The Protection of God’s Name

We have been looking at the names of God.  We have looked at the importance of God’s name, the majesty of God’s name,  the love expressed in God’s name, the salvation expressed in God’s name, and the righteousness of God’s name.  

In this study we look at the protection of God’s name as we see that we can trust God to strengthen us and help us.  Our resource is Psalm 91: 1-6, 9-16.

First some opinion questions to consider.  Now these are wide ranging questions and are worthy of your contemplation, but for now what are some brief examples?

• Why would humanity need protection?
• Because they are always dangers around us that could cause us harm.

• From what would humanity need protection?
• Accidents, intentional harms (evils) of other entities.

• What could happen to humanity if there were no such protection?
• Succumbing to Harm (evil).

We can trust God to strengthen and help us for even if our physical bodies succumb to harm, our spiritual bodies are eternally with God.  

The “Olympian gods” lived here, on Mt. Olympus in Greece

The Most High God is infinitely higher than the Olympians 

Let’s look at how we can know this. As we look into the Psalms.  First we look at the protection of God.

Psalm 91: 1-6                           

¹ The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.  ² I will sayconcerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust:  ³ He himself will rescue you from the bird trap, from the destructive plague.  ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers;  you will take refuge under his wings.  His faithfulness will be a protective shield.  ⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night,  the arrow that flies by day,  ⁶ the plague that stalks in darkness,  or the pestilence that ravages at noon.

The psalmist assures us that God cares for all who place their trust in Him in all circumstances: in the dark of night, in the light of day, the brightness of mid day, or the twilight of the evening.  Neither terror, projectiles, disease, nor unwholesome event will separate your spirit from the spirit of God.

As the basis for his confidence, the psalmist emphasized four names of God:

THE MOST HIGH – The one who is above ALL others.  Humanity has long personified natural forces into gods.  They have developed and selected for themselves the most powerful forces they can imagine to invoke for assistance.  But God, Jehovah, is the MOST high God.  There IS no power that is greater than the greatest power there is, the power that created the universe.  

THE ALMIGHTY – “The shadow of the Almighty” is transliterated from shaddai which name means “the all-powerful One”.  So, if the “all powerful one has “all power” is there any other power besides the ALL-POWERful one?

LORD – This presentation of the word with ALL CAPS indicates God’s covenant name YHWH, or Yehowah or Jehovah.  This is the personification of the almighty, most high God into a relatable word that humanity CAN identify with.  As an off-the-wall example “all of the known and unknown quantum particles in motion of the universe ” just doesn’t have as relatable sound as “Jehovah”, Lord. We can relate better to the personification than we can to the abstract concept. 

MY GOD – The psalmist also employed the name Elohim for God.  Moses used this name in Genesis when referencing the Creator. The word Elohim is a plural form of the word el meaning god.  Think of Elohim as another way of personifying “all the powers of the universe.”  The psalmist tells us that because of God’s personal relationship with us and his powerful protection of us, we can put our trust in him – all the power in the universe.

Because God is all the power in the universe, our personal God, the ALL-POWERful one, who IS the MOST high God, we can trust God’s power to protect us.  Let’s delve a little deeper.

The word for lives in this passage is Yashab  and means “to remain.”  The word for protection is seter and literally refers to a hiding place or shelter, a place where a person should conceal himself from danger.  Dwells is the term lun and means to stay somewhere for an indeterminate amount of time.  Thus, the one who remains under the shelter of the Most High stays in his shadow, that is is very close to him, for a long time..ideally permanently dwelling there.

A shadow provided a place of shade, protection, and/or security.  The psalmist encouraged God’s people to run to him like a little child and hide in his shadow because he is capable of delivering them from any trials they face for God is Almighty (Shaddai) is the name God used when he established his covenant with Abraham.  God explained to Moses that he had revealed himself to the patriarchs by the name Almighty.  

The Psalmist then describes his God describing him as:

• Refuge (machaseh) is a place of temporary shelter…

• A fortress (metsudah) providing permanent shelter, as it refers to a castle or stronghold build on a high place.  Its is related to the term meaning “mountain height” or “summit.”  

• Trust (batach) has the meaning of fleeing to a place of solidity and firmness.  The psalmist had placed his hope and trust in the Lord and was resting in God, even as the storms of life approached.

The Psalmist describes the actions that God provides:

• The term for rescue (natsal) means to “snatch away” or “escape, defend, and deliver.”

• The psalmist’s enemies are personified using hunting imagery.  The term sakak for cover means to “fend in” or “cover over.”  God’s protection has maternal qualities.  Like a mother hen covering her young, God will cover those who trust him with his protection.

• Two words are used to describe God’s protection of those who take refuge in him. 
• The first (tsinnah) is a large shield that protect the entire body.  
• The second (socherah) is a small shield or buckler attached to the arm for close combat.  

The two terms together emphasize that God’s protection completely surrounds those who place their trust in him.

You will not fear terror from the night.  The term (pachad) means to be startled.  It is a general term for fear.  How often are we startled, or afraid of something unknown in the dark of night.  Fear is a natural reaction to the dangers of this life.

The psalmist then personified both plague and pestilence as wild animals stalking their prey in the darkness or ravaging their prey in broad daylight.  

