Welcome to worship. Our call to worship this evening is from Revelation 15, verse four. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy, for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest. Scripture reading for this evening, you can find in the book of Proverbs, Chapter 18, Proverbs chapter 18. Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt. and with ignominy reproach. The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment. A fool's lips enter into contention and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. The words of a tailbearer are his wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it and is safe. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and has a high wall in his own conceit. Before destruction, the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility. He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him. The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. A man's gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men. He that is first in his own cause seemeth just, but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him. The lot causeth contentions to cease and parteth between the mighty. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth, and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favor of the Lord, The poor useth in treaties, but the rich answereth roughly. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." And God bless the reading of His holy and wise, wisdom-giving Word. Beloved, our text for tonight comes from Proverbs 18, verse 10, Proverbs 18, verse 10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it and is safe. Together with that, we want to consider the third commandment, which is handed to us through Lord's Day 36 of the Heidelberg Catechism. You can find that on page 73 in the back of the Psalter. Lord's Day 36, page 73 in the back of the Psalter. Question 99, what is required in the Third Commandment? Answer, that we, not only by cursing or perjury, but also by rash swearing, must not profane or abuse the name of God, nor by silence or connivance be partakers of these horrible sins in others. And briefly, that we use the holy name of God, no otherwise, and with fear and reverence, so that he may be rightly confessed and worshiped by us and be glorified in all our words and works. Question 100. Is then the profaning of God's name by swearing and cursing so heinous a sin that his wrath is kindled against those who do not endeavor as much as in them lies to prevent and forbid such cursing and swearing? Answer. It undoubtedly is, for there is no sin greater or more provoking to God than the profaning of His name. And therefore, He has commanded this sin to be punished with death." Well, the third commandment, as we just read, deals with the use and abuse of the name of God. We live in a culture that has all but scrubbed the third commandment from its collective consciousness. The name of God is dragged through the mud, it's abused and misused at every turn. An examination of cultural artifacts such as music and films, news media, social media, and even in just regular conversation, we immediately find a blatant disregard for the name of God. It's made light of at every turn. In the secular workplace, in the grocery store, on the sidewalk, in homes, God's name is no longer revered or honored or reverenced. God's name has fallen on hard times. What are we as Christians to do? In the context of the Heidelberg Catechism, the third commandment comes as a rule of thankfulness. How are we to live out this third commandment in the world in which we live? Well, this evening, just as I did with the First Commandment, I would like to take a positive look at the Third Commandment and how we are to use it positively, how we are to use the name of God positively. The Catechism, as we just read, presents both the negative and positive use of the name of God. The negative use of the name of God includes swearing, misusing the name of God, using it lightly, even being party to those who do that very thing, agreeing with what they do. The positive use of God's name is seen in the phrase in Answer 99, where it says that we use the holy name of God no otherwise than with fear and reverence. so that he may be rightly confessed and worshipped by us and be glorified in all our words and works." So as we live in a culture that has degraded the name of God, we ought to be people that rightly confess and use the name of God. And so as we come to consider the third commandment tonight in the name of God, we ought to rightly esteem the name of God. We ought to rightly use the name of God in all our words and works. Our response to the third commandment tonight should be one of faith. Just as Proverbs 18 verse 10 points out, the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it and is safe. And so tonight we want to consider how the name of God functions in the life of the righteous, in the life of believers, so that as we rightly esteem the name of God, as we rightly use the name of God, we become those who use