Hallowing God’s Name
Lenten Devotional Series Day 10. Today’s meditation is on the third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” Exodus 20:7.
When Jesus’ disciples asked for instruction in prayer, he taught them to make their first petition, “Hallowed be thy name.” So is that all there is to keeping the third commandment?
In the burning bush, God shared his name with Moses. As J.I. Packer writes, God’s name in this case was more than just a label. It meant God’s identity “as he has revealed himself by word and deed” in human history. Not too long after giving his name to Moses in this way, God revealed himself in deed as Israel’s Almighty deliverer out of Egypt. Then he revealed himself in word as he gave Israel the Ten Commandments. As with Tolkien’s tree people, the Ents, God’s name gets longer and longer as he speaks and acts in the history of redemption. He is The Creator-Redeemer-who-Sees-and-Hears-and-Provides-and… Or, “Jesus Christ” for short. This name is the name above all others, because it encapsulates all of who God is and what he has done to redeem the world.
From this vantage point, ‘hallowing’ or revering God’s name involves honoring not only specific names for God, but also all of God’s Word, and all of God’s activities in the world. Anything that can be associated with him in some way is worthy of our respect and edifying speech. Among many other things, this means that we ought to speak blessing–and not curses–on other Christian believers and churches with whom we may disagree, because they too are ambassadors of God’s name.
Undergirding all of this is an assumption regarding the power of words. Our parents kindly taught us to worry about sticks and stones—not words—as a means of self-defense on the playground. But even though words may not be able to break bones, they do have power, for evil and for good. Because of this great power, the third commandment calls us to be wise stewards of the most precious words we have been given, i.e. God’s holy name.
Today in prayer, begin with the Collect of the Day (below). Then praise God’s name, listing out God’s words and actions as they come to mind. Give thanks to him for speaking all of creation into being, and giving us his Word to guide us. Ask him to help you speak only blessing and no curses on all his people and their actions in the world. Then hallow God’s name by praying the Lord’s Prayer.
The Collect of the Day. O Lord, for our sake you fasted forty days and forty nights: give us grace so to deny ourselves that our flesh may become subdued to your Spirit, and that we may always obey your divine will in righteousness and true holiness, to your honor and glory; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.