“May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” (v1,2,6,7)
Names are important, names have power – especially the names of God. Throughout the Bible, God is called by many names, and each name captures a characteristic of God. David talks about the “name of God” three times in this Psalm, so clearly this topic was important to the Hebrews. Depending on which scholar you ask, there are seven major names and several derivative names. Here are a couple of articles if you are interested in reading further: https://godtv.com/names-of-god/http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Names_of_God_in_Judaism
Another thing David talks about in this Psalm is God’s sanctuary and Zion. What or where are those places?
Zion – Literal or Present Tense (mostly OT): this would be the mountain in Jerusalem, the highest point in the city, where God’s temple was located
The Sanctuary – Literal or Present Tense (mostly OT): this would be the place in the temple where the Israelites made offerings to God and worshiped
Zion/The Sanctuary – Metaphorical or Future Tense (mostly NT): this would be in heaven, or some references are to the New Jerusalem (which is the name of heaven after the second coming of Christ)
Both literal and metaphorical interpretations of these places describe them as places where God dwells/meets with people, or from the other perspective, where people can go to meet God.
We know from the NT that people, through a restored relationship with God and the indwelling Holy Spirit (part of the New Covenant), can now reach out to God from any physical location (we don’t have to travel to the temple or a synagogue to worship/pray). “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Cor 6:19) Through Jesus’ gift on the cross our bodies are now the meeting/dwelling place of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, so that we can be with Him in any physical location.
My takeaway from this is that I need to continue learning as much as I can about Adonai (“my Lords”). The deeper my knowledge of Yahweh becomes, the more God can teach others through me. As my time spent with God (learning about Him) increases, so will my love for Him, and inevitably so will my love for others. Praise be to Elohim, and I trust Yahweh Shalom will be present with you this week, since you are His temple here on Earth.
~ Conqueror in Training