the name of God positively. And through our witness, we point out the proper and the right use of the name of God. We become rightly sensitized to the misuse of the name of God. And we show the world around us an alternative way of using the name of God. Our theme then is simply this, rightly using the name of the Lord. First of all, we want to consider the significance of the name of the Lord. Secondly, we want to consider its accessibility. And thirdly, its security. Our text introduces us to the name of the Lord. The word, the name Lord there is in all capital letters. It refers to the name of God as He revealed it in the Old Testament scriptures from which we get the name Jehovah or Yahweh. If we trace that name of the Lord throughout the Old Testament, we will see the name of the Lord reveals something of who God is. And it reveals His dealings with His people. And so when we come to the name of the Lord, we need to remember that it's not just a name that we're dealing with. We're dealing with the person of God. We're dealing with the being of God. It's just like you. If someone would take your name and drag it through the mud, how would that reflect on you as a person? It wouldn't be pleasant, would it? People would look at you differently. People would treat you differently. You'd be offended and grieved, perhaps jealous for your name, wanting to restore it again to its rightful reputation. So behind a name is a person. That's true of God as well. Behind the name of God is a person. the person and the being of the eternal self-existent God. That's how he came to Moses to reveal himself. Children, you know that story. God came to Moses at the burning bush. God told Moses to go to Egypt and to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said to God, when I go back to the children of Israel, what do I tell them? Who is it that has sent me to Israel to lead them out of Egypt? This is what the Lord said to Moses. He reveals his name to Moses. He says, I am that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am has sent you. The Lord has sent Moses. The name that God gives to Moses there is the Lord, the eternal, self-existent one. It reveals something of the being of God, the eternal one. He is the one who was, the one who is, and the one who always will be. In spite of the circumstances in which Israel found themselves, they'd enjoyed great prosperity in the land of Goshen, you recall. But now they were being oppressed by Egypt and by Pharaoh. Their circumstances had changed, but God had not. The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and Jacob would now come and lead Israel out through Moses, the mediator. God remains the same. God has revealed this name to Israel. He's revealed it to us in Hebrews 13. This very name is attributed to Jesus Christ, the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same eternal being has been revealed in the name of Jesus Christ. It is God who has come in the flesh. And if this is who God is, if this is His name, the eternal one, the one who always was, the one who is, and the one who always will be, it speaks to the immutability of the Lord. What does immutability mean, children? It simply means that God cannot change. God cannot change. So when we see the name of the Lord in capital letters, we immediately remember that God cannot change. God has always been the same. God has always been the same. He's unchanged by the circumstances of life. But He hears His people when they cry in anguish. He comes down and He reveals Himself as the Eternal One who intervenes in the lives of His people. His name is significant, isn't it? It reveals something of the person behind it. The second instance where the Lord reveals Himself using this name is in Exodus 15, verse 2 and 3. where Moses confesses the name of the Lord and its significance for Israel as he led them from Egypt and destroyed the armies of Pharaoh in the Red Sea. He says, the Lord is my strength and song. He's become my salvation. He is my God and I will prepare him in habitation. My father is God and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name. The Lord is His name. The eternal self-existent one, that's His name. He's the one who led us out of Egypt. He's the one who came to me at the burning bush. What's significant about the name here? It reveals that God is a warrior. God is one who fights for His people. He will fight for the honor of His name. You see, God closely attaches His name to His people. When his people are in distress, the Lord comes and he intervenes because his name is at stake. The Lord is not some benign deity who watches what happens in the world sitting on the sidelines. No, he's intimately involved. That's what his name is telling us tonight. