Worship Wednesdays: The Name of The Lord (Part 5)

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.( Jeremiah 32:17)

So after a long hiatus we are back with our series on the names of The Lord. If you want to get caught up or refresh your memory you can check out Part 1 here.

So this week I want to focus on the name Adonai (pronounced a-doh-NIE). It first appears in the book of Genesis in chapter 15 verse 2. Lets look at it in context:

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,

“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6 NASB)

In verse 2 Abraham addresses God as "O Lord God" in the NIV it is rendered as "Sovereign Lord." What Abraham is saying here is that he acknowledges God as Adonai, or Lord, Sovereign, or Master if you will. It is interesting to note that later in this passage it says Abraham believed and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. You see Abraham received salvation(righteousness) through believing God, but he first had to acknowledge that God was sovereign. God He recognizes Him as his Lord and Master. The owner of his life.

As worshipers and especially worship leaders we need to remember to include an acknowledgement of God's sovereignty in our worship sets. I'm a firm believer that our worship can be used by God to convict of sin and lead someone to salvation just as much as the preaching of the word. That's why I feel it is so important that our worship be focused on God and His saving grace, but if we fail to express that God is the master and creator of our lives then why would people believe that He has any say in how we live those lives. We give glory to God not just because of what He has done for us but also because of Who HE is.