily read as in the Scriptures . . . Moreover, the Lord lays all the rest of his name under tribute to his word: his wisdom, power, love, and all his other attributes combine to carry out his word. It is his word which creates, sustains, quickens, enlightens, and comforts. As a word of command it is supreme; and in the person of the incarnate Word it is set above all the works of God’s hands.

We must, therefore, also contend for God’s Word as we do His nature. We must never tolerate any teacher or teaching that undermines God’s Word in even the minutest degree.

Third, these names of God challenge us to proper worship. As verse 54 declares, Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. As travelers in ancient time sang songs to themselves to make the way easier and more pleasant to them, the psalmist did likewise. Why? Because singing is consistently a part of worship in Scripture. The very first result of the spirit-filled Christian, in fact, is singing, as Paul declares in Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

But what exactly are those songs? In our day, many of our Christian songs are shallow ditties about our feelings and are hollow for lack of doctrinal substance. But David declares that God’s statutes (that is, His decrees that are engraved in stone showing their permanence) are the songs he sings. Those songs, therefore, helped David to remember and keep God’s name, God’s law (instruction and direction), and God’s precepts (injunctions and moral obligations) both night and day.

Let us thank God that His Word produces remembrance.

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