Section 1085
I. The place, or places where the people of God are directed to worship him, and he shews a regard unto, are where his name is recorded
Under this head I shall shew, what Is meant by the name of the Lord; what by recording his name; and point at the places where this may be done.
First, What may be intended by the name of the Lord; which admits of various significations.
1. By it is sometimes meant the Lord himself; as, when it is said, The name of the God of Jacob defend thee; (Psalm 20:1) that is, God himself who is Jacob’s God; for who else is the defence of his people? He is a wall of fire round about them; he is their place of defence; which is the munition of rocks; and being so, they may sing unto God their strength, and say unto him, as David did, God is my defence, and the God of my mercy. (Psalm 59:17) Again, when it is said, The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10) The meaning is, the Lord himself is a strong tower; and such the Psalmist often calls him, saying, he is my salvation and my high tower, a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. (Psalm 18:1 and 61:3) Hither do the saints betake themselves, in times of distress and danger; and here they remain safe until the calamities be overpast. So the name of Christ signifies Christ himself; In his name shall the Gentiles trust; (21) that is, in himself; in his person for acceptance; in his righteousness for justification; in his blood for pardon; and in his fulness for all supply. Nor is any other the proper object of trust and confidence; not any creature or creature-act: Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. (Jeremiah 17:7)
2. The name of the Lord sometimes intends his perfections; as, when it is said of Christ, the angel of God’s presence; the angel that went before the Israelites, and guided and guarded them through the wilderness, to the land of Canaan, Beware of him, and obey his voice—for my name is in him; (Exodus 23:21) The nature and perfections of God: the whole fulness of the Godhead dwells in him; every perfection of Deity; all that the Father hath, he has; he is the express image of his person; and so like him, having the whole divine nature in him, that he who sees the one sees the other. And, as these are in him, as God, as a divine person; so they are displayed in him as a mediator; in whom God has proclaimed his name; that is, his perfections of mercy, grace, goodness, justice, and holiness particularly; since it follows, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; (23 and 7) for these divine perfections are more especially glorified in our redemption and salvation by Christ; where mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Psalm 85:10) Once more, where it is said, O Lord our God, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1) The sense is; “What a glorious display of thy perfections is made in the earth, through the preaching of the gospel! whereby, in the first times of it, to which this passage belongs, was given the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face, or person, of Jesus Christ?” (2 Corinthians 4:6) that is, of the glorious perfections of God, as they are set forth in the person of Christ, and in the work of redemption: and so in the latter day, by the same means, will the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)
3. By the name of the Lord may be meant, any or every name of the Lord, by which he is revealed, manifested, and made known to the sons of men. The first name of his we meet with, is that of Elohim; In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth; (Genesis 1:1) which name has the signification of worship and adoration in it; being derived from a root which signifies to worship; God being the sole object of religions worship; and to which the apostle may be thought to have some respect, when he explains Deity, by that which is worshipped; for, speaking of antichrist, he says, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or is worshipped. (2 Thessalonians 2:4) And the word Elohim being of the plural number, may with propriety enough be rendered, the adorable ones; and very well he thought to denote a plurality; which, according to divine revelation, is a Trinity of persons, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; which three are one; and who manifestly appear in the creation of all things: The Father, who created all things by Jesus Christ; and the Word, who spake, and it was done; who commanded, and it stood fast; who said, Let such and such a thing be, and it was: and the Spirit of God, who garnished the heavens, and moved upon the face of the waters; and brought the confused and indigested chaos into the beautiful order the earth since was: So true is that of the Psalmist, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath, or spirit, of his mouth. (Psalm 33:6) The next name by which God made himself known, is that of God Almighty; of which he himself says; I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty; (Exodus 6:3) referring, no doubt in the first place, and particularly to his appearance to Abraham, when ninety years of age; to whom he said, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. (Genesis 17:1) A name that well agrees with him; as is clear by his making all things out of nothing; by upholding, and maintaining in Being the things he has made; by the redemption and preservation of his people; and by fulfilling his purposes, prophecies and promises. And there is no name or title by which he makes himself known, that is more suited to encourage the faith and hope of his children, in times of difficulty and danger; since his hand is not shortened, that it cannot save. (Isaiah 59:1) Another name following this, by which the divine Being has thought fit to manifest himself, is that of Jehovah; which it was not his pleasure to make himself known by to the above Patriarchs; for, he says, But by my name Jehovah was 1 not known to them. (Exodus 6:3) This is expressive of his existence; of him as the Being of beings; of his immutability and eternity; and is referred to, when Moses, having asked of God, what he should say to the children of Israel, should they inquire of him who sent him to them, saying, What is his name? He is bid to say, Iam that I am, hath sent me to you; (Exodus 3:13, 14) or, “I am that I was; and I am that I shall be; ” or, as John well deciphers it, which is, and which was, and which is to come; (Revelation 1:4) taking in all time and tenses, past, present. and future. And this being a name peculiar to the most high God, and yet given to Christ, Jehovah our righteousness, is no inconsiderable proof of his proper and supreme Deity. Another name of God is, The Lord of hosts; and by which he is frequently called; The portion of Jacob is not like unto them, the idols of the Gentiles, the Lord of hosts is his name; (Jeremiah 10:16) The Lord of Sabaoth; (James 5:4) and James retains the Hebrew word untranslated, and our version of him; which is not to he pronounced and understood, as it often wrongly is, of the Lord of Sabbath; but of the Lord of hosts, or armies, both above and