The psalmist was under the protection of the God who sees everything and is more than capable of defending those who put their trust in him from anything that life throws at them.

In the next verses, we see that we can also rest in God’s power to keep us secure.

Psalmist 91:9-13

Because you have made the Lord—my refuge, the Most High—your dwelling place, no harm will come to you; no plague will come near your tent. For he will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.  They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your food against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the young  lion and the serpent.

With the exception of some “peace-loving religionists” in the Middle East, most people desire peaceful lives.  Peace is security, the absence of conflict.  Conflict is something that incites a “striking together”; a head-butting if you will.  If humanity continues to focus upon their differences there will continue to be conflict.  If humanity focuses upon what they have in common: life, relationships, love, etc. rather than what makes human cultures different there will be less conflict.  If it becomes “ok to disagree without being disagreeable” there will be less conflict and more peace.  Peace means the active elimination of conflict.  In a fallen world we commonly encounter opposition from people and circumstances.  

Believers can rest in Gods power because he is able to keep us secure.  He strengthens us.  We can experience life withoutfear because God cares for us.  When humanity can quit focusing on what God’s name is and instead focus upon God there will be more “spiritual warriors” and fewer “religious warriors.”

The psalmist tells us that he had made God his dwelling place, where he has settled down to live and remain.  He tells us that when we do that as well our spiritual selves will not be harmed and other assaults or afflictions will not “get to us.”  Even when we trust the Lord we can—and do—encounter pain, suffering, and death.  However we can depend on ‘God’s love and power to intercede for us and we can depend that the Holy Spirit of God has our Spirits safe with God.

Angels, malak are the created beings whose purpose is serving God.  God wills (thinks) something to be done and his angels carry out his will in the manner that God directs.  Protect is the word shamar and means to exercise great care over.  Nothing happens outside the watchful eye of God. 

“Ways”, Derek literally refers to a road, a way of life, one’s journey or actions. The Holy land has many pathways covered with stones.  The danger is always present to slip, trip, or stumble over them.  God may not always remove the stones in our life but he does call his children’s awareness to them to keep them from stumbling over them.  God, through his angels, will give us a “heads up” if you will.

The word used for serpent in verse 13 could refer to anything from a large snake to a reptile or sea monster like a whale.  Those who trust in the Lord will be victorious over all such dangers because God will give them strength needed to conquer and crush these enemies.  Remember, this is the same verse that Satan used with Jesus during his temptation:  Jump off the Temple precipice some 40 stories high because IF you are the son of God he “will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.  They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your food against a stone.”  Can you see the difference between God having angels give us a heads up, or protecting us from something that we are unaware of as opposed to Satan’s challenge of “just do it, and you will make God answer to YOUR will.”  NOT the same thing at all.

In the next verses, we see that we can experience satisfaction because God works on our behalf.

Psalm 91: 14-16

Because he has his heart set on me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name.  When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble.  I will rescue him and give him honor.  I will satisfy him with a long life and show him my salvation.

God wills that for one who has his heart set on God, who calls out to God, who is with God in good times and bad God will:

• Deliver us and rescue us
• Protected us
• Answer us
• Be with us in trouble
• Give us honor
• Satisfy us with a long life
• Show us his salvation

Thus we can know that God will work on our behalf to strengthen and help us.

For “the one whose heart is set on God” Means to be so  attached to God as to be as one.  The psalmist does not just know about the Lord intellectually (head knowledge), but he truly knows the Lord personally (spirit, or heart knowledge).  Consequently, the Lord affirms that he will deliver the one who is devoted to him.  Placing him high and out of danger.  Visualize a quick reacting parent yanking up a child out of harms way.  God promises to deliver the one who loves him, and this word implies rescue and escape from that which threatens his child.    

Now, the lord does not say WHEN he will deliver, or how, but only that he WILL.  Like all children we want our parent to do things when WE want things done.  But we never have to face trouble alone.  We face trouble ALONG WITH God.  The words used not only imply a snatching up out of harms way, but of  being raised up so high as to be inaccessible and therefore safe from all danger and harm.  Visualize when you place a harmful item up high out of the reach of children.  Well,  God places the person going through a trial in the highest, most secure place there is, where only what the Lord sovereignly allows can touch the believer.  How high is this?  Remember the lesson from a few weeks ago … it is AT LEAST some 15-plus Billion light years, if not “infinity + one”.  God puts us up as “high” from from trouble as “high” as God is.

The psalmist used four names of God in this passage describing various aspects of God—Most high (Elyon), Almighty(Shaddai), Lord (Yahweh), God (Elohim). To know God’s name is to know him through the personal experience of being in a relationship.  God says that he will satisfy such a one with long life and salvation.  The word satisfy  pictures someone who eats until full, leaving the table satisfied and full.  God also satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts.

The Lord’s faithfulness and compassion are demonstrated through his acts of deliverance and salvation of those who love and obey him.  The greatest act of salvation is what God has done in the atoning work of Christ, thorough which those who put their faith in Christ receive forgiveness of their sins, are reconciled to God and are given the gift of eternal life.

It’s as simple as: 

1) make a conscious (head) decision to set one’s heart upon God.

2) make a spiritual (heart) decision to set one’s heart with God.

3) walk, learn, grow, and age and keep your heart close to God; 

and the protection of God’s Name will be with you.