The Plumbline

Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Prepare the way for the one who rides on the clouds. His name is Yah. Worship before him with joy. God, who lives in his holy palace, is a father to orphans, and he takes care of widows. (Psalm 68:4-5) In most translations, YAH is seen as Yahweh or LORD. Whenever you see LORD in scripture, this is the name of God that describes him as the "I am". In observing God as the I AM, we are seeing the side of God that has always been, will always be. There is no beginning, nor any end to his existence. This is something our finite minds have a hard time with because everything around us has a beginning and will have an end at some point. Even when we think there might have been an 'emptiness' somewhere in times past, there never was because God was, is, and will always be! If we think of God as the I AM in our lives, we are really acknowledging that he created us, keeps us going throughout this lifetime, and has prepared an even greater

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. (Psalm 8:1) It has been a while since I have spoken about the various names of God in scripture, but this psalm opens with two different names used for God - LORD and Lord. Sometimes it is easy to miss the subtle differences because we just 'read over' them. When we stop for a moment to consider what is being said by the use of the various names of God, we can begin to see the true meaning of the passage. LORD is God's 'covenant name' used in the Hebrew language. We might think of this as the 'Old Testament' name referencing his entering into 'covenant' with the Israelite nation. Another term for LORD is Yahweh or Jehovah. The meaning: I am who I am, or I am that I am. God is, has been, will always be the God of the universe - there is no other who compares with him, no other worthy of worship and honor. Yahweh (LORD) references God's creative power. Thin