The Faith We Sing Hymn Interpretation “Bring Many Names,” Number 2047

"Bring Many Names," Number 2047
Words: Bryan Wren
Music: Carlton R. Young

Despite its title, this hymn is not about giving many or new names to God. Indeed, throughout the six stanzas of this hymn, there is only one name used — God! "Bring Many Names," is about naming the activities and attributes of God. This is clear from the use of lower-case adjectives that precede the name, such as "strong mother God," "warm father God," "old aching God," "young growing God," and "great living God." The author has made use of a poetic device — referring to God's nature and actions in human terms — that helps us to understand the nature and work of the divine. It is easy to confuse the theological process of giving a name to God with the poetic device of naming God's activity and attributes. There is a difference between saying that God's name is Jehovah or El Shaddai and saying that God is love. This hymn does the latter, not the former.

Stanza two's "strong mother God"" reminds us of our own human mother who often would work night and day, planning and preparing meals and laboring at innumerable tasks around the home, often in addition to earning a second income at work outside the home. We may not be able to grasp the true strength and power and creativity of the God who worked and planned the wonders of creation, but perhaps we can get a glimpse from our own human mothers.

Perhaps we can understand something of God in stanza three as we recognize in our own human father the characteristics of love and warmth as he embraces a child. We may recall our own father who has shared in our struggles and failings, cared for us, and forgiven us.

Obviously, God does not age or ache. God is timeless and eternal. However, God is present with us as we grow to old age, as we become wise with experience and able to see old evils in new disguises. God is with us as we experience each new surprise of life. Stanza four describes an old, aching God, not because God physically aches or ages, but because God is present with us in our own struggles of aging.

God is certainly not young and growing (stanza 5), but youth is a stage of human growth and development. One of the characteristics of youth is its eagerness to take strong stands against falsehood, unkindness, and injustice. As young people grow and mature, perhaps their eagerness is made more acute by a recognition of the divine spark within them.

The final stanza recognizes that throughout all stages of our lives, God has been there. Despite the intimate presence of God in all of human experiences, there is still part of God that remains beyond human knowing — this is the God "closer yet than breathing."

"Bring Many Names" does not deny the timeless, eternal nature of God; rather, it helps us to understand and affirm the mystery and complexity of that nature by recognizing and naming it within identifiable and knowable human experiences. It helps us to understand God's eternal and unchanging nature within the context of our finite and highly changing human nature.