If I put a link to it, you won’t go and read it.  So here it is, in all its goodness.  Listen to Jesus speak about his Church, and think about the new name we have in Christ.

Zion’s New Name

¹ For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
her salvation like a blazing torch.

² The nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.

³ You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah, ['My delight is in her']
and your land Beulah ['Married'];
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.

⁵ As a young man marries a maiden,
so will your sons [or 'Builder'] marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.

⁶ I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
give yourselves no rest,

⁷ and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth.

⁸ The LORD has sworn by his right hand
and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain
as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
for which you have toiled;

⁹ but those who harvest it will eat it
and praise the LORD,
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
in the courts of my sanctuary.”

¹⁰ Pass through, pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner for the nations.

¹¹ The LORD has made proclamation
to the ends of the earth:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion,
‘See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.’ ”

¹² They will be called the Holy People,
the Redeemed of the LORD;
and you will be called Sought After,
the City No Longer Deserted.

Whenever we try to create ourselves, forming our own identity, we find ourself enslaved to idols.  Jesus calls us to die to self and receive Himself.  Our true name is found in Jesus Christ.

Melanie Phillips has just written a very good review of Look at Me: Celebrating the Self in Modern Britain by Peter Whittle.  You will find it here.  It is about the excessive narcissism in our contemporary culture.  She writes:

[The] modern cult of fame derives from a culture in which the individual has become the centre of the universe: the sun around which everyone and everything else must revolve. With external authority now considered an affront to the self along with the religious doctrines that imposed it, morality and culture have been systematically privatised and relativised so that no one’s values or lifestyle can trump those of anyone else. Every individual is thus a hero to himself.

This is nothing new.  The description of sin in Psalm 2 applies to every culture and time:

“Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.

3 “Let us break their chains,” they say,
“and throw off their fetters.”

God laughs at such foolishness.  In response, he enthrones Jesus christ, his Anointed Son, as King – and calls us to take refuge in him.

(For a good sermon on Psalm 2, head to Christ The Truth here.)