To hallow (Greek hagiazo) is to separate, consecrate, and regard as holy. Only God can make something holy, as He did with the Sabbath, so humans hallow what God has sanctified by treating it as holy and obeying His instructions about it. In ancient times a name represented a person's essence, and God's names, such as Creator, Healer, Peace, Righteousness, and Shepherd, identify His character. The third commandment and the petition "Hallowed be Your name" therefore call for more than careful pronunciation; they require reverence for what His names stand for, including Him, His character, and the serious pursuit of His way of life. To hallow His name is to put Him in His own exalted category, with no rivals, since He declares there is no other God like Him. He is the ultimate Ruler over every family in heaven and earth, and He has given Christ the name above every name. His people hallow His name by coming to understand Him, learning His teachings through trials, keeping Him at the center of life, and praising and obeying Him in every word and deed. The petition expresses the desire to please the Father in every facet of life and to witness His glory to the world. It also adds holiness and an increase in true worship to the ancient pattern of greeting a king with wishes for his blessing.

God is deeply concerned about how we use His name, commanding us not to take it in vain. Jesus instructs us to pray to the Father in His name, and the Psalms urge us to honor and glorify His name. The spiritual principle of fearing God's glorious and awesome name is paramount to obeying Him. The various names of God in Scripture, such as Elohim, YHWH, El, and others, each describe distinct virtues or characteristics of His nature, revealing His character and affecting how we worship Him. The proper attitude toward God's name is crucial to worshiping Him appropriately. Reverential fear and genuine respect through obedience truly honor God, rather than focusing on the sound or pronunciation of His name. Jesus emphasizes that not everyone who calls Him 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of His Father. God is more interested in our obedience and growth in His way of life than in the precise pronunciation of His name. Christ provides the proper example in prayer, teaching us to say, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name," showing that each day we have the opportunity to extol Him for aspects of His character reflected in His names. Whether we use Yahweh, Elohim, the Eternal, the Creator, God, or Lord, the reverence and fear for the One behind the name, the Lord Your God, matter most.

Jesus instructs His disciples in Luke 11:2 to pray, saying, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name." We are called to hallow the name of our Father in heaven, recognizing His supreme holiness. The Greek word hagiazo, meaning to make holy, sanctify, or set apart, also suggests showing a difference from the common. Unlike our human fathers, who are created beings full of flaws, our heavenly Father stands in an entirely different category, vastly uncommon and far greater than any man. We must strive to understand His expansive greatness and majesty, acknowledging that He is not just a Father but also Designer, Creator, Life-giver, Law-giver, Provider, and Supreme Judge, sovereign over all. His mind and power are beyond our grasp, yet we are to honor and revere His name by recognizing how truly exalted and almighty He is.

To hallow God's name is to make it holy, set it apart for holy use, and respect it greatly. Jesus tells His followers to pray for this (Matthew 6:9), and the name is hallowed by obeying Him in all conduct, not by speech alone. The third commandment is broken whenever a person bears or uses God's name in an unworthy, profane way. Canaan's nations defiled themselves and the land by doing this, and Israel profaned the name by offering blemished sacrifices with a deceitful attitude. Prayer without obedience is a form of blasphemy, and so is praise offered in rebellion against His way. Such worship is vain, useless, and contemptible. Repeating God's name often, or mentioning it only when convenient, does not bring anyone into the Kingdom. Those who use His names but fail to obey the revelation of Himself in them are rejected. His name is so sacred that Jesus forbids invoking it to back up an oath. The faithful trust in what God is, His character and nature, not in the name as a label, which would be superstition. Salvation does not depend on pronunciation but on doing His will. Since believers bear His name from baptism, they must uphold all it represents and witness that He is God. Those who overcome will finally receive His name for all eternity.

Book Five of the Psalms, like the whole book (Tehillim, "Songs of Praise"), is about praising God, with praise mounting toward the closing psalms. Psalm 145 is the only psalm titled a Tehillah, and Psalms 146 through 150 conclude with Hallelujah, climaxing in Psalm 150's commands to praise. Within Book Five, Psalms 113 through 118 form the Hallel, a unit tied to Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and Dedication, and chanted as the Passover lambs were slain. It is likely the hymn Jesus and His disciples sang after the last supper. Its unifying theme is redemption: God paying the price to deliver from harm and penalty, which Christ accomplished with His own blood (I Peter 1:17-19). Psalm 113 presents God as sovereign yet humble, raising the poor and barren to be heirs and children. Psalm 114 recalls the Exodus, when God redeemed Israel to dwell among and rule them. Psalm 115 contrasts lifeless idols with the true God and calls for trust and faith. Psalm 116 is read as deliverance from spiritual death to life, with God treating the death of His saints as precious. Psalm 117 extends praise and mercy to all Gentiles. Psalm 118 gives thanks for God's mercy and points to the rejected cornerstone and the bound sacrifice, Jesus Christ. Together these psalms lay out the whole plan of salvation.