What Name Do You Use for God?

Do you know what name the Bible uses more often than any other name? Would you say David? Abraham? or Jesus?

If any of those names came to mind, you should find this series very interesting, for the most important name in the Bible is used more often than all those names combined.

A RELIGIOUS publication points out that when you say you love someone you call that person by name. You would not say: “Man, I love you.” Or: “Woman, I love you.” Instead, you would say: “John, I love you.” Or: “Margaret, I love you.” Then it asks: “What name can you give God to make him more personal and intimate?”

It discusses this question for a full page, never once mentioning the name by which God calls himself. It concludes: “The name you choose in relating to God intimately should depend on you.” But, would it not be better to use the name God chose for himself, which is used thousands of times in the Bible?

Does God Really Have a Name?

Yes, he does. In the Hebrew and Greek in which the Bible originally was written, the word “god” did not always refer to the true God. As is the case in English, it could be used for false gods and idols. So how would the true God and Creator be distinguished from man-made gods? By using a personal name. Yet many people do not know God’s name, and far fewer use it today.

In fact, you may never have seen the name of God in your own Bible. Why not? Because the men who translated your copy of the Bible into English may have changed it. They may not have agreed with the Bible writers whom God inspired to use this name thousands of times in the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Authorized Version, long used by English-speaking readers, contains God’s name, not the nearly 7,000 times it occurs in the Hebrew, but by itself only four times​—at Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18 and Isaiah 12:2; 26:4. There are other translations that do not use God’s name at all. They have dropped God’s name from his own book!

Obviously this NAME was more important than the words translators substituted for it, so some translations print the substituted words in capitals, to let informed readers know where God’s name appears in the original text. A noted encyclopedia explains: “It should be remembered that the Hebrew name Jehovah is generally rendered, in the English version, by the word LORD (sometimes GOD), and printed in small capitals.” So when you see the word “LORD” printed this way, the translator is telling you that God’s own name, JEHOVAH, is used in the original language.​—McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia, 1981, Volume IV, page 811.

Whether you have seen this name in your Bible or not, it was in the original Hebrew text. German scholars Keil and Delitzsch point out that the expression “Jehovah Elohim” (Jehovah God) appears 20 times in fewer than 50 verses of Genesis chapters 2 and 3. They say that “it is used with peculiar emphasis, to give prominence to the fact that Jehovah is truly Elohim,” or God.​—Commentary on the Old Testament, by Keil and Delitzsch, 1973, Volume I, pages 72, 73.

In fact, Jesus’ own name means “Salvation of Jah [Jehovah].” And you say a shortened poetic form of Jehovah’s name whenever you say “Hallelujah.” You can look up Hallelujah in a dictionary and see for yourself that it means ‘Praise Jah,’ or ‘Praise Jehovah.’

Remember, Jehovah is God’s own name. It is the name by which HE chose to be identified. Would you like to know how the use of this name can expand your appreciation of God and his purposes? That is the subject of the following articles.

Should the Name Be Used?

MANY people do not feel at ease using God’s holy name. Devout Jews see this name in their Bibles, but they feel it should not be pronounced. Many other religious people hesitate to use it.

However, the entire nation of Israel once heard God speak his name. They heard it pronounced correctly. At Mount Sinai they heard it eight times in the Ten Words, or Ten Commandments, that they heard spoken from heaven.​—Exodus 20:2-17.

If the translator of your copy of the Bible used God’s name where it appears in the original Hebrew, you will see that those commandments begin with the statement: “I am Jehovah your God, who have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. You must not have any other gods against my face.” The Living Bible renders this: “I am Jehovah your God . . . You may worship no other god than me.” (Exodus 20:2, 3) If the translators of your Bible did not use God’s name, they may have put the word “LORD” in capitals to show that The Name appears in the original passage.

There is nothing in the Scriptures that says that this name should not be used. God said not to take his name “in vain,” or “in a worthless way.” But that does not mean that we should not use the name. Rather, it means that servants of Jehovah should not do things that discredit his name.​—Exodus 20:7.

Moses, who was used to record this command in the Bible, did not understand it to mean that God’s name should not be used, for he wrote that name many hundreds of times in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Rather than not using the name, Moses said: “Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. And you must love Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your vital force.”​—Deuteronomy 6:4, 5.

