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A Hallowed Name
David Jeremiah
"In this manner, therefore, pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name."
Matthew 6:9
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[TD]Recommended ReadingExodus 20:7[/TD]
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How often lately have you used the word "hallow" or "hallowed"? Probably not at all -- unless you were reciting the Lord's Prayer. Our English word "hallowed" comes from an Old English word of German origin, and it still appears in modern Bible translations of the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9) because we don't have an English word for "holy-ed" -- which is what hallowed means. (The second edition of the New Living Translation has "may your name be kept holy" in Matthew 6:9.)
It is significant that Jesus instructed His disciples to give proper respect and honor to God's name when they began their prayers. This is in keeping, of course, with the third of Israel's Ten Commandments: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain…" (Exodus 20:7). If such a reminder was necessary in Jesus' day, how much more is it needed in ours? "God," "Jesus," and "Christ" are used as part of curses, jokes, unkept promises, and unthinking conversation. God's name is read and heard so often in modern media that we have become numb to how often it is defamed and dishonored.
Make sure that you hallow God's name today, in word and in deed.
The great argument of Scripture is the glory of God's own name.
Charles Simeon
Read-thru-the-Bible
Acts 21:17 -- 23:35