Jehovah
Jehovah is a name — the name He took in His dealings and relationship with men, but especially with His people Israel. The word signifies the self-existent One, and it expresses the eternity and the immutability of His being. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. The Jesus of the New Testament is the Jehovah of the Old Testament.
“When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, come of woman, come under law” (Gal. 4:44But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (Galatians 4:4) JND). It is of this mystery that Matthew writes in chapter 1, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus” (Matt. 1:2121And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)). It is a chapter in which the divine and human glories of our blessed Lord are mingled and displayed. By “mingled” we simply mean that the character of the Person of Christ is such that all that He is as God and as man is told out in His name and in His work. For example, if we think of Him as the offspring of David, we are at once reminded that He is also David’s root and that David’s Son is also David’s Lord.
The name Jesus means Jehovah the Saviour. A child born into the world, of lowly parentage in man’s esteem, is divinely declared to be Jehovah the Saviour! Yes, the God who heard the groaning of His people Israel in Egypt, who saw their affliction, who heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, who knew their sorrows, and who came down to redeem them out of Egypt and to bring them up out of that land unto a land flowing with milk and honey — it was He, the same God, the same Jehovah, who now came into this world as a baby. He came, blessed be His name forever, as the Saviour of His people. May our hearts be filled with gratitude at the mention of the name of Jesus, for He it is who has secured everything for us.
The Humble Man
As God He emptied Himself; as man he humbled Himself. Indeed, the whole life of our blessed Lord as man is compressed into the words, “He humbled Himself.” It was a low place, indeed, He took when He assumed a bondsman’s form, but how much lower when, “being found in fashion as a man,” He went down to the shameful death of the cross! We wonder and adore in the presence of such infinite condescension. The question may well be asked, Are not our affections occupied and drawn out in dwelling with delight on what Jesus was here below? We admire, we are humbled, and we become conformed to Him through grace. The display of His perfection draws forth and develops its energies and lowliness in us, for who could be proud in fellowship with the humble Jesus? Humble, He would teach us to take the lowest place, but that He has taken it Himself, the privilege of His perfect grace. Blessed Master, may we at least be near to, and hidden in, Thee.
The Exalted Man
Such humbling is the wondrous foundation on which the present exaltation of Christ is based. It is God Himself stepping in, in the joy of His heart, in His delight in the One who had so humbled Himself, and raising Him to those heights of glory which He now occupies. The act proclaims throughout the whole universe that no other position would have been commensurate with what He deserves — He who went down the lowest of all must have the highest place.
Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians touches upon another side of this great subject. He tells us that He who descended into the lower parts of the earth is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things (Eph. 4:910). While we may not be able to fathom this profound language, it cannot mean less than that, in virtue of the humiliation of Christ and the work He did for the accomplishment of the counsels of God, He will eventually flood the whole universe with His own redemption glory. And this, and nothing short of this, will be God’s answer to the humiliation of Jesus, His beloved Son.
The Name Above Every Name
“The name which is above every name” is given Him as a part of His exaltation. It is God’s own estimate of what was due to the One who had humbled Himself and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. It is thus the worthiness of Christ shown out by the place which God has given Him to occupy. We say “given Him to occupy” because the presentation here is that of His exaltation as Man, as the consequence of His perfect obedience and entire devotedness to the glory of God through the whole of His pathway on earth up to, and including, death. Whatever exalted beings may surround the heavenly throne, the glorified Jesus is above, and beyond, them all. The name accorded to Him, in virtue of His humiliation, bespeaks a dignity which far transcends the most exalted ranks of the celestial host and tells, moreover, that He is supreme in all the worlds which constitute the universe of God. If, then, this position which He now fills is expressive of God’s delight in the once-humbled Christ, will it not also awaken the delight of God’s people, as they contemplate Him in that state and glory? By the grace of our God we are called to share in His own delight in His beloved Son, and the enjoyment of this is really the foretaste — the commencement — of heavenly joys, which, filling the heart, can only find an outlet through the channel of worship and song.
The Bridegroom
In the statement “Thy name is as ointment poured forth” is portrayed the preciousness of Christ as the bridegroom to the bride (Song of Sol. 1:33Because of the savor of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. (Song of Solomon 1:3)). “Let Him kiss me,” cries the bride, “with the kisses of His mouth: for [she is now addressing Him directly] Thy love is better than wine.” It is not so much the love itself, as the enjoyment of the love, of which she speaks — this enjoyment “better than wine.” Every renewed heart will respond to this statement, for while the love of Christ is always beyond all our thoughts, infinite and unspeakable, it is only as we enjoy it that we, in any measure, enter into or appreciate it. But when the heart expands in the power of the Spirit to its blessed influences and constraint, when it opens without hindrance to the inflowing of its mighty tides, then the soul learns experimentally the marvelous character of the love of Christ which passes knowledge. Another thing is equally true. The more we taste of the love of Christ, the more we desire it. Every experience of it begets an ardent longing for a larger measure of it.
It is through the heart that all divine knowledge is received, and so the bride passes from the expression of her estimate of the enjoyment of the bridegroom’s love to a declaration of the effect of His excellencies and perfections. Her heart apprehends, through the enjoyment of His love, the savor of His “good ointments.” It may be remarked that however strong the bride’s affections may be, they are not developed according to the position in which Christian affections, properly so-called, are formed. They differ in this respect. They do not possess the profound repose and sweetness of an affection that flows from a relationship already formed, known and fully appreciated, the bonds of which are formed and recognized, that counts upon the full and constant acknowledgement of the relationship, and that each party enjoys, as a certain thing, in the heart of the other. The desire of one who loves and is seeking the affections of the beloved object is not the sweet, entire and established affection of the wife, with whom marriage has formed an indissoluble union. To the former, the relationship is only in desire, the consequence of the state of heart; to the latter, the state of heart is the consequence of the relationship.