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. This tells us that God is on the offense for His name and He's on the defense for His people. The Lord is His name. The Lord is His name. He's there. He comes down. He sees what's happening and He gets involved. The third instance where the Lord reveals His name is in Exodus 34, verses 5 through 7. He hides Moses in the cleft of the rock and he passes by and he declares his name. And what does he, how does he declare his name? We read there, the Lord descended in the cloud. He came down and he stood with Moses there and he proclaimed the name of the Lord. He passed by before him and proclaimed The Lord. The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children unto the third and to the fourth generation. The Lord is the eternal self-existent One, the unchangeable One. He is the One who grows before His people. But now we get a fuller revelation of what this name means. The Lord, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth. This is the name of the Lord and the Lord is His name. He reveals all these things about His name in spite of Israel's unfaithfulness. This comes immediately on the heels of Israel setting up the golden calf after they had petitioned Aaron and said, make us an image of God that we can worship. And Aaron made the golden calf and he said, behold, the God who has brought you out of Egypt. And the Lord comes and He says, no. No. I am the Lord. I am jealous for my name. I am jealous for my presence in the midst of Israel. This is the name of the Lord. Because of who the Lord reveals in His name, He reveals Himself. Because of that, He is a strong tower. He sets Himself up, as it were, in the midst of His people. He sets Himself up this evening, as it were, In the revelation of His name to us, it's a name of strength because it represents who God is in Himself for His people. His name is a tower, Solomon says. It's a name that towers above all the names of human history. In our text, in Proverbs 18, we read the name of the Lord as a strong tower. In verse 11, the rich man's wealth is his strong city. If I ask you tonight who's the richest man in the world, you'll immediately think of three names, won't you? Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Elon Musk. Those names are front and center in our minds. But what about the name of the Lord tonight? If we say who has the strongest name in the world, does the Lord's name immediately come to mind? Is that what fills the horizon of our thoughts? Is that where we go with our faith, with our hearts? It's a name that towers above the most prominent names in our world. A name that towers above the name of Vladimir Putin, President Biden, President Zelensky and all the powers that be in this world. So often we fear and quake at those names. But here's the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. He builds it in our midst tonight. He says it's a strong tower for the people of God to run into and to be safe. If we take the context in which he's revealed the name of the Lord, Very specifically, it's within the context of Israel's captivity, bondage in Egypt, and Israel's redemption from Egypt. What does that name tell us then? It tells us that God is intervening for His people. He's delivering them from the bondage of this world. He's delivering from the bondage of sin. He is the God of redemption. Surely that's reason for the name of God to be a strong tower. We could say it's military language. A tower is a strong place from which to fight. It's a strong place in which to hide and be defended. The name of God is a sure defense for His people in a time of trouble. So a tower is a symbol of strength. It's a symbol of refuge. It's a symbol of recognition in the battle. A tower is above the frame. We can run into it. This is the name that we are called to use rightly. But how do we use it rightly? Well, that brings us to our second thought. If this is the name of the Lord, then we are called through our text tonight to run into it and be safe. The name of the Lord has practical effects for us. The very fact that the name of the Lord is revealed this evening indicates that this tower of a name is accessible to us. It's not a name that remains out there somewhere in the atmosphere. No, God has come down to Moses. He's revealed it. This is the name that Moses was to carry to Israel. This was the name that Israel was to follow out of Egypt. This is the name that was praised as Moses stood at the shores of the Red Sea and sang the song of Moses. The Lord has come down in his being, in his name. Because the name of the Lord is revealed as a strong tower for His people, it's accessible. It's always accessible. You don't have to go looking for this strong tower. It's right here in the Word of God. It's revealed in the person of God. It's accessible in the moments of your greatest need, believer. Whatever circumstance you find yourself in tonight, The name of the Lord comes to us in the preaching of the gospel and proclaims to us that God is ready to receive again, to hide within himself. That's the beauty of the name of the Lord, isn't it? It doesn't remain distant, but it comes down to us so that we can use it rightly, that we can run to it by faith and be safe in it. Maybe it seems that in the trials of life, we can't get to that name. That name seems so far off, it seems so distant, it