Psalm 54:1a Save me, O God, by your name

    I haven’t yet brought the Christmas books down from storage. We amassed quite a few when our kids were little. One of my favorites is The Polar Express. In this story a boy ends up at the North Pole and is chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas. It is a bell. Later, he discovers that the bell only rings for those who truly believe in Santa. For all others, it seems broken.

    We are a people in need of saving. David certainly was. He was, at the time he wrote this psalm, harassed and harried by King Saul. For him to ask God to save him was not sur-prising. What is surprising, in a way, is how. “Save me by Your name?” Is that how you ask God to intervene in your situations? Don’t we usually ask God to do some miracle? To change circumstances and people? But David asks God to save by His name.

    What is God’s name? He told Moses that He was ‘I AM THAT I AM.’ In an English Bible that may be written as Yahweh, YHWH, or LORD. God is self-existent. He is because He is. If we really grasped that concept contained in His name, we might feel differently. Some people, when the subject of God comes up, glibly say, “I don’t believe in God.” As though by their statement they have changed reality. They must think that the ringing of the bell is dependent somehow on them! That if they believe, He’s real, but if not, He is not.

    God exists. His name is also Immanuel, God With Us. God is not a force. He is not a concept. He is not some cosmic entity that came by long enough to get things rolling then withdrew to some other part of the galaxy. He is with us. He got that name when He came as a baby in Bethlehem. He showed up after many people had been longing for Him to come. He showed up even though others had no interest. He came.

    God exists. God is with us. But His name is also Jesus. The angel told Mary and Jo-seph that He would be called that because He would save His people from their sins. Jesus means ‘Jehovah is salvation.’ The reason Jesus came, the reason we celebrate Christmas is to save us. Jesus didn’t come to fix my problem at work. He didn’t come to heal some rift between estranged family members. He didn’t come to help my financial situation or heal my disease. (Though He often does all of those things!) He came to save me, and you, from our sins. 

    David was harassed and harried by Saul who wanted to eliminate a political rival. We are harassed and harried by our satan-inspired sin. We can’t save ourselves. We need help! God exists; He’s real. He is with us. And He has come to save us from our sins by the power of His name: Jesus! 

    

Blessings,     

Pastor Russ