Lord’s Day 47 · Part III: Gratitude
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Taught by a pastor from the Reformed churches. The whole series on YouTube
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What does the first petition mean?
“Hallowed be your name” means: Help us to truly know you,1 to honor, glorify, and praise you for all your works and for all that shines forth from them: your almighty power, wisdom, kindness, justice, mercy, and truth.2 And it means, Help us to direct all our living— what we think, say, and do— so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us but always honored and praised.3
Which is the first petition?
"Hallowed be thy name;" that is, grant us first rightly to know thee, and to sanctify, glorify and praise thee, in all thy works, in which thy power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth, are clearly displayed; and further, also, that we may so order and direct our whole lives, our thoughts, words and actions, that thy name may never be blasphemed, but rather honoured and praised on our account.
What is the first petition?
Hallowed be thy name. That is: Enable us rightly to know thee, and to hallow, magnify, and praise thee in all thy works, in which shine forth thy power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy, and truth; and likewise so to order our whole life, in thought, word, and work, that thy name may not be blasphemed, but honored and praised on our account.
Was ist die erste Bitte?
Geheiliget werde dein Name; das ist: Gieb uns erstlich, daß wir dich recht erkennen, und dich in allen deinen Werken, in welchen leuchtet deine Allmächtigkeit, Weisheit, Güte, Gerechtigkeit, Barmherzigkeit und Wahrheit, heiligen, rühmen und preisen. Darnach auch, daß wir unser ganzes Leben, Gedanken, Worte und Werke dahin richten, daß dein Name um unsertwillen nicht gelästert, sondern geehret und gepriesen werde.
- 1Jer. 9:23-24; 31:33-34; Matt. 16:17; John 17:3
- 2Ex. 34:5-8; Ps. 145; Jer. 32:16-20; Luke 1:46-55,68-75; Rom. 11:33-36
- 3Ps. 115:1; Matt. 5:16
TranscriptRead the film: Lord’s Day 47Tap a time to play the film from there · transcribed from the film
What does the first petition mean? Hallowed be your name means, help us to truly know you, to honour, glorify and praise you for all your works and for all that shines forth from them, your almighty power, wisdom, kindness, justice, mercy and truth. And it means, help us to direct all our living, what we think, say and do, so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us, but always honoured. When Jesus gave his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, so-called as it is, it was because he was teaching them how to pray. And the first thing he did was teach them how to address the Lord as our Father in Heaven.
And then he gave his disciples six matters about which to pray, six petitions, as they’re often called. We might think of them today as prayer requests. And they are things that we may bring to the Lord in our prayers. They are not the only things we may bring to him, but they are summary things and really they are primary things. And so the first of the petitions, the first three of them, are very much God-centered petitions. His name, His kingdom, and His will. And already thinking about that reminds us that our lives are to be very much oriented towards God first. We don’t pray about things related to us in the first place, we pray about things related to the Lord.
So to pray the Lord’s Prayer thoughtfully and sincerely is to help focus our lives on the Lord, first of all. When it comes to the petition, "Hallowed be your name," obviously it has to do with God’s name. Now the Lord has many names. He’s God, He’s Lord, He’s Almighty, and so many more names that help to proclaim His glory and His majesty. One of the most famous names, if not the most famous, is the name Yahweh, which the Lord revealed, especially to Moses, when He was at the burning bush. And by way of that name, the I Am Who I Am, the Lord was teaching Moses and all of Israel and His people to recognize Him as the eternal God, as the faithful God, the God who is, who was, and who is to come, and the God who will save His people according to His covenant promises. And so this name and all of God’s names are revelations of Himself, and we are to respect and revere Him and His self-revelation, His character, His holiness, all His perfections, all that God is. And the third commandment really connects with this first petition, the third commandment reminding us that we are not to take God’s name in vain, not to misuse or disrespect God’s name, but to hold it high and to honor Him and His revelation. When we get to the New Testament, we find God revealing Himself in terms of His Trinity. He teaches us to know His name as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And so when we think of God’s name in the petition, "Hallowed be your name," we should think of God’s covenantal triune saving name as He has revealed it to us in the fullness of His scriptural revelation to us. Now the petition is that this name be hallowed. Let it be hallowed. Hallowed isn’t a word that is commonly used today, but it is a word that means basically to set apart or to make holy. And so when we pray, hallowed be your name, we are praying that God’s name may be set apart and made holy. But this might raise a question because someone might say, well, isn’t God’s name already holy, hallowed? How can it become more hallowed? And it’s true, God’s name is hallowed. We can think of Isaiah when he saw the Lord high and lifted up and he heard the seraphim. He saw them and he heard them crying out holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. God’s name is hallowed. But when we pray for it to be hallowed, what we are recognizing is the fact that by nature we don’t hallow it the way that it ought to be hallowed. That we come short in terms of revering and respecting God’s name in the way it is to be respected and revered. One of the most famous examples of this in the Old Testament is when Moses was commanded by the Lord to speak to the rock that it might bring forth water for the people.