seems obscured by unbelief. It seems obscured by doubts, but now the name comes to us again. The name of the Lord. The name of the one who stands above our circumstances and says, come to me and hide yourself in me tonight. In the uncertainties of life, the strong tower is always accessible. In the times of questions and doubts, this strong tower is always accessible. The righteous run into it, our text says. The righteous run into it. It's a tower that the righteous will recognize. The unrighteous will not recognize their need of this tower, their need of the name of the Lord, their need of the Lord himself, because that's what we get when we get the name of the Lord, when we run to that name and take hold of it by faith. We don't just get a name, we get the Lord himself. If he's revealed this name in Jesus Christ, then we get Christ himself, you see. But the unrighteous don't recognize that. They won't recognize the name and they won't recognize the person. They'll continue to misuse the name of the Lord, making light of it in the words of question and answer 99, profane and abuse the name of God. Maybe some of you tonight give yourself a pass. You look at the third commandment and you say, well, I don't profane and abuse the name of God. But I also haven't believed in the name of Jesus Christ. Let me ask you this question then to bring home the reality of what this wisdom of Proverbs is teaching us here. Do you honor the name of the Lord by running into it? Do you trust the name of the Lord or do you lean on your own good name? Do you think that you can live without the truth and the reality of what the name of the Lord means? You see, there's no neutrality when it comes to the third commandment. We either misuse the name of God or we rightly use the name of God. It's a matter of faith. We either trust the name of the Lord Or we mistrust the name of the Lord. How can a person maximally honor and reverence the name of the Lord? It's by taking refuge in the God that is revealed in His name. So we need to remember it's not just a name. It's the very person of God that comes to us in that name. He says, what will you do with my name? What will you do with me if you're not trusting in me? You see, if you're not trusting in the Lord tonight, the Lord addresses your heart tonight and he says, where are you? Why are you not trusting in the name of the Lord? Why are you trusting in your own good name? Or why are you trusting in someone else's name? Why are you always appealing to a family member's salvation when you yourself refuse to believe in the name of the Lord? There's no neutrality when it comes to the name of the Lord. We honor and reverence God's name when we trust in him. When we give our yes to what God reveals and we say, yes, Lord, this is what I need for my soul. When we turn our backs on the name of God and on God himself. What is that saying about God? And what is that saying about our hearts? You see, it matters how we relate to the name of the Lord. Because how we relate to the name of the Lord indicates how we relate to the Lord himself. The righteous run into it. The righteous are those who are not righteous of themselves, but made so through the name of Jesus, the Lord who saves. The righteous are those who recognize their own weakness. They run to that tower that is built in the midst of us tonight. They run into the strong tower of the name of God. The righteous are those who recognize what they need in the name of the Lord. They recognize that the name of the Lord is not merely a name, but it's the Lord Himself. divine person who saves and sustains and protects and strengthens. The righteous are those who rightly evaluate and estimate the name of the Lord and see how this name perfectly corresponds and complements their lack and their need. You see, by nature we're left open and weak and vulnerable because of sin. The righteous recognize that and they run to the name of the Lord to find refuge there for all that that name represents and its mercy and its goodness and its truth. We'll see that more in our last thought. But the righteous recognize their need and they recognize the name of the Lord and they run to the name of the Lord as that tower. It's accessible, you see, to the righteous. Not just for the first time, but again and again. You say, well, I don't know if I'm righteous. It's accessible to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Our hunger and thirst after righteousness will bring us to the name of the Lord, Jehovah Tzedkenu, the Lord who is our righteousness, for they shall be filled, you see. When we come with our emptiness and our weakness and our lack and we run into this name of the Lord, this strong tower, we will be safe and we will be filled. It's the righteous who need this name of the Lord. They run into it. What does it mean for the righteous to run into the tower of the Lord's name? Well, running is just another word picture for faith, for the activity of faith. Running indicates That we're leaving ourselves and we're running into this direction. We're