The Verse of the Day for July 8, 2018 comes from Psalm 138:2 in the Amplified Bible Classic Edition:
I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!
Without question God is great and greatly to be praised. Throughout the Psalms and elsewhere in the Scriptures, we find references to the name of the Lord who is great and greatly to be praised:
Psalm 148:13 proclaims:
Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
Proverbs 18:10 declares:
The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
The lyrics to this scripture memory song reiterate this message:
Praise Ye the Lord
(Psalm 113:1-3)
Praise ye the LORD.
Praise, O ye servants of the LORD,
Praise the name of the LORD.
Repeat
Blessed be the name of the LORD
From this time forth and for evermore.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
From this time forth and for evermore.
Repeat
From the rising of the sun
Unto the going down of the same
The Lord’s name is to be praised.
From the rising of the sun
Unto the going down of the same
The Lord’s name is to be praised.
So we see that the name of the Lord great, for the Bible states that He has “a great name.” Just as our individual names reveal our identity, so the name of the Lord reveals who He is:
1 Chronicles 29:11 reminds us of just how great God is:
Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
The Psalmist also recognizes the magnitude of the name of the Lord:
Psalm 113:2-3 (AMP):
Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence].
Psalm 148: 12-13 (KJV) reinforces the same message:
12 Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children:
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven
Although there is no greater power in the universe than God almighty, the latter part of Psalm 138:2 reminds us that God has magnified His Word above all His name. Once we recognize to a greater degree the magnitude of the Word of God which is expanded far beyond the greatness of God and all that He is, our hearts should overflow with gratitude for the privilege of not only reading the Word of God, but have the privilege of teaching it. He has committed unto us “the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5: 19). What an indescribable honor to have access to the heart of God, for out of the abundance of His heart His mouth speaks, as we recognize and reverence
God’s Unfailing Power
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division
of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 [NKJV]
No word of God spoken shall be devoid of power
But shall prosper in the thing to which it is sent,
Beyond all past limits, to its farthest extent
And thus abound in fruit as seed of the sower,
Returning four-fold measure to the one who lent.
It is impossible not to fulfill God’s will,
Once spoken and thus declared that the Lord might show
The wonders of His amazing ways and instill
In us His unfailing power that we might know
That in the beginning God spoke, and it was so.
Sharper than a two-edged sword, cutting as a knife,
The word is quick to energize and encompass
The past, present and future, merging to bring forth life.
While yet in our mouths, it has come already come to pass.
We close with a musical rendering of Psalm 138, a Christian Worship and Scripture Song by Esther Mui: