posted Jun 23, 2020, 2:53 PM by Jacob Boer
“And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with
favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will
call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for
me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his
arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He
has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the
lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent
the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in
remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to
our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
68“Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and
redeemed them. 69He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the
house of his servant David, 70as he spoke through the mouth of
his holy prophets from of old, 71that we would be saved from
our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72Thus he has
shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy
covenant, 73the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to
grant us 74that we, being rescued from the hands of our
enemies, might serve him without fear, 75in holiness and
righteousness before him all our days.”
Jesus focuses on our relationship with God as our father in
his prayer and this really comes through in the phrase, “hallowed be your name,” because we are his children
and so carry the family name in us. My father took me aside one day before I
left home and he told me, “Son, I don’t have anything to give you except a good
name. I have worked hard all my life to give you a good name and the only thing
I ask of you is to keep the name good.” This is kind of the spirit behand this
call to “hallow God’s name.” When we live in
such a way that we honour, glorify and praise God in our lives, it shows that
we know God and that his Spirit lives in us. So, may you “hallow” God’s name today.
Q. What does the first petition mean?
A. “Hallowed be your name” means: Help us to truly
know you, 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.
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.
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