running in the direction of the Lord's name. We recognize what we need. We trust in the name. We trust in the one who has revealed himself through his name. The righteous run into it. Running indicates urgency, doesn't it? Someone who's running is in a hurry to get to where they need to be. Some of us run for pleasure with no aim. I don't like running around and around the block. I prefer to play soccer with an object. You run after the ball. Here the righteous run to the tower. They run with an object in mind. They run fast. There's urgency there to fill their need, to find safety and refuge and protection in the name of the Lord. They run into it. It indicates that the name of the Lord is accessible for the righteous, doesn't it? We don't have to run to the tower and then run around and around the tower to find the doorway. No, the tower is open. The name of the Lord is accessible for the righteous. No one who has ever run to this tower has been stymied or turned away. This tower is not a prison like the infamous Tower of London. No, this tower is a safe place of refuge and protection and defense for the righteous. A place where we can be refreshed in who God is for our needy souls. This tower, this name, this Lord receives those who are in anguish, those who are in need, those who are in danger. We can run from the danger. We can run from our need straight into this tower and be safe. It's an open and accessible tower tonight. The name of the Lord. And we say, well, it might be presumptuous. No. to run into this name, to run into this tower, to take hold of the name of the Lord. But let me remind you, my friend, that we bring the maximum honor and glory to God when we take hold of His name in faith and we find refuge there. Just remember that. When Satan comes with his temptations, when he comes to inject his doubt and his uncertainty He says, you can't run to that name. You can't run to that name because you don't rightly know your need, or you don't rightly know that name. No, the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it. Run, my friend, run and be safe. Run and be safe. It brings the most glory to the name of the Lord when we rightly use it in faith. Trusting no other name than the name that has been given, whereby we must be saved, as we read in Acts 4 verse 12. And as you run into that name, there is security. security for this life, security for the life to come. That's what our text tells us. It's wise. It's the voice of wisdom that's calling to us tonight, that lifts up the name of the Lord and says, here's a strong tower for the righteous to run into it, to receive safety. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and are safe. What is it then that you receive when you run into the name of the Lord? Safe. You're safe. It's a beautiful word, that word safe. It's in line with the idea of a tower. A tower is not a wall. A wall can be high, but the tower is higher still. The word safe means to be set high, to be set inaccessibly high. That's the word for safety. That's a beautiful word, isn't it? That's what the name of the Lord gives to us when we run into it. We are set inaccessibly high. Our lives are hid with Christ in God, you see. That's the language of Scripture, isn't it? We're rendered inaccessible to the enemy. rendered inaccessible to sin and eternity. The name of the Lord provides salvation that is secure in this life and the life to come. It sets the righteous inexcessively high in the name and the person of the Lord. Let's go back for a moment to our first thought. where the Lord revealed His name to Moses and to Israel. By extension to us tonight for our benefit, for the benefit of believers. We receive this safety, this inaccessibly high place in the eternal name of the Lord, I AM THAT I AM, the eternal self-existent supreme being. He is the eternal God from whom we derive our existence. When believers face threats to our existence and our being, this insecurity, this trouble calls us to run into the name of the Lord, where He hides us in Himself, where we are safe, in the name of the Lord. This name provides salvation, even as it provided salvation for Israel. sets us inaccessibly high in the midst of the trouble that we face in the Lord who is eternal. It grounds us, provides steadiness. What better name to run into than the name of the Lord, the one who always was, the one who is, and that one who always shall be, the one who is always the same. Provides stability in an ever-changing world. We worry about the price of gas, we worry about the price of food, we worry about the stability of the world in which we live. But the righteous run into the name of the Lord and are saved. Stability set in excessively high above the troubles of this world. Doesn't mean that we no longer live in this world. We live in this world indeed, but the name of the Lord is a strong tower, provides stability so we're not unhinged, you see. We're not tossed to and fro with the troubles of the world, but we have a biblical worldview. We view the world through the lens of Scripture. We