Acting in the Divine Name.
"In the Name of the Lord I will cut them off." The idea in the mind of the psalmist may be illustrated by the old custom of going into battle in the inspiration of some motto. Thus Gideon gave his heroes this battle cry, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" Down to quite modern times it was the custom for generals to give their armies a motto, a word, or a name, under the inspiration of which they were to fight; and it does not take much observation of human nature to enable us to recognize the value of such mottoes or names in kindling enthusiasm, and inciting to heroic endeavor or endurance. The psalmist is using martial figures; he is thinking of enemies, and cheering his soul for the conflict with them by looking again and again at his banner, and seeing the Jehovah-name inscribed thereon.
I. ACTING IN THE DIVINE NAME IS THE RIGHT OF JEHOVAH'S SERVANTS. The good man—from the Christian point of view we say the renewed man—is a self-consecrated man to God's service, and a graciously accepted man as God's servant. Then he becomes everywhere an ambassador for God, a messenger from God, and has the absolute right of acting everywhere in his Master's Name. So the apostles persistently call themselves the "servants," bond-slaves, of Jesus Christ, and claim the right of speaking and acting in his Name. This opens up the question—What is the nature of the authority which can be claimed for the Christian teacher. He has authority so far only as he speaks and acts, genuinely and wholly, in the Name of his Master. Illustration may be taken from the pope's assumed infallibility in his ex cathedral utterances.
II. ACTING IN THE DIVINE NAME IS THE STRENGTH OF JEHOVAH'S SERVANTS. This may be opened in two ways.
1. The Name acts upon a true-hearted man as a reviving, inspiring, strengthening force, much as the queen's name does on a field of battle.
2. God actually gives strength for warfare and service to all who loyally act in his Name. Illustrate by 1 Samuel 17:45.
III. ACTING IN THE DIVINE NAME IS THE VICTORY OF JEHOVAH'S SERVANTS. Because God is jealous of the honor of his Divine Name, and cannot permit it to be associated with failure. Let our enemies encompass us as bees do their combs (see LXX.), they can do no harm. They flare up, as does the fire of thorns; but they die down at once. The Divine Name has never been dishonored by any permanent defeat; nor has lie ever been who loyally acted in the Divine Name.—R.T.