Part Eight, You Know My Name! Psalm 91:14

 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name” (v.14).

Within the initial part of the psalm, there is a tradeoff discussion between first and second persons (first person: I/We; second person: You). The Targum, an Aramaic paraphrase and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible of the first century, suggests that the dialogue is between David and Solomon. Now in verses 14–16, God directly speaks.

Because he has loved Me: When someone loves another, self is completely diminished (“Jesus said, to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’” Matt. 16:24)… One’s sole purpose is to attempt to please the one loved. There is a willingness to sacrifice heart, mind, and soul for the one you love. We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). God, speaking in the first person, responds to the psalmist, “Because he has loved Me, I will deliver him.” This means God will protect, rescue, and be with him in times of peril and trouble, protecting him from harm as revealed in verses one and four as he abides in the shade under the wings of the Almighty. It is a sense of “honor” that God bestows upon the one who loves Him.

 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the almighty” (v. 1); He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark” (v. 4).

On high is a haven, as in verse nine (For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place), which is a place that God puts the one who loves Him. It is a place where God dwells and is out of the reach of the “evils” pursuing him.

Known my name: The Hebrew word yada means “to know”—an intimacy, a closeness to God, having a longing for, or devotion to God.In Exodus 3:13–15, Moses asked God, “What is your name?” God stated, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh — I am who I am — I am the being…The Lord (YHVH)…this is My name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” God names himself as the God who is, who was, and will be. In disclosing His name, God is revealing His mercy to His people. Ehyeh (I Am) can also be translated “I will be what I will be.” Simply, yet profoundly, God is always totally “I Am” or “I am the One who is.” This is His name forever, and this is His title for all generations. God is saying you may call me by my name, but don’t ever think you can fully comprehend me. “I am that I am. I exist; I will be who I will be.” God is God. He does not need us to confirm He exists — He profoundly “IS.”

He created us and then included us, offering us His Name. He reveals Himself to us. He lets Himself be known. “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.… I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:6, 26).

Points to Ponder

1. The one who loves God will be protected from   harm as he abides in God’s shade under His wings.
2. The one who loves God knows His name, implying intimacy and an abandonment of will,  like a slave.

Paul said he was a slave to Christ in which every part of his being belongs to God “Paul,  a bond-servant of Christ Jesus; We are taking              every thought captive to the obedience  of  Christ” (Rom. 1:1; 2 Cor. 10:5).

“May God bless us as we abide in God’s shade, protected under His wings! Encourage one another during challenging times. Pray for one another, and bless your family and neighbor. We are “salt and light” in a world full of fear. Give them hope. The Gospel is hope. Lord Jesus Christ, Keeper and Preserver of all things, let Thy right hand guard us by day and by night, when we sit at home, and when we walk abroad, when we lie down and when we rise up, that we may be kept from all evil, and have mercy upon us sinners. Amen.” — Nerses of Clajes (AD 335–373)