Name: "A" Subject: His Name's Sake
Question - Hello there,
In psalm 23 as well as other places, the phrase "for his name's sake" appears. The context is: "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." What do the speaker's actions have to do with the name of God? Why is God's name affected in any way, pro or con?
Thanks!
John of AllFaith's Answer
Great question "A"!
The subject of God's Name is an enlightening one. First, the word "name" here means the following according to Strong's:
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"Shem"
Word Origin: Hebrew, Noun Masculine: "name" a primitive word through the idea of definite and conspicuous position, reputation, fame, glory, etc.
So, when the Psalmist uses the phrase "for his name's sake" he is referring to the reputation and fame of the God of Israel, who alone is blessed and glorified for ever. The phrase doesn't actually refer to a literal name.
When God leads people in the ways of righteousness, and when they follow, he is glorified and his fame and reputation is thereby increased.
The Torah often refers to God as a ruler with courts of thanksgiving etc.
As servants of the One King, it is our responsibility to bring glory to the divine Crown. We bring glory and fame to God's Name by obeying his Torah and thereby walking in righteousness. Likewise unrighteousness brings shame to God's Name and soils his reputation.
The Torah or Law of God presents us with a guideline to follow. By living in harmony with the laws of God in righteousness, we offer God acceptable worship. For the Jews, to whom the Psalms were given, the 613 mitzvah or commandments given in the Torah form the way of worship. Those who obey these laws are deemed righteous and hence bring glory to God's Name.
While Christians have a somewhat different relationship with the Law, we are reminded of James' teaching concerning it: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."
By obeying the 613 commandments, Jews bring glory to God's Name. By living according to the teachings of Jesus, Christians bring glory to God's Name. Our actions are performed "for his name's sake."
Peace,
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~John of AllFaith
Follow-up by "A":
Question: Thank you for your answer. The only thing that unsettles me a little is the implication (in the case of Psalm 23, as an example) that God would NOT lead us in the paths of righteousness were it not for the glory/stature that it will result in. I'll stop here because any further attempt at clarification from me seems to make the point muddier instead. I hope you can see what I'm trying to say! Thanks again, and looking forward to your reply.John of AllFaith's reply: Hi again "A"
From my previous reply we can springboard into somewhat deeper waters that might make this point a bit clearer.
I explained before that, "As servants of the One King, it is our responsibility [and blessing] to bring glory to the divine Crown. We bring glory and fame to God's Name by obeying his Torah and thereby walking in righteousness."
But let's face it, God doesn't need us to glorify his Name. It is precisely for this reason that some people reject the notion of worshiping God at all. They reason that if God is so "weak" that He needs our worship, then He doesn't deserve to be worshiped (I know you are not saying this). So why do we need to glorify His Name?
Psalm 72:17 tells us that "[God's] name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men [people] shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed."
How is this to happen? Gen. 18:18 tells us:
"...Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?"
Through the descendants of Abraham, i.e. the Jews, the Chosen People of God (the "great and mighty nation"), all the peoples of the earth will be blessed once the Messiah comes and establishes the Kingdom of God on Earth (Christians of course will say, 'Once the Messiah returns').
Now, the kingdom is non different from the king and the king is non different from his name (his reputation, fame, glory etc.). Hence we can worship the Name of God (compare Psalms 69:30) etc.
Since God the King is our eternal well-wisher and has revealed through the prophets how this global blessing will come to be, when the worshipers bring glory to God "for His Name's sake" they are advancing the causes of the Kingdom of God, a kingdom that will far surpass our individual contributions to it.
Also, who are God's namesakes? We can look at the phrase from a slightly different angle and see that all those who are children of God are 'God's namesake,' even as our children are own namesakes. In this light, God "leads us in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake" means He leads us to help us. But to help us do what? To help us bring glory to His Name, to His purposes, to His kingdom ('Thy kingdom come...' Matt 6:10). And what are those purposes? Our redemption.
God helps us now with our daily concerns of course, but the biggest needs are not our individual problems, but the need of the world and its inhabitants for redemption: "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. ..." (Rom 8:23). Once global redemption happens, our present needs will be but dim memories.
Certainly God does not need our worship. However God is most kind towards us and even allows us to take part in the Great Redemption of the world (as 'co-workers with Christ Jesus' one might say -- compare Rom. 6:8 and Rev. 20:4). Otherwise, the Name of God is blasphemed (Rom. 2:24).
Perhaps this will help clarify the matter a bit. Everything God does is for the benefit and redemption of the world and its inhabitants.
Write back any time!
Maranatha (Messiah comes!),
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~John of AllFaith
Reply from "A"
Thanks for your thoughtful and knowledgeable answer. I'm still thinking about what you said, and "trying to wrap my mind around it" as they say. You've helped quite a lot.
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