view the world through the lens of the name of the Lord, the one who is the same, the one who never changes, the one who's immutable. And we rest there. We rest in the name of the Lord. We're set in excessively high. Someone once was asked to describe what rest looked like. One person pictured an idyllic scene of a mountain range and a tranquil lake set within those mountains. Not a sound was heard apart from the sounds of nature. They said, that's what I think of when I think of rest. Another person said, this is what I think of when I think of rest. A bird at the base of a noisy waterfall, making its nest in the tree at the base of that waterfall, with the mist swirling all around and the noise. The bird finds a place of rest in its nest, a place to breed its young. set high above the swirling waves and the water and the noise in the tree, in the nest. You see, the second picture comes closer to the rest that we enjoy in the name of God, the eternal self-existent one and the I am that I am. And so we find safety in the eternal name of the Lord. We find safety in the omnipotent name of the Lord. He reminds us that he's a strong warrior for his people. When the righteous run into the name of the Lord, it offers security in the midst of the battle with sin, with self, with Satan. It's a battle that we can't win on our own. We're driven out of ourselves into the name of the Lord to be set on high above the battle. Psalm 20 verse 1 captures this reality of running to the name of the Lord in the midst of battle. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble. The name of the God of Jacob defend thee. In verse 7 of the same psalm, we have these words that speak of the help and safety that is found in the name of the Lord. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord sets believers inaccessibly high in the days in which we live. The days of fear. The days when sin seems to threaten to undo us. Where do you run to when you read the headlines? Where do you run to when the world threatens to become unhinged? When the world threatens to swallow you up? We run with urgency to the name of the Lord, and we find safety there. We make our nest, as it were, in the name of the Lord, and He sets us high above it all. We do not run to the strength of man. We denounce our own strength. We denounce the strength of the armies. We denounce the strength of the horses. We denounce the strength of the chariots. We denounce our own strength, and we run to the strength of the Lord who provides safety in His omnipotent name. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. We run to a beautiful name and find safety there. The name of the Lord reminds us of His attributes that He reveals to us. Those attributes that tell us who God really is for His people. The Lord reveals these attributes not just as something to look at. something to admire from afar. No, He reveals them as part of His name, as part of His being, so that we take hold of them for what we need and who God is. We learn that when the righteous run into the name of the Lord, they're set high above the assaults of the enemy. We see the practical effects of using the name of the Lord in all His perfections. In Exodus 34, the Lord condescends to show Himself. He comes so low that we might be raised up and made inaccessible to the enemy, hid with Him. In Christ Jesus, in whom all of these attributes are revealed and given to us. in which we can hide, in which we can find our only salvation. Let's look at each of those for a moment. The Lord, the Lord God merciful. My friend, the Lord is full of pity and compassion in the hurt and the brokenness and the wreckage of sin. The righteous run to him and are safe, inaccessible. to sin and its ravages. We heard recently of the father who ran to meet his son to embrace him. That's what the Lord does. It's not that we have to even run to the tower. The tower moves to us. It's a movable tower in a sense, isn't it? God comes to us and he says, hide yourself in me. So it's not, first of all, our movement to the tower that saves us, it's the movement of God to us. In His revelation of being full of pity and compassion for sinners, He draws us into His tower and He says, you're safe here. There is redemption, full and free in who I am. The Lord, the Lord God, gracious. The Lord is gracious, showing undeserved favor to sinners. What an encouragement to run into the name of the Lord for safety. When the enemy tells you that you don't deserve the grace of God, we can confess that that's true. It doesn't mean that we stay away from the grace of God. No, it's unmerited favor shown to us in Jesus Christ. This is who God is. He shows grace, unmerited favor, undeserved favor to those who take hold of who He is, the Lord who is gracious. He sets you high and inaccessible in Himself. The Lord, the Lord God, longsuffering. There's a word picture here that's very interesting, and to us might seem peculiar. But what the Lord is saying here is that He's long of nostril. It gives us the idea that God takes a long time to get angry. Because what happens when a person gets angry? Their nostrils flare, don't they? That's the word picture here. It takes a long time, as it were, for the nostrils of God to flare with anger. He is long of nostril. He's not easily provoked to anger. That tells us something of who God is. It shouldn't make us lazy, but help us to recognize the urgency of running into the name of God, to confess our sin, to run into it and be safe. Lest that anger meet us in the way and we perish. The Lord is long-suffering. He's telling us that tonight. He says the tower is open still. