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PRAISE THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES
by Mark S Bergemann 1997.
This song can be sung to any 8787D melody such as
Christian Worship (CW) 577.
The song is written in an 87878787 (or 8787D) metric.
This means that each of the 8 lines alternates between
8 and 7 syllables. Seventeen tunes and 26 songs in
Christian Worship (CW) use this meter. Near the end of
both CW and The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) is an index of songs by
their meter. The author of this song had the tune
"O Du Liebe Meiner Liebe" (CW 108, 380, 577)
in mind during composition.
1.
From the rising of the bright sun,
Till it dims and leaves the sky,
Glory, praise, and honor to you,
Lord we worship You on high.
Let us be your servants faithful,
Keep us on the narrow way,
We are clay and You're the Potter,
Use us Lord we humbly pray.
2.
God JEHOVAH You're the "I AM",
All else changes You're the same,
Timeless, changeless, always faithful,
Praise and honor to Your Name.
Lord, the guilty You must punish,
Yet love overflows from You,
Full forgiveness, great compassion,
What You promise, that You do.
3.
ELOHIM You're our Creator,
When You spoke all came to be,
And You made us in Your image,
Let us praise and honor Thee.
ELOHIM with strength unbounded,
You're the Rock, of You we sing,
There is not another like You,
You created everything.
4.
ADONAI You rule and govern,
You're the highest majesty,
All is under Your dominion,
You have all authority.
JEHOVAH all glory to You,
ELOHIM we worship Thee,
ADONAI all praise forever,
Glory, praise, and honor be.
msb 6/9/97
GOD'S NAMES
A DEVOTION for FAMILIES or INDIVIDUALS
Introduction
God has used many names to reveal Himself to us.
A few are listed below.
Each name emphasizes particular attributes of our Lord.
Hebrew KJV / NIV translation Meaning
El, Elohim God be strong
Shaddai Almighty
El Shaddai God Almighty most high God
Adonai Lord ruler, master
Jehovah (Yahweh) LORD the eternal I Am
Adonai is the normal Hebrew name of God.
It means "ruler" or "master of all".
Elohim means to "be strong".
This name is used in the first verse of the Bible,
"In the beginning God [Elohim] created
the heavens and the earth."
Jehovah (Yahweh) is God's most important name.
In Hebrew, "Yahweh" is derived from "I Am".
The ancient Hebrews revered this name so highly that
they would not speak this name of God, but would
instead substitute "Adonai" when reading it.
This is why this name's pronunciation was lost in
antiquity. The correct vowels for this name are
also not known, because in Hebrew, the vowels are
not written, but are instead supplied by the reader.
The form of this name that is commonly used
today is, "Jehovah", which was formed around 1500 AD
by inserting the vowels from "Adonai"
msb 6/9/97
Mark Bergemann
to God be all glory
GOD'S NAMES
A DEVOTION for FAMILIES or INDIVIDUALS
PART 1:
Sing or read together stanzas 1 and 2 of the song.
God introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush as
the great "I Am", then God revealed His name Jehovah:
"Say to the Israelites, `The LORD [Jehovah] the God of
your fathers-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob-has sent me to you.'
This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be
remembered from generation to generation."
Read Exodus 3:1-15.
Note that the KJV and NIV translate
"Jehovah" as "LORD" with small capital letters.
Our God is the "Living God"
(Jer 10:10; Dan 6:26),
He had no beginning nor will He ever cease to be
(Psalm 102:25-27; Rev 1:8).
How is this idea expressed in the name "I Am"?
Why is it comforting to have an eternal God?
msb 6/9/97
Mark Bergemann
to God be all glory
GOD'S NAMES
A DEVOTION for FAMILIES or INDIVIDUALS
PART 2:
Sing or read together stanzas 1 and 2 of the song.
Jehovah is God's covenant name.
It stresses God's great unchanging love for His people and
that God is faithful in keeping His promises.
As God passed in front of Moses,
He elaborated on the meaning of this name.
Read Exodus 33:19-34:7.
What 6 words from the last 2 verses of this Bible
section are found in stanza 2 of the song?
Re-read verse 7.
God must punish the guilty.
We are also guilty of many sins and so was Moses.
What did God do with our guilt?
Read Isaiah 53:5-6.
God put our guilt on Jesus.
Through faith, God has given us Christ's righteousness
as a free gift
(Rom 3:21-25).
msb 6/9/97
Mark Bergemann
to God be all glory
GOD'S NAMES
A DEVOTION for FAMILIES or INDIVIDUALS
PART 3:
Sing or read together stanzas 1 and 2 of the song.
Read Psalm 103.
What benefits from God are listed here?
What are the ways of God spoken of in verse 7?
David lists the ways of God in verses 8-14,
and he repeats some of what God said in Exodus 34:6.
By revealing Himself as Jehovah, God has given us
a fuller picture of His great love and faithfulness.
Read Exodus 5:22-6:8 and especially note verse 3,
"I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as
God Almighty [El Shaddai],
but by my name the LORD [Jehovah] I did not make
myself known to them."
As believers today, we have been given a blessing even
greater than that granted to the believers in Moses' day,
since we can read the details of how God completed His
work of Salvation by sending His Son to die on the cross.
1John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love."
[optional: Read 1John 4:7-21.]
msb 6/9/97
Mark Bergemann
to God be all glory
GOD'S NAMES
A DEVOTION for FAMILIES or INDIVIDUALS
PART 4:
Sing or read together stanzas 1 and 3 of the song.
Read Isaiah 44:6-23.
Name some idols that people worship today.
God is serious when He demands to be first in our lives.
He will not take second position.
Anything that we hold as more important than God becomes our idol.
msb 6/9/97
Mark Bergemann
to God be all glory
GOD'S NAMES
A DEVOTION for FAMILIES or INDIVIDUALS
PART 5:
Sing or read together stanzas 1 and 3 of the song.
Read Isaiah 40:25-31.
Have you ever returned from a trip to the Grand Canyon
and then tried to describe the canyon to your friends?
You can report the dimensions. You can tell how the
canyon made you feel. The fact remains, no one knows
the Grand Canyon until they've been there.
The Grand Canyon is unique.
It is the same with God, only more so. God is completely unique.
Nothing in the universe comes close in any way. God is THE SOURCE,
and everything else has been created by Him. The only way to know God
is through His Spirit dwelling in our hearts.
The Spirit of God enters our hearts through the Gospel.
This same Gospel, found in Word and Sacrament,
is the means which God has chosen to continue His work in us.
This is why continual exposure to the Scriptures is so important.
What is asked in verse 27? How is it answered?
God is the strong one who has unlimited power and endurance.
His very nature is love and therefore He provides for all our needs.
Read Matthew 6:25-34.
msb 6/9/97
Mark Bergemann
to God be all glory
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