The Bible does not show that this name remained hidden or unpronounced. Instead, it shows that over a period of many centuries it was in common use. The Bible quotes Eve as using it. (Genesis 4:1) Moses says that righteous Abraham used it, that Abraham called “upon the name of Jehovah the indefinitely lasting God,” though that fact is hidden in many modern Bible translations.​—Genesis 21:33.

Abraham used Jehovah’s name in talking with the king of Sodom. Sarah used it in conversation with Abraham. Abraham’s servant used it regularly. Jacob, his wife Rachel and her father, Laban, all used God’s name.​—Genesis 14:22; 16:2; 24:35, 42, 44; 28:16; 30:24, 27, 30.

Moses was commanded to use God’s name. Moses and Aaron used it in speaking to unbelieving Pharaoh, and Pharaoh used it in replying. He said: “Who is Jehovah, so that I should obey his voice to send Israel away?”​—Exodus 5:1-3; 3:15.

Centuries later the people still did not consider Jehovah’s name unspeakable. They used it in talking to Samuel, and he used it in replying. (1 Samuel 12:19, 20) Righteous King David sang it publicly, saying: “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the middle of the congregation I shall praise you. You fearers of Jehovah, praise him!”​—Psalm 22:22, 23.

The great prophet Isaiah did not think this name should be ignored. He used it more than 400 times in the Bible book that bears his name.

Isaiah did not tell his Jewish readers not to use God’s name. Rather, he said: “Give thanks to Jehovah, you people! Call upon his name. Make known among the peoples his dealings. Make mention that his name is put on high. Make melody to Jehovah, for he has done surpassingly. This is made known in all the earth.”​—Isaiah 12:4, 5.

Does any of this sound as though this mighty name was to be hidden? not be used? be replaced by some other word? Translators who drop God’s name from his own book obviously do not have the appreciation of this name that God-fearing Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Samuel, David and Isaiah had.

The later prophets did not hide this name either, considering it too sacred to use or feeling that earlier Bible writers were wrong and thinking this name should be replaced by some other word. Their messages were filled with such expressions as these: “Hear the word of Jehovah.” “This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said.” “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said.”​—Jeremiah 2:4; 19:15; Ezekiel 21:28.

Nor was the use of this name confined to religious matters. Not only was it used by teachers but ordinary people used God’s name in normal conversation. The Bible says that Boaz said to his field workers: “Jehovah be with you.” They would reply: “Jehovah bless you.”​—Ruth 2:4.

Archaeologists have found confirmation of the Bible’s statements that the people used this name. In the 1930’s they discovered the Lachish Letters, pottery fragments believed to date from the Babylonian conquest in the seventh century B.C.E. These repeatedly use such expressions as: “May YHWH [Yahweh, or Jehovah] cause my lord to hear this very day tidings of good!”

Even non-Israelites knew and used God’s name. The Gibeonites told Joshua: “Your servants have come in regard to the name of Jehovah your God, because we have heard of his fame and of all that he did in Egypt.” (Joshua 9:9) In the tenth century before our Common Era, Israel’s enemy Mesha, king of Moab, had the name written on the Moabite Stone, rediscovered in 1868 and now displayed in the Louvre museum in Paris.

These facts should not be surprising. Rather than suggesting that this was a private, secret name that should not be used, Moses had told the people: “And all the peoples of the earth will have to see that Jehovah’s name has been called upon you.” (Deuteronomy 28:10) How could that be possible if even worshipers did not use his name?

Rather than being unspeakable, the name was honored, loved, respected. It was used in naming places, and even in naming people. Abraham called the place where he went to sacrifice Isaac “Jehovah-jireh.” (Genesis 22:14) And the following are among well-known Bible names whose meanings involve Jehovah, or Jah, the shorter poetic form of Jehovah’s name: Hezekiah, Isaiah, Josiah, Nehemiah, Obadiah, Zechariah and Zephaniah. People even use God’s name in naming children today. In fact, God’s marvelous name may be included in your own name! Do you know anyone named Joel? His name means, “Jehovah is God.” What about Jonathan? It means, “Jehovah has given.” Joshua means, “Jehovah is salvation.” And anyone who has the common name John has a name that means, “Jehovah has been gracious.”