And Moses was very frustrated and he became angry and perhaps he forgot his identity as a servant of the Lord and not the Lord himself. And he struck the rock and he said, here now you rebels, must we fetch water for you from the rock? And the Lord, as we know, was very displeased with Moses on account of that. And he disciplined Moses severely and he said, you did not hallow my name before the children of Israel. And so the reality is we all can and do fail and fall short in terms of hallowing God’s name. And so with this petition, we are asking for that to be different also in our lives.
We’re asking for some particular things as the catechism so helpfully brings out. We are asking that the Lord might help us rightly to know him through faith in his son, Jesus Christ. For that is the only way to know God as our father. And we are asking the Lord also to help us sincerely to adore him for all of his majesty and glory. And we are asking for the Lord to help us to honor him sincerely and truly in all of our words, our thoughts, our actions. We’re asking that we might live in such a way that we never blaspheme his name and we never cause it to be blasphemed by the way that we behave. And the other thing about this petition is, and this goes for all the petitions, it is a petition. So we recognize that it’s not just a law that we have to meet up to, a standard that we have to conform to, but it’s a prayer that we’re asking the Father to help us do. We’re saying, Father, help us to hallow your name. And we can be sure that when we pray in this way, he will help us and that more and more his name may be hallowed and will be hallowed, set apart and respected as holy by us.
Plate IThe Lantern Bearer Lighting the Path for Travelers
Imagine a man walking ahead on a dark path holding a lantern. He does not shine the light on himself; he lifts it high so others can see the way. His task is simple but vital—his steps illuminate the path for those behind him. A Christian’s life functions like that lantern: not drawing glory to ourselves but revealing the way of the Lord. The catechism teaches that hallowing God’s name is lived, not only spoken.
Plate IIThe Explorer Using a True Compass, Not a Decorative One
Imagine an explorer preparing to cross a dense forest. He owns two compasses—one ornate but inaccurate, the other plain but precise. If he chooses the decorative one, he becomes hopelessly lost. Right knowledge of God works the same way: imagination may be attractive, but only His revealed Word points true north. The catechism teaches that hallowing God’s name begins with accuracy, not creativity.
CommentaryZacharias Ursinus on Lord’s Day 47From the catechism’s chief author · about 6 minutes
Question 122
What does the first petition mean?
The second part of the Lord's Prayer now follows, containing six petitions. The petition, Hallowed be thy name, is placed first in order, because it comprehends the end and design of all the rest, inasmuch as the glory of God should be the end of all our affairs, actions and prayers. The end, too, is the first thing in the thoughts and intention of any one, and the last in execution. Therefore the end of the other petitions should be sought in the first place, if we would seek them aright, according to the command of Christ, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33.)
We must consider, in reference to this petition:
I. What is the name of God?
II. What is holy, and what is it to hallow the name of God?
I. WHAT IS THE NAME OF GOD?
The name of God signifies: 1. God himself. "Let them that love thy name be joyful in thee." "I will sing praise to thy name." "I will call upon the name of the Lord." "I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God." (Ps. 5:11; 9:2, 11; 116:13. 1 Kings 5:5.) 2. The attributes and works of God. "The Lord is his name." "The Lord, whose name is Jealous." (Ex. 15:3; 34:14.) 3. The command, will and authority of God. "I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts." "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (1 Sam. 17:45. Matt. 28:19.) 4. The worship, trust, praise and profession of God. "I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." "Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ;" in which place, as also in Matt. 28:19, the name of God signifies both the command and profession of God. (Acts 21:13; 2:38.) Here the term is to be understood, according to the first and second signification, as being taken for God himself, and for all his attributes and works, in which his majesty shines.
II. WHAT IS HOLY, AND WHAT TO HALLOW
The term holy signifies, 1. God himself, who is most holy and pure; or it signifies essential and uncreated holiness, which is God himself. For all the virtues and properties of God constitute his essential holiness. So the angels exclaim in reference to God, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." (Is. 6:3.) 2. The holiness which is in creatures, which consists in their conformity with God, which, as it respects the godly, is merely begun, but is perfect in the angels. 3. The setting of anything apart to a holy use. In this sense, whatever is consecrated to a sacred purpose is called holy, as the temple in Jerusalem, the altar, the vessels, the priests, &c., &c.