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the day of security and stability. Run into that tower and be safe. The Lord abundant in goodness. When all we've done is sin against God, the Lord's goodness leads us to repentance and draws us into fellowship with Him again. The Lord's goodness stands in contrast to our sin. The Lord's goodness stands in contrast to the designs of evil of the devil. We run into the Lord's goodness and we rest there, inaccessible to the evil of sin, the flesh, and the devil. The Lord who is abundant in truth. What a name that is, isn't it? Abundant in truth. We live in a world that is starving for truth. The world in which we live is a world of falsehoods and fake news. The truth is shaded with a lie or stretched to such a degree to gaslight, to win an argument, This evening we're brought to God who is the truth, who alone is the truth, who alone is abundant in truth. The truth is what sets us free, the truth of the gospel, the truth of what God says about us, what God says about our world, what God says about himself. That's what we need. The Lord who is abundant in truth is a strong tower. One that we can run to and be inaccessible. We can hide and be safe. Guided by the one who is the truth. One who came into this world, the Lord Jesus himself, who said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. Are you searching for truth tonight? Here is the truth revealed in who the Lord is. Run to Him. Be safe from the lie. The Lord, who keeps mercy for thousands, speaks to His faithfulness. A God who is generous in mercy to all who call upon Him. There is safety here tonight for those who are unsaved, for those who are unconverted in the Lord's name. No need to be discouraged. No need to say that salvation is not for you. The Lord shows mercy. He shows pity. He shows compassion to those who come to Him. There's safety here tonight, friend, in the name of the Lord, to be inaccessible in Jesus, the one whose mercy is greater than all your sin. The Lord who forgives iniquity and transgression and sin builds on the generous mercy of God. What do we see when we see ourselves? Uncleanness and sin. The broken law, the penalty, the curse of the law. The guilt of sin. When the righteous run into this tower, they're safe. Iniquity is forgiven. Transgression and sin has been passed over because the blood covers us, you see. What a contrast to Adam and Eve's hiding, isn't it? What did they construct for themselves? They constructed fig leaves to hide their nakedness, to hide their shame, to hide their guilt. But here God says this evening, there's a strong tower that's available even for sinners. For those who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness. For those who need forgiveness, there is forgiveness in the name of the Lord. The Lord, the one who is perfect in justice. The name we need to reckon with tonight if we're unsaved. He will come and deal with his enemies and those who refuse to repent of their wickedness and sin. That's a reality that you face if you're unsaved tonight. He calls you once more to run to this tower to be safe. to recognize your own sin, to recognize in Him what you need in terms of forgiveness and cleansing. But for the righteous who are oppressed, in this name we run into it and we are safe, we are inaccessible. Yes, we may face hurt and oppression in this life, but we cling to the name of the Lord, the one who is coming in perfect justice. In the words of the Psalter, He's robed in justice and in might. We run into Him and we are safe. He will come again and He will judge perfectly. Run into Him, beloved, and be safe, inaccessible. And then there are a multitude of names that God reveals Himself. I just want to look at briefly as we close tonight. Genesis 16, Hagar called the name of the Lord, Thou God, seest me. The name of the Lord is a God who sees. Connected to the God of perfect justice, he sees those who are oppressed. This was the hope of Hagar. It's the hope and the refuge of those who are oppressed. Within marriages, within families, within society, thou God seest me. Run to that name and be safe there, my friend. What did Abraham say? when Isaac was on the altar in Genesis 22. What did the name of the Lord mean to him? He said and called the name of the Lord Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will see to it. The Lord will provide a replacement ram. And indeed, God did. But that name looks ahead, doesn't it? To the name of Jesus Christ. the replacement