A God Apart

Meditation May 29, 2020

Matthew 6

We saw in the opening words that which leads directly to this petition when we read, “Our Father who is in the heavens…” and noted that being in the heavens indicated one who is infinitely beyond us. Our God is, as put by the Westminster divines, is “…infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, justice and truth…. ” He is the God before whom the seraphim covered their faces and cried, Holy, Holy; Holy. (Isaiah 6:1)

If asked about God, most will aver that he is a Being infinitely beyond our comprehension. Sadly, I think, though contemporary men, those who will acknowledge God at all, say about God, their attitudes toward God are quite the contrary. A large population of believers, most I fear, approach God with an unwarranted familiarity that however little intended is disrespectful. God is an awesome God until they want something then it is all “Hey, Dad, what’s up? I need to borrow the car.” And it the answer is No; the last shred of awesomeness and respect dissipate like fog in the morning sun. Undoubtedly Jesus knew the tendency to which men would turn with the freedom to approach God as “our Father.”

God is very jealous of His name for it represents Him, who He is and what He does. It is the reason we do not take His name in vain by oaths and vows. It is the reason we do not “name it and claim it,” suggesting that somehow God is under our control when the contrary is true. We are reminded by Ezekiel that God insists upon His holiness being honored when God says to his people” "Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned (defiled, polluted, desecrated, treated with abuse, irreverence, or contempt) among the nations where you went. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. (Ezekiel 36:22-23) Read the chapter. It is for God’s great namesake that we are given heart of flesh, redeemed and made obedient.

Giving names our children because we think they are pretty names, names that are popular, name that honor an ancestor etc. was not the common practice among peoples in the OT. Names were given then that reflected the personality of the one being named. The name was the nature and character of the one so named.

Jesus says then, when you pray, though you go to God as your Father and rightly so, he is nonetheless your Father in the heavens, infinite, eternal and unchangeable; therefore pray “hallowed be your name.” Whether we know Him by the name of Father, or Jehovah, or any of the many other names by which he makes Himself know in the Scriptures or by His revelation of Himself in His creation, we are to glorify God in everything and every way He has made himself known to us. Whenever and however we apprehend God, whether in His word or in His creation, we are to recognize Him as the Holy One of Israel. Our Father, Yes, but our Father who is the Awesome God before whom even the angels of heaven bow crying Holy, Holy.

That is what hallowed means; i.e., to hold holy, to acknowledge as set apart from what is common; that which is in the heavens. Something hallowed is different from other things and a person hallowed is different from other people. The temple was holy because it was set apart as a place of worship; consequently, when desecrated by being used for other purposes, Jesus cleansed it by driving out the merchants. An altar was holy because it was used a place of sacrifice. It was not used to cook the evening meal. Thus, God by whatever name He makes himself know, whether God Almighty or Father, is to be approached as One set apart, Holy.

Thus, Jesus teaches us to pray “Our Father, who is in the heavens, hallowed (holy) be your name….” Here, I think, it is not a doxology, it is not as the seraphim crying holy but a petition, a recognition of the tendency of men, privileged to boldly approach the throne of grace, forgetting it is the Holy One they approach; so, Jesus gives the petition “hallowed by your name” i.e., may we hold you holy, here as we approach the throne of grace may we never forget that it is the great and awesome God who sits upon that throne who we are approaching, hallowed by your name. We are being reminded that as we approach God, we ask Him to enable us to acknowledge, to give to him, that place of honor and respect that is uniquely His; that place His being, His nature and His deeds demand.

First, negatively, we are careful not to profane God's name with our mouths. We avoid swearing or taking his name in vain. We speak of him with great reverence. This is perhaps the least requiring aspect of hallowing his name.

Second, we begin with the positives: We reverence him as Father with acts of public and private worship. I personally consider the morning worship at the church I pastor to be the most important aspect of my life and ministry (apart from my personal devotion). I do not consider my sermon to be the most important part of the service but the worship. Is God's name truly being lifted up? Do the hymns, Scriptures, and prayers lift up his name? We hallow his name when we worship.

There is a third way: We reverence God or hallow his name when our beliefs concerning him are worthy of him. We cannot hallow his name if we do not understand it. Specifically, in the Lord's Prayer we must understand his Abba-Fatherhood…We understand the depth and wonder of saying, "Abba Father" only through the Holy Spirit…

And fourth, we hallow his name by living a life that displays that he is our Father... Luther was right. We best hallow God's name when our life and our doctrine are truly Christian. When we pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name," we are dedicating ourselves to lead lives that reverence all that he is. (Hughes, R. K.)

 

We often pray “Father: with heartfelt gratefulness and sincerity, but do we pray “hallowed be you name” with the same heartfelt wonder, humility and mourning of knowing there are areas of our life and tongue in which God’s name is not hallowed? When we pray “hallowed be your name” we petition God as did the psalmist, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer. (Psalms 19:14)