So despite the belief of some people that God’s name is too sacred to be spoken, and of others that it should be ignored, there is no way it can be left out of the Bible. It is included in all these Biblical names that were used during the many centuries that people not only knew God’s holy name JEHOVAH but used it in prayer, worship and normal conversation.

But what about the Christian Scriptures, often called the New Testament? The name Jehovah is included in the names of Jesus and John, and in the word “Hallelujah,” but why does it not appear more often? The answer to that important question is discussed next.

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How Is the Name Pronounced?

Due to religious disuse, the original pronunciation of the Hebrew word יהוה has been lost. Some scholars prefer to say “Yahweh,” but there is no way of knowing what pronunciation is correct.

However, names are often pronounced differently in different languages. In English we call the first Christian to die for his faith Stephen, but the French call him Étienne. Jesus was called Ye·shuʹaʽ, or Y^ehohshuʹaʽ, in Hebrew, I·e·sousʹ in Greek.

The fact that we do not pronounce Jesus’ name​—or the name of any other person—​exactly as it was pronounced in the original language does not make us drop the name. We simply say it as it is pronounced in our language.

Thus, the book Aid to Bible Understanding says: “Since certainty of pronunciation is not now attainable, there seems to be no reason for abandoning in English the well-known form ‘Jehovah’ in favor of some other suggested pronunciation. . . . In English the name ‘Jehovah’ identifies the true God, transmitting this thought more satisfactorily today than any of the suggested substitutes.”​—Page 885.

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THEY CALLED GOD BY NAME

Abraham

Sarah

Rachel

David

Samuel

God’s Name in the Christian Scriptures

WHEN Jesus called God his Father, his Jewish hearers knew the One about whom he was talking. They saw God’s name in the Hebrew Bible scrolls available in their synagogues. Such a scroll was handed to Jesus in the synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth. He read a passage from Isaiah that contained Jehovah’s name twice.​—Luke 4:16-21.

Jesus’ early disciples also saw God’s name in the Septuagint​—the translation of the Bible into Greek, which the early Christians used in teaching and writing. True, at one time it was thought that God’s name did not appear in the Septuagint, but it is now definitely known that this name was so respected that the Tetragrammaton (the term scholars use for the four letters with which God’s name is written in Hebrew) was copied in Hebrew letters, right into the Greek text.

Aquila wrote God’s name in Hebrew letters in his Greek text as late as the second century. In the third century Origen wrote that “in the most faithful manuscripts THE NAME is written in Hebrew characters.” In the fourth century the Bible translator Jerome wrote: “We find the four-lettered name of God (i.e., יהוה) in certain Greek volumes even to this day expressed in the ancient letters.”

Dr. Paul E. Kahle writes: “We now know that the Greek Bible text [the Septuagint] as far as it was written by Jews for Jews did not translate the Divine name by kyʹrios [Lord], but the Tetragrammaton written with Hebrew or Greek letters was retained in such MSS [manuscripts].”​—The Cairo Geniza, pages 222, 224.

What does this mean? It means that, whether they spoke Hebrew or Greek, when Jesus’ hearers read the Scriptures they saw God’s name in them. Thus, it is only reasonable that when they quoted these texts they would follow the custom they had observed​—putting the four Hebrew letters of Jehovah’s name in the text of their Christian Greek Scripture writings.

In the Journal of Biblical Literature, George Howard, associate professor of religion at the University of Georgia, wrote: “Since the Tetragram was still written in the copies of the Greek Bible which made up the Scriptures of the early church, it is reasonable to believe that the N[ew] T[estament] writers, when quoting from Scripture, preserved the Tetragram within the biblical text.”​—1977, Volume 96, No. 1, page 77.

The Replacing of God’s Name

It seems that the divine name was later dropped from both the Septuagint and the “New Testament” when non-Jewish Christians no longer understood the Hebrew letters. Thus Dr. Kahle writes: “It was the Christians who replaced the Tetragrammaton by kyʹrios [Lord], when the divine name written in Hebrew letters was not understood any more.”​—The Cairo Geniza, page 224.