The word to sanctify, or hallow, has these three significations: First, to hallow or to sanctify means to acknowledge, to reverence and praise that as holy, which is already in itself holy. In this sense of the term, we are said to sanctify God who is holiness itself, 1. When we acknowledge him to be such as he has revealed himself in his word and works, or when we know and think concerning his essence, will, works, omnipotence, goodness, wisdom, and all his other attributes, what he commands us in his word to know and think respecting them. 2. When we do not only acknowledge God to be holy, but also profess and praise him, and that by our words and confession, as well as by our actions and purity of life. 3. When we refer the true doctrine, knowledge, and profession of the holiness of God, together with all our prayers and actions, to the end to which God will have them referred, which is to his glory and praise.
Secondly, to sanctify, is to separate that which in itself is not holy from all uncleanness, and make it holy. It was in this way that the Word sanctified that nature which he assumed, which in us is corrupt and unholy, preserving it in himself from all the contagion of sin, and at the same time adorning it with perfect holiness. So also God and Christ sanctify the church, by remitting unto us all our sins, and sanctifying us by the Holy Spirit, and at the same time keeping us in the enjoyment of this pardon and holiness. So we are commanded to sanctify ourselves, which is to keep ourselves from all the filthiness of the flesh. "Be ye holy, for I am holy." (1 Pet. 1:16.)
Thirdly, to sanctify is to ordain and to direct to a holy end that which in itself is either holy or indifferent. It was in this way that the Father sanctified the Son, that is, he ordained him to the office of mediator, and sent him into the world. So God sanctified the Sabbath day, the temple, the sacrifices, the priests, &c. Christ also sanctified himself in this way for his people, that is, he offered himself a sacrifice holy and acceptable to God. It is in this way also, that bread is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Of these significations the first and second are here in point, for when we pray, hallowed be thy name, we do not merely desire that the name of God be hallowed by us, but also in us, or in other words we desire, 1. That God would enlighten us with the knowledge of his holiness, and most holy name; or in the language of the Catechism, we desire that God will grant us rightly to know him, and to sanctify, glorify and praise him in all his works, in which his power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth are clearly displayed. 2. That his name may be sanctified in us, and that he would regenerate us and make us more and more holy, so that in our whole life we may prevent his most holy name from being blasphemed, and may magnify and declare it with honor and praise in every conceivable way. In a word, we desire, 1. That God would enlighten us with the true knowledge of his holiness. 2. That he would grant us true faith and repentance, and renew us by his Spirit, that we may be holy as he is holy. 3. That he would give us a disposition to profess this holiness of his divine name in word and deed, to his own praise and glory, that we may in this way glorify him by acknowledging and professing him, and by conforming our lives to his holy will, so as to distinguish him from all idols and profane things.
Obj. 1. That which is holy in itself, cannot be sanctified. The name of God is holy in itself. Therefore, it cannot be hallowed. Ans. It cannot be sanctified according to the second signification of the term as above explained; but it may be sanctified according to the first and third signification of the term, according to which that which is holy or indifferent in itself, may be acknowledged, praised and celebrated, and directed to a holy end. It is in this way now that we desire the name of God to be hallowed, that that which is holy in itself may also be acknowledged and praised as holy. God sanctifies us by making us holy; we, on the other hand, sanctify God, not by making him holy, but by declaring and acknowledging concerning him what he desires us to know and declare.
Obj. 2. We ought not to desire another to do for us, what belongs to us to do. We now ought to sanctify and hallow the name of God. Therefore, we should not desire that God would hallow his name; for in so doing we seem to act like a scholar, who being commanded by his preceptor to apply himself diligently to his studies, desires his preceptor himself to do it for him. We reply to the major proposition by making a distinction; we should not desire another to do what is devolving upon us, provided we have the ability of ourselves to do it; but what we are unable of ourselves to perform, that we properly desire God to grant us the ability to do. But we cannot of ourselves sanctify and hallow the name of God. Therefore, we must needs pray to God to grant unto us the strength by which we may hallow the name of God; yea, that he himself would hallow his holy name in us.
Sing this Lord’s Day
A confessional hymn by Paul Wagenaar that puts Lord’s Day 47 to verse, for children and adults alike.