Praise Him! . . .
. . . and His Name?
by Norman Arthur
It seems that one understanding or another regarding our Heavenly Father's holy name is spreading through the body of the Messiah. Not too long ago, I did an interesting study regarding the use of the Hebrew tetragramaton, hwhy. While understanding that the transliteration of that is something similar to "YHWH", I avoided the issue of what the vowel points should be and what is the proper pronunciation and/or spelling. On this last point there tends to be much controversy.
My study took me to the relevance of using the name, in whatever variant one chooses, on a day-to-day basis. I simply looked up the word " name" in the concordance and then deleted all the references to the "name of Samuel", "name of Jacob" or to a name of anyone other than our Creator. While it is common knowledge that the name "YHWH" or hwhy is in the Hebrew text thousands of times, references to "the name of hwhy" numbered around 340. Here are some of the more significant scriptures, in my opinion, that I came across. I have substituted the tetragramaton for the words "the Lord" and any other place where his name is actually used. (At times, a contraction or some other close variant is actually used but for simplicity, and at the expense of accuracy, I stuck with the main name.)
Gen 4:26—And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of hwhy.
Gen 21:33—And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of hwhy, the everlasting God.
Exod 3:15—And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, hwhy God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Exod 6:3—And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name hwhy was I not known to them.
Exod 9:16—And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Exod 15:3—hwhy is a man of war: hwhy is his name.
Exod 20:7—Thou shalt not take the name of hwhy thy God in vain; for hwhy will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exod 23:13—And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
Exod 34:5—And hwhy descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of hwhy.
Deut 5:11—Thou shalt not take the name of hwhy thy God in vain: for hwhy will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Deut 28:10—And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of hwhy; and they shall be afraid of thee.
Deut 32:3—Because I will publish the name of hwhy: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
1 Sam 17:45—Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of hwhy of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
2 Sam 7:26—And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, hwhy of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
I King 3:2—Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of hwhy, until those days.
I King 8:16-20—Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of hwhy God of Israel. And hwhy said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. And hwhy hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as hwhy promised, and have built an house for the name of hwhy God of Israel.
I King 10:1—And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of hwhy, she came to prove him with hard questions.
I King 18:24—And call ye on the name of your gods, and I [Elijah] will call on the name of hwhy: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
1 Chr 16:8—Give thanks unto hwhy, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.
1 Chr 16:29—Give unto hwhy the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship hwhy in the beauty of holiness.
1 Chr 17:24—Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, hwhy of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.
2 Chr 7:14, 16, 20—If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.... For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.... Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.
Job 1:21—And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: hwhy gave, and hwhy hath taken away; blessed be the name of hwhy.
Ps 5:11—But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Ps 8:9—O hwhy our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Ps 9:10—And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, hwhy, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Ps 20:1—hwhy hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
Ps 22:22—I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
Ps 34:3—O magnify hwhy with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Ps 44:20—If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
Ps 54:1—Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.
Ps 63:4—Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
Ps 72:17—His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
Ps 79:6—Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
Ps 83:18—That men may know that thou, whose name alone is hwhy, art the most high over all the earth.
Ps 86:12—I will praise thee, O hwhy my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
Ps 92:1—It is a good thing to give thanks unto hwhy, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: (KJV)
Ps 99:3—Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.
Ps 135:1—Praise ye hwhy. Praise ye the name of hwhy; praise him, O ye servants of hwhy.
(Note: There are over 90 of these references in just the book of Psalms.)
Prov 18:10—The name of hwhy is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Isa 25:1—O hwhy, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
Isa 26:8—Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O hwhy, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 42:8—I am hwhy: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Isa 48:11—For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
Isa 56:6—Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to hwhy, to serve him, and to love the name of hwhy, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
Isa 63:16—Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O hwhy, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.
Jer 23:27—Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
Ezek 36:23—And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am hwhy, saith hwhy GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
Dan 2:20—Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
Hosea 2:17—For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. (Compare Exodus 23:13.)
Amos 9:6—It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: hwhy is his name.
Micah 4:5—For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of hwhy our God for ever and ever.
Zeph 3:9—For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of hwhy, to serve him with one consent.
Mal 1:6—A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith hwhy of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Mal 3:16—Then they that feared hwhy spake often one to another: and hwhy hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared hwhy, and that thought upon his name.
I have only quoted about 56 passages here. It is interesting to note that we tend to look for at least two or three scriptures to support any given doctrine. We will, at times, be content with just one, like in the example of the foot washing in John 13.
With about 340 verses referring to, not just his name—hwhy, but also to the name of hwhy, it would seem rather clear that we are not only to praise him, but his holy name as well!
What All Are We To Do With His Name?
we are to do many things with the name of hwhy. We are to:
Call upon his name.
Give the glory due to his name.
Exalt his name together.
Sing praises unto his name.
Praise his great and terrible name.
Run into his name as a strong tower.
Love his name.
Walk in his name.
Think upon his name.
Not take his name in vain.
Not forget his name.
Not remember or speak another god's name in place of his.
Not despise his name.