Thoughts for the Day

The Lord is king, let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the
cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and
awesome name.
Holy is he!

Mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity;
you have executed justice...
Extol the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool.
Holy is he!

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today, all too often we use the letters OMG in a text, or hear the words 'Oh! My God!' said. They have become commonplace. But in Judaism a name said everything about who a person was, what he did, and what he was like. A name symbolised everything about them. In a simplified way think of something like the name "Hoover". Years ago instead of saying "vacuum cleaner" we would say "hoover", because the Hoover firm's reputation for quality and reliability had spread around the world and had come to represent the cleaner itself.

Psalm 99 says the Lord God is a King, and His name is Holy. This means he is different from us; he is separate; he is other than us. The Creator is not like the created. His name is synonymous with justice and equity, that is He is fair and impartial. We can see injustice in our world, and we must work to change things. We must also trust that God our King, will bring in justice and fairness in His kingdom when it is completed.

The name of the Lord God our King should produce fear and wonder in us; as well as a desire to worship Him; and the wish to learn more about Him. Psalm 99 calls us to sing praises to God for his goodness and holiness.

King of kings, and Lord of lords,
we praise your Holy name.
We come before You this day,
to worship You;
to learn more about You;
and to sing Your praises.
May we never forget
all that You have done for us,
and may we continue to
worship You every day.
Amen.