below; and not only of the sun, moon, and stars, sometimes called the host of heaven; but of the angels; the heavenly militia; that multitude of the heavenly host; part of which attended at our Lord’s incarnation; these are at his beck, will, and command, as well as all the hosts and armies of men on earth; for, he doth according to his will, in the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou? (Daniel 4:35) The name of the Lord God of Israel, is frequently given him in the prophetic writings, especially of Jeremiah, who often prefaces his prophecies with it; and is very properly given him; since he chose the people of Israel, above all people, to he his special people; and distinguished them from others, by many peculiar favours; he avouched them to be his people; and they avouched him to be their God; this was his Old Testament name and title; and was almost out of date, as one observes; when Zechariah, the father of John Baptist, used it, who is the last that did; saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people; (Luke 1:68) for, quickly after, another name of his took place; which is, his New-Testament name and title; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (2 Corinthians 1:3; Ephesians 1:3, 17 and 3:14; 1 Peter 1:3) used by the apostles Paul and Peter. God is the God of Christ, as Christ is man; the human nature of Christ is a creature of God, the true tabernacle, which God pitched and not man; and which he anointed, filled, and adorned with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, without measure; and Christ, as such, loved him, as his God, and obeyed his commands, from a law of love in his heart; him he hoped in from his mother’s womb; and in him he believed, and had the strongest confidence in him, that he was near him, would help him, stand by him, and justify him; to him he prayed most fervently and frequently; sometimes a whole night together; and gave him thanks and praise for divers things, particularly for hiding the mysteries of grace from the wise and prudent, and revealing them to babes; and was in all things obedient to his God, throughout the whole course of his life, even unto death. God is the Father of Christ, as Christ is a divine person; and in such sense his Father, as he is to no other; and Christ is in such sense his Son, and in such a class of filiation and sonship, as none others are, angels, or men; angels are the sons of God by creation, saints by adoption: but to which of them, one or another, said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. (Hebrews 1:5)Christ is his own proper, natural Son; of the same nature with him; the Son of himself; the Son of the Father, in truth and love; (2 John 3) and not in an improper, figurative, and metaphorical sense; as magistrates, by office, are called the sons of God.
4. Christ himself may be signified by the name of the Lord; in and by whom he is so clearly made known and revealed to men; and in whom his name, his nature, and perfections are, as before observed; and to whom belong all the same glorious names; as the true God, God Almighty, Jehovah, the Lord of hosts, and the holy One of Israel; and who, besides these, has various precious and excellent names, worthy to be recorded. The first of these we meet with is Shiloh, in the famous prophecy in Jacob, The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, till Shiloh come; (Genesis 49:10) who is the true Messiah; which name, whether it has the signification of prosperous or peaceable, it agrees with Christ; in whose hands the pleasure and will of God, respecting the salvation of men, prospered; and who succeeded in all his conflicts with sin, Satan, and the world, and got the victory over them: and he is the prince of peace; the man, the peace; with whom the covenant of peace was made; on whom the chastisement of our peace was laid, and who has made peace by the blood of his cross. His name Immanuel, given him before his birth, when prophesied of, to he born of a virgin, is a very precious one; which is, by interpretation, God with us; (Matthew 1:23) “God in our nature, God manifest in the flesh; ” and through which, being made, he dwelt among men; which is a most wonderful instance of condescending grace. Another name with which it is said he should be called is, the Lord our righteousness, (Jeremiah 23:6) because as a surety, he undertook to bring in everlasting righteousness; and, therefore, it became him to fulfill all righteousness and for this purpose, he came in the likeness of sinful flesh, to obey the law in our nature, and condemn sin in the flesh, by the sacrifice of himself, that the righteousness of the law might be completely fulfilled in us; and he is become the fulfilling end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believes; and to whom he is also made righteousness, and they made the righteousness of God in him and, not to forget that delightful name of Jesus, given to him because he saves his people from their sins; nor Messiah, which signifies Christ, or anointed; he being anointed as prophet, priest, and king, with the oil of gladness, the holy Ghost, and his grace, above his fellows; and, from whom the saints receive the unction, that anointing, which teaches all things, and are denominated christians. To this name of Christ the church seems to allude, when she says, Thy name is as ointment poured fort h, therefore do the virgins love thee. (Song of Solomon 1:3)
5. The name of the Lord sometimes designs the gospel; as, when Christ says to his divine Father, I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gayest me out of the world; (John 17:6) that is, his mind and will, which he revealed unto his disciples, having lain in his bosom, and being fully acquainted with it; the mysteries of his love and grace, which lay hid in his heart; the several doctrines of grace and truth, which relate to the great design of God in man’s salvation, and came from God by him; for, this he afterwards explains, by saying, I have given unto them the words which thou gayest me; (John 17:8) namely, the words of eternal life, or the doctrines respecting the everlasting welfare and salvation of men so the Lord said to Annanius, concerning the apostle Paul, he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and Kings, and the children of Israel; (Acts 9:15) which was no other, than to carry the gospel, and spread it, not only in Judea, but in the Gentile world; and abide by it, and continue preaching it; and bear a testimony to it, in the face of all opposition, from men of every rank, and of every nation. Now, from all this we may learn. in some measure what we are to understand by the name of the Lord; which may be taken in the most comprehensive sense; as to include himself, his nature, and perfections, and every appellation by which he is manifested and known; his son, his person, offices, and grace, and all things relating to him; the gospel, the various doctrines of it: all which, as they serve to celebrate the praise and glory of God, they are to be recorded and remembered in every place, where the worship of God is set up; which leads me to observe,