Of what importance was this loss? Professor Howard says: “This removal of the Tetragram, in our view, created a confusion in the minds of early Gentile Christians about the relationship between the ‘Lord God’ and the ‘Lord Christ.’”​—Page 63 of the article quoted earlier.

For example, Psalm 110:1 says: “The utterance of Jehovah to my Lord is.” This is quoted in Matthew 22:44 where, after the name Jehovah was dropped, most modern translations read: “The Lord said to my Lord.” Thus, to members of Christendom’s churches the definite distinction between Jehovah (“the Lord”) and Jesus (“my Lord”) was lost.

There are major advantages in following the Biblical example of using God’s name: (1) It helps us to view God as a Person, not just a force. (2) It helps us to draw closer to him. (3) It eliminates confusion, sharpening our thinking about him, bringing our thoughts closer to what the Bible really teaches.

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The Divine Name, in Hebrew characters, appeared in the early Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures

The Grandest Name of All

“You must tell the Israelites this, that it is JEHOVAH the God of their forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, who has sent you to them. This is my name for ever; this is my title in every generation.”​—EXODUS 3:15, The New English Bible.

1. Of what value is a name, in comparison with other words that might be used to identify a person?

EACH of us has a name. Our name identifies us as a person. Hearing the name of someone you strongly dislike produces negative feelings, while the name of someone you dearly love prompts pleasant, happy thoughts. In addition to your name, there are other words that describe narrower aspects of your life. The same person may be called Professor, Boss, Dad or Grandpa, depending on the circumstances. Each of these words can prompt different thoughts about the person, calling attention to a different facet of his life. But his name reminds us of the whole person​—all his aspects, everything we know about him.

2, 3. How could the words we use to identify God affect our thinking about him?

² Does the same principle apply to our thinking about God? Does what you call him have at least some effect on your view of the Creator?

³ The words “Creator” and “Almighty” call attention to certain aspects of his activity. “Lord” refers to his authority. “God” describes him as having more than human attributes and power. The reader of the French translations by Segond and Darby, who sees God’s name changed to l’Éternel (the Eternal) may have a somewhat different picture of God than the reader of English Bibles whose translators have changed God’s name to “the LORD.” Thus, one religious writer said: “The introduction of God’s personal name into Christian worship and theology could have surprising and creative results.”

4. (a) What can be said about the various words we use in speaking of God? (b) How extensively is his name used in the Scriptures?

⁴ The various words that describe God​—Lord, Almighty, the Creator—​are correct. They are used in the Bible. However, there is a word that the Bible uses more often than any of these. It is God’s personal NAME, and that name should remind us of all the things we know about him. That name, which today is commonly pronounced Jehovah, or Yahweh, occurs in the original text of the Bible far more often than does any other word for God. The Comprehensive Concordance of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures takes 43 columns to list each time the word “God” or “God’s” is used in the Bible, but 77 columns to list each time “Jehovah” or “Jehovah’s” appears.

5. (a) What does Exodus 3:15 tell us about God’s name? (b) What can be said about the pronunciation “Jehovah”?

⁵ This name was not chosen by humans. The Bible says that God chose it, and that he said it should be used. He said: “You must tell the Israelites this, that it is JEHOVAH the God of their forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, who has sent you to them. This is my name for ever; this is my title in every generation.” (Exodus 3:15, NE) Why does this widely accepted modern translation use the name Jehovah in this text? Because this is the customary English pronunciation of God’s name that appears thousands of times in the original Hebrew Bible.

6. What is another advantage of using God’s name?

⁶ When the Bible uses a name for God, this helps us to think of him not just as a force but as a personality. It helps us to draw closer to him. God seems distant to many people. Yet the apostle Paul said: “In fact, he is not far off from each one of us.”​—Acts 17:27.

Your Reaction to the Name

7, 8. What reaction do you have to hearing the name Jehovah? Why?

⁷ What is your reaction when you hear this name that the Bible uses for God? Does it prompt negative thoughts or pleasant, happy ones? Have you been taught to react negatively to the name by which God said he should be known, or does it produce a feeling of heartfelt appreciation, as the Bible shows it should?

