How a simple laundry day turned into a praise service for the Lord and how it should affect us today...

Jesus, Name Above All Names is a simple and short hymn, but it challenges us to meditate not only on what God has done but also on Who He is. Listen in to see how this song came about and what you can do with it in your own life!

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Timestamps

• [00:00] - How did Naida Hearn write Jesus, Name Above All Names?
• [00:37] - Where does the Bible refer to God that way?
• [06:21] - How does this affect me?

Song Lyrics

Jesus, Name Above All Names,

Beautiful Savior, Glorious Lord.

Emmanuel, God is with us.

Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.

Scripture References

Isaiah 9:6: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Matthew 1:18-25: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."

Luke 1:31: "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."

Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

1 Corinthians 8:4-6: "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

Romans 10:5-13: "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Revelation 19:13: "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."

John 1:1, 14: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Job 19:23-27: "Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."

Isaiah 59:20: "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD."

Philippians 2:8-11: "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Acts 4:7-13: "And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."

Research Resources

The Complete Book of Hymns by William and Ardythe Petersen (p41)

Today on Understanding Hymns for Everyday Life, we're talking about "Jesus, Name Above All Names."The author Naida Hearn grew up playing piano, teaching piano to people, and she got saved at a young age in New Zealand in the 1900s. As she was contemplating some of the different names and descriptions of Jesus, she listed them out and was trying to meditate on them. 


And one day she brought her list out with her while she was going to do the laundry. And it just kind of came to her as a song. So she went back inside and wrote music to it, and that became this simple yet beautiful hymn that we know today. 


"Jesus, name above all names, beautiful Savior, glorious Lord, Emmanuel, God is with us, blessed Redeemer, living Word." 


Obviously, this is not by any stretch of the imagination an exhaustive list of names or descriptions of God. But it's a simple thing that God used in her life and that has been used in other people's lives since then. And it does teach us some interesting things about how we think about God. 


So let's first look at some of the Scriptures behind these different names. 


Matthew records "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When, as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." It goes on to describe how an angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph and regarding Mary said to Joseph, "And she shall bring forth a son, And thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us." 


Isaiah said hundreds of years before this, "The Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel."What a blessing that God is with us. 


He is glorious Lord. Paul records. "There is none other God, but one for though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth... but to us there is but one God, the Father of whom are all things and we in Him and one Lord Jesus Christ. By whom are all things, and we by him." 


On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus gave his disciples just a glimpse at his glory. He is glorious Lord. Lord means master. And in the Bible, when Lord has a capital L, it's, refers to God, Master of everything because He created everything. 


Paul as he was writing to the Romans and describing salvation to them says, "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thine heart. That is the word of faith, which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." 


Last episode, we looked at how Jesus was referred to as the Word of God. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."And He's alive today. He rose again from the dead. And towards the end of Revelation, John records how He is "clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and His name is called the Word of God." He is the Living Word. 


The writer of Hebrews records that the Word of God is quick. and powerful. Today, we tend to use quick to mean speedy, but an older definition for quick is alive. The Word of God is quick. It's alive "and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." 


Lastly, we'll look at how He is our Redeemer, Savior, and He has the name above all names. 


Paul writes "And being found in fashion as a man, he,"Jesus," humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father." 


In the book of Acts, Peter's present as this man is healed and there's an uproar and they bring this man before the disciples, and here's what they ask. "By what power or by what name have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said, Be it known unto you all and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." 


It all comes back to Jesus. 


What is your relationship with God? Who is God to you? Is He redeeming Savior? Is He Lord? Or is he some kind of feel good Jesus that you only refer to when you want a comfort boost in your life? Do you think of him more as friend, or as Master? Do you relate to him as Holy Creator, or just a helpful genie? 


Your most important relationship is the one you have with the God who made you. Ponder the way you have treated God, and then consider who He really is. And whatever the disparity between those two, I hope you'll choose to close the gap between them this week If you have not approached God as the holy, magnificent, almighty, wonderful, loving God that He is, you're missing out on a relationship with Him that surpasses anything you can get anywhere else. 


If you don't know Him as Savior, you need to approach Him humbly, recognizing that you are a sinner, and you need to recognize what He has done for you. He came and died for your sin and rose again so that you could be with Him. 


He is Lord, and He does not need your permission to hold that position. It's not a matter of whether or not you can make him Lord, it's whether or not you recognize that He already is Lord. The way you think about God does not change who He is. The way you think about God changes who you are and how you relate to Him. 


So study the Scriptures, dive in deep, and seek to know God and to approach Him as He truly is.

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Understanding Hymns for Everyday Life. The Bible stands, in spite of all Satan has thrown at it, and God's Word ought to be of supreme importance to us. Why don't we strive together to obey it more each and every day?

God bless you as you go throughout this next week seeking Him.