The Fragrance of His Name
“Because of the savor of Thy good ointments,” she says, “thy name is as ointment poured forth.” The “good ointments” present to us the blessed fragrance of His excellent perfections as seen in His life, in His acts of tenderness and grace, as well as in His words and in His walk of entire dependence and obedience before God. They will be apprehended and enjoyed in the intimacy of His own presence, in His ways and personal dealings with the soul. The nearer we are to Christ, the clearer will be our perception of His beauty and grace. We may be much impressed by report and testimony, even when at a distance like the Queen of Sheba, but it is only when, like her, we hear and see for ourselves that we are lost in adoration in the presence of the fragrance of the good ointments. If we would be absorbed with the sense of His graces and beauties, we must press on, drawn onward by His attractions, to the place where He dwells. Having part with Him there, the savor of His excellencies will constitute the perpetual joy and rejoicing of the soul.
The sweet savor of the life of Christ was first and foremost for God whose eyes ever rested upon Him with unspeakable complacency, noting with joy the perfection of His every thought and word and deed. It drew forth from the overflowing heart of God the words, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And the more Christ was tested — and He was tested in every way, even by the holy fire of the altar itself — the more abundantly did His sweet savor flow forth to gratify the heart of His God. If we ourselves are permitted to participate in the enjoyment of the sweet savor of His life and to feed upon the perfections of His entire devotedness to the glory of His God, it is only because God has first had His portion and because, in His ineffable grace, He has called us to share in His own delight in the pathway and person of His beloved Son.
Blessed Lord, the savor of Thy good ointments had gone abroad on every hand, making Thee everywhere known, so that Thy name has become as the sweet fragrance of ointment poured forth to all who were burdened with distress and sorrow, to the weary and needy souls among Thy people.
His Preciousness
It is always through our needs that we first get to Christ and learn what He is in His love and grace. Then, when our needs have been met and satisfied, we are at leisure, set at liberty from ourselves and at liberty in His presence, to contemplate Himself. The savor of His good ointments, indeed, scarcely steals into the soul with its gladdening refreshment until every question affecting ourselves and our relationship with God has been settled. In rare cases Christ Himself may be known at the commencement of the spiritual life, but, generally speaking, it is a troubled conscience which has to be appeased, through the efficacy of the blood of Christ, before we are free to survey His glorious perfections. Then His name, even the very mention of it, will fill our hearts with the sense of its sweetness and fragrance, and it will produce such emotions as can only be expressed in adoring worship at His feet.
Christ in Us
Another thing should be mentioned. The savor of the good ointments of Christ may flow out through the holy lives of His people. Every trait, every perfection exhibited by Himself in His walk through this world may be reproduced in those that are His. Christ in us and Christ our life, as set forth in Colossians, are to be followed by the display of Christ through us, in the power of the Holy Spirit. For this we need to be much in His company, for the more we are with Him and occupied with Him, the more we shall be transformed into His likeness and the more certainly will the savor of His good ointments be spread abroad. This will be a mighty testimony to what He is, for in this case His name will, through us, be as ointment poured forth — the sweet savor of the name of Christ will flow forth from our walk as well as from our words. The Apostle Paul, speaking of his preaching, says, “We are unto God a sweet savor of Christ,” and in a subsequent chapter (2 Cor. 4) he points out that testimony is connected with the life as well as with the lip. As we meditate upon it, may we not say, “What a privilege! What a mission, to be sent out into the world to make known the savor of the good ointments of Christ, that His name may, through us, be as ointment poured forth!”
The Virgins
“Therefore do the virgins love thee” (Song of Sol. 1:33Because of the savor of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. (Song of Solomon 1:3)). The fragrance of the name of Jesus attracts the hearts of the virgins — not of all God’s people, be it observed, but only of the virgins. A very distinct thought is connected in Scripture with the virgin. It is character, moral character, speaking as it does of the absence of defilement, of not being contaminated with the polluting influences of the world (see Rev. 14:44These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:4)). Virgins stand in this scripture for those who have been enabled, through grace, to maintain a holy separation from the defilements of the world through which they are passing, those whose hearts have been kept true to Christ and guarded in loyalty to Him through the sense of His claims and of His love. A heart possessed by Christ is fortified against the most seductive allurements of the world. It is absorbing affection which always distinguishes the virgin, and this affection is always intensified and deepened by every new discovery of the perfectness of Christ. In other words, those who partake of the virgin character always respond to the display of the preciousness of Christ. He being the sole object of their hearts, they are in the condition of soul to enter into, and enjoy, His beauties. They will detect His presence, the blessed fragrance of His words and His acts, where others will observe nothing. They live in His presence, they are wholly for Him, and hence it is the delight of Christ to disclose Himself to them in such attractive ways as to increase and elicit their affections towards Himself.
The state of our souls may be discerned by the effect produced upon us by the name of Jesus. If our hearts are careless and irresponsive when He is the subject of conversation or presentation, we cannot be in communion with the heart of God. Why, even the name of a beloved object on earth will produce pleasurable emotions. How much more should the name of Christ, the object of God’s heart — and also of ours if we know Him — awaken within us holy feelings of delight, which can only be expressed in praise and adoration!
E. Dennett, adapted from
The Name Above Every Name