⁸ Hearing the name Jehovah should make us think of the Creator of heaven and earth. In the original Hebrew, the Bible says: “Jehovah God [Jehovah Elohim] made earth and heaven.” It also says: “And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” (Genesis 2:4, 7) Thus, we owe Him our life. His creating made your own existence possible. Does that fact affect the reaction you have when you hear God’s name?

9. Of what else should this name remind us?

⁹ More than being the Creator, he is the Purposer. It is believed that the name Jehovah means “He causes to become.” He causes himself to become whatever is required so that, without fail, his purposes and promises will be accomplished.

10. What is the meaning of Exodus 6:3?

¹⁰ Jehovah told Moses: “I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but as respects my name Jehovah I did not make myself known to them.” (Exodus 6:3) Did this mean that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob never heard this name? No, it could not mean that, for Jehovah had earlier told Moses that he was the God of these three men. (Exodus 3:15) Further, as the earlier article “Should the Name Be Used?” (page 4) shows, these faithful servants used that name continually. But the name was about to be revealed in a new way. What they had not known was the added meaning this name would take on once people had seen the extent to which Jehovah would go to see that his promises and purposes were fulfilled.

11. How were the Israelites about to know Jehovah in a more meaningful way than their forefathers had?

¹¹ What purposes? The people were about to witness the awe-inspiring Ten Plagues. They were about to be brought dryshod through the Red Sea. They would have the Law given under awesome circumstances at Mount Sinai. They would be protected through the “great and fear-inspiring wilderness” and be brought into the Promised Land. ​—Deuteronomy 1:19; Exodus 6:7, 8; 14:21-25; 19:16-19.

His Loving Acts

12, 13. What are some of the things the Bible tells us about Jehovah’s loving acts?

¹² The entire Bible narrative explains the Creator. It relates his faithfulness, uprightness and justice. The Bible says: “Good and upright is Jehovah.” It says: “O how great his goodness is!” “The Rock, perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.”​—Psalm 25:8; Zechariah 9:17; Deuteronomy 32:4.

¹³ The Bible presents Jehovah as King (Psalm 10:16; Daniel 4:34), Judge (Psalm 50:6; 98:9), Father (Isaiah 64:8; Matthew 6:6-9), Husband (Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 3:14), Teacher (Psalm 71:17; Isaiah 50:4; 54:13) and Helper (Psalm 30:2; 115:9-13; 121:2). His name should remind us of his loving acts, of the fact that he has established right principles and that he has the right to require the obedience and devotion of his earthly children. The Scriptures say: “Jehovah is known by the judgment that he has executed.” “Jehovah is guarding all those loving him, but all the wicked ones he will annihilate.”​—Psalm 9:16; 145:20.

14. (a) How did the writers and singers of the Psalms show their confidence in Jehovah? (b) What do the Proverbs show about him?

¹⁴ This name appears 749 times in the complete Bible book of Psalms. The psalms, or songs of praise, were sung by joyful worshipers who gave “thanks to the name of Jehovah” at the temple in Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:1-4) The writers and singers of the psalms knew Jehovah’s name (Psalm 9:10), trusted in his name (33:21), called on his name (80:18; 105:1), gave thanks to his holy name (106:47), sought help in his name (124:8) and continually praised his name (68:4; 135:3). His was not a hidden name but a beloved name. (Psalm 89:1; 92:1-5) Not only did Jehovah perform the loving acts praised in the Psalms but he inspired the wisdom recorded in the Bible book of Proverbs. It says: “For Jehovah himself gives wisdom; out of his mouth there are knowledge and discernment.” (Proverbs 2:6) If your translation of the Bible uses “LORD” in these passages, be assured that in the original Hebrew, God’s name appears in each of them.

15. (a) Of what momentous events should Jehovah’s name remind us? (b) According to Daniel 2:20, 21 and Da 4:17, what provides us with a basis for blessing the name of Jehovah?

¹⁵ The name should remind us of the entire ensemble of history, prophecy, laws and wisdom that are outlined in the Bible. It should remind us of astounding prophecies that dealt with the major course of world history. Jehovah caused historic events to occur in such a way that his prophecies would be fulfilled on Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, and on down through our turbulent 20th century and beyond.​—Daniel, chapters 2, 7, 8.a

Jesus and the Father’s Name

16. (a) How should Jesus’ earthly sojourn affect our appreciation of his Father, Jehovah God? (b) How, in particular, did Jesus make his Father’s name known?

