The Name

Proverbs 18:10

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

What's in a name? How can a name be a strong tower? What's in a name is what is in a person. According to that person's character and relationship to us, the name may evoke joy or sadness, peace or fear. And so it is with the LORD - Yahweh, I AM WHO I AM. For those made righteous in Christ, his name is a strong tower. The mere mention of the name evokes joy and peace and confidence. To belong to him is to know security. In contrast, those who are without Christ may despise and fear the Name.

In our time, the names "God" and "the Lord" evoke little emotion, one way or the other among the religious and nonreligious. The reason is that they impute whatever images and traits they so wish in the names. The name that is our strong tower and that reveals who truly knows the LORD is the name of Jesus Christ.

How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,
And calms the troubled breast;
'Tis manna to the hungry soul,
And to the weary rest.

Dear Name! the Rock on which I build,
My Shield and hiding place,
My never-failing Treasury filled
With boundless stores of grace;

Jesus, my Shepherd, Brother, Friend,
My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
Accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see thee as thou art,
I'll praise thee as I ought.

Till then I would thy love proclaim
With ev'ry fleeting breath;
And may the music of thy Name
Refresh my soul in death.