O LORD, we have waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early.
Isaiah 26:8-9 (NKJV)
Look upon me and be merciful to me,
As Your custom is toward those who love Your name.
Psalm 119:132 (NKJV)
"Behold, I have sworn by My great name," says YHWH, "that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, 'The Lord YHWH lives.' " ~ Jeremiah 44:26 (author)
A name can change everything. A newborn's identity begins with a name. The familiar receptionist, cashier or usher is a body with a function until a name is known and function becomes person. The one who would be friend, spouse and lover began to be mine in the moment I possessed the name that became sweet upon my lips and made my heart beat faster.
No one has more names than God. A few are Living Word, Creator, Light, I Am, Lamb, Judge, King, Friend, Rock, Shepherd, and Savior. Yet these are also attributes—names for other people and things. Even Hebrew names in an exclusively divine form such as Shaddai (Almighty) and Adonai (Lord) have origin in the common (shad, adon).
A single name is exclusive to God: YHWH (and its poetic emphatic form, YAH). Translated Yahweh, Jehovah, or LORD (with small caps), it's pronunciation and exact meaning were lost with its Hebrew vowels when the Jews stopped speaking the name YHWH for fear of violating it.
Interestingly, if the Hebrew consonants for YHWH are spoken ("yad he vav he"), the meaning is "behold hand, behold nail"—not unfitting until the day YHWH is fully known.
YAH, You are my Strength and Song and have become my Salvation. Your names are sweet upon my lips and make my heart beat faster. All my desire will be utterly fulfilled in the day I behold the hands which took the nails for me and I speak Your name.
Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. © 2008, Anne Lang Bundy
I love You Lord, thank You for all You have done for me.
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