¹⁶ The warm feeling of appreciation that the divine name Jehovah should bring to our hearts should include an even more important fact​—that he miraculously sent to earth his “Firstborn,” “the Word,” who became Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 1:6; John 1:1-3; Romans 5:6-8) In prayer to his heavenly Father, Jesus said: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world. . . . And I have made your name known to them and will make it known.” (John 17:6, 26) It was not that his followers did not already know God’s name. As shown in the article “God’s Name in the Christian Scriptures” (page 7), they saw this name both in their Hebrew Bible scrolls and in the Greek Bible translation they used. But as a result of Jesus’ teaching, the name took on added meaning​—just as it had done as a result of Jehovah’s acts back in Moses’ day. Jesus marvelously expanded our knowledge and appreciation of Jehovah, of his personality and of his purposes. We know Jehovah’s name in a far grander way through Jesus, who said: “What I teach is not mine, but belongs to him that sent me.” Jesus provided the ransom and the way of approach to the Father. Thus Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”​—John 7:16; 14:6.

17. What heavenly use of God’s name was foretold in the book of Revelation?

¹⁷ In the Bible book of Revelation, which records John’s vision of events in our day, Jehovah’s name is still being praised. When Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion, is destroyed, a great crowd in heaven utters the exultant cry: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” Then “the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’” (Revelation 19:1, 4, Revised Standard Version) What does “Hallelujah” mean? We have already seen, back on page 4, that “Jah” is a shorter poetic form for “Jehovah.” Thus, The Random House Dictionary of the English Language says that “Hallelujah” is from the Hebrew for “Praise (ye) Jehovah.” So God is worshiped in heaven with the cry: “Praise Jehovah!”

Marvelous Works

18. What does knowing things Jehovah has done “for the sake of his name” help us to appreciate?

¹⁸ God’s name should be used. It should remind us of his works and his loving-kindness. The Bible tells us that he did these great things “for the sake of his name, so as to make his mightiness known.” (Psalm 106:8) The marvelous works he performed “for the sake of his name” were not done out of egotism but to help us appreciate that he is God, that he has the right to tell us what to do, and that we can have absolute confidence in the accomplishment of his promises. (1 Samuel 12:22) Thus he said: “Remember the first things of a long time ago, that I am the Divine One and there is no other God, nor anyone like me; the One telling from the beginning the finale, and from long ago the things that have not been done; the One saying, ‘My own counsel will stand, and everything that is my delight I shall do’; . . . I have even spoken it; I shall also bring it in. I have formed it, I shall also do it.”​—Isaiah 46:9-11.

19. What assuring statement did Joshua make about the reliability of God’s Word?

¹⁹ Centuries earlier Joshua had reminded the Israelites: “You well know with all your hearts and with all your souls that not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed. They have all come true for you. Not one word of them has failed.”​—Joshua 23:14.

20. What are some of the things of which the name Jehovah reminds you?

²⁰ Are all these things involved in your impression of Jehovah? Does hearing his name remind you of his works, his power, his almightiness, his trustworthiness and the truth of his promises? Do you associate his name with The God who causes himself to become whatever is required so that his purposes will be accomplished? Do you think of Jehovah’s sending Jesus to earth to vindicate God’s name, to teach us about his Father and to provide the ransom for all who will accept it? And do your feelings about Jehovah include your appreciation of his promises of a righteous future for a cleansed earth?​—2 Peter 3:13.

21. How can our attitude be like that of righteous King David?

²¹ Knowledge of the things Jehovah has done produces faith. Faith prompts us to action. We use his name, speak of his deeds, offer ourselves willingly as his servants, and we look forward to the fulfillment of his great and unfailing purpose to rid the earth of wickedness and to establish righteous new conditions for obedient mankind. Having such faith, and acting upon it, we can say as did righteous King David: “The praise of Jehovah my mouth will speak; and let all flesh bless his holy name to time indefinite, even forever.”​—Psalm 145:21.

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