lamb, the substitute for you, believer. The Lord will provide. The Lord has provided. For those who are yet without a substitute, the name of the Lord declares to you tonight, there is a substitute available. The tower is open. The name of the Lord will see to it. Israel came to Merah. All they found there was bitter water. They complained. And what did God say to them? I am Jehovah Rophi. I am the Lord who heals you. The Lord provided sweet water in place of bitter. Maybe you're here tonight with a complaining spirit. Well, here is the name of the Lord for you. He is the one who heals, the one who gives sweet water for bitter, the one who promises that no plagues of Egypt will come upon you. In the Lord's protection, run to that name and be safe. Israel was in the midst of battle in Exodus 17. Moses couldn't keep his arms up. Aaron and Hur stood on either side of Moses to keep his arms up. The Lord intervened and brought victory for Israel who was outnumbered and outfought. And what did Moses do? He made an altar. He called the name of the Lord. He called that altar Jehovah Nissi. The Lord is our banner. Beloved, as the Lord granted you victory over sin, don't pat yourself on the back, but lift up the name of the Lord, that banner, and run into the tower again and be safe there for the next battle, because the war has not been won yet. You need this banner over you tonight. You can run into it and be safe for the next battle. Gideon and Judges 6, a weak man, threshing wheat in a winepress, subject to the oppression of the Midianites, subject to famine, the Lord came to him. The Lord says, I will be with you, you mighty man of valor. Gideon constructed an altar and he gave another dimension of the name of the Lord. Jehovah, Shalom, the Lord is our peace. In times of war, times of foreign invaders, in times of famine, spiritual or physical, where do we turn? We turn to the Lord who is our peace. We run into that name and we are safe. The prophet Jeremiah gave the prophecy of the branch. The branch who was coming in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what was the name that Jeremiah ascribed to that branch that Israel and Judah would ascribe a revived Israel and Judah? Jehovah Tzadkanu. The Lord our righteousness. We can run into that name tonight and be safe there. We can take our unrighteousness into the tower and we can lean upon the righteousness of the branch of the Messiah who was prophesied in Jeremiah 23 6. The branch who has come. The branch who has become a tree for healing of the nations. We can run into that name and be safe. For the reviving of our own souls. For the repentance in our own lives. And then, the last name that we want to consider is Jehovah Salvation. The name of Jesus. That's what it means, doesn't it? Matthew 1, 16. His name shall be called Jesus. The magnificent name of Jesus, the beautiful name of Jesus revealed there. A name that comprehends all of who God is in the flesh. Come into this world to present himself as a tower to which we can run and be safe for all that we need for this life and the life to come. The only name given under heaven whereby we must be saved. The only name that will be revealed on the last day is that name that is our righteousness. Run into him now. Run into him now and be saved. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are saved. Here is wisdom tonight, wisdom calls regarding the right use of the name of God. As we run into that name, we'll be safe. We've been made more sensitive to the misuse of the name of God and we will seek more and more to magnify the name of God, to tell others about the name of God. Saying, I've run into it, I'm safe, you can be too. It's an accessible name. This is using the holy name of God, no otherwise, and with fear and reverence, so that He may be rightly confessed and worshiped by us. Do you want to honor the name of God maximally tonight? Then run to Him. Run to Him for your soul and be safe. Amen. Let's pray. Lord, we thank Thee for the revelation of Thy name. We thank Thee for a name that is accessible. We can run into it and be safe. We thank Thee for the security of this name, a name that gives us not only security in this life, but in the life to come, so when we stand before the judgment seat of God, we have no other name to stand on but the name of the Lord. the Lord who saves, the Lord who is our righteousness, the Lord who is our banner, the eternal self-existent one, the one who goes before us, even in this week. So, Lord, we run afresh to Thee. We hide ourselves in Thee. We glorify and honor Thee by running into Thee again. Lord, help us to keep doing this. that the activity of our lives would be one of running, running daily, running hourly, moment by moment, leaning upon the strength and the safety that this name provides for us. That those who are not yet sheltered in this tower would run even now in these moments and be safe and secure from all alarm. Lord, hear us. Come with thy mighty name and encourage us in the week to come. We ask all this now in Jesus' name alone. Amen.