The Name of God!

This thought came to to me yesterday while I was asking God to show me what He wanted me to know:

Psalm 79 :8-10

Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us;
Let Your compassion come quickly to meet us,
For we are brought very low.

For generations, now, the "forefathers" of our faith have let us down. Once there was a bold and faithful church that, even with all of its problems, held the line against moral decline in our country. We haven't gotten here overnight.

There was a time when difficult times like we are going through would bring our society back to God. Today, we simply brace ourselves against the wind and press on with our dysfunctional lifestyles.

The psalmist realized that the current state of God's people was not simply a casual drift to worldliness but, rather, an accumulation of sins that started long ago and built one on top of the other until God was not to be found.

He also realized that the people had left God so far behind that it was not longer and option for God to restore His people. He asked, rather, that God's compassion" would be aligned to meet up with His people as they were walking their own direction.

Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name;
And deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake.
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Here is where we find the tender heart of the psalmist. He was no longer willing to excuse the people; no longer willing to strike a bargain with God!

No, his heart was after protecting God's name! The pathetic record of the people had brought scorn upon their God and the psalmist appealed to God about protecting His name. Not for the people; not for the "church" leaders; not for restoring their relationship! Just for God's name alone!

Has God's name ever been in less regard than in our current society? Perhaps it is time that we turn our attention toward God's name and to begin asking for Him to protect and exalt His own name!