Psalm 91: Those Who Know Your Name He Will Deliver
Short answer: In Psalm 91:14 God says, “ I will set him on high, because he has known my name.” Knowing God's name in Scripture is not merely knowing information about Him; it is a relational trust that shapes how a person lives. Moses knew God by name and found favor in His sight (Exodus 33:12). Jesus says He calls His own sheep by name and they listen to His voice (John 10:3). Nahum 1:7 says, “ If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken),” The name of God in Scripture stands for His revealed character and saving presence, so to know His name is to trust the God who has made Himself known, not simply to recite a title. This study examines what that knowledge involves and why it matters.
What Does Psalm 91 Mean By Knowing God's Name?
Psalm 91 opens with the picture of a person who dwells in the secret place of the Most High and rests in the shadow of the Almighty. The psalm is built on the language of refuge, shelter, and protection. It is not a promise that nothing hard will ever happen; the psalm itself speaks of snares, pestilence, terror, and arrows. What it promises is the presence and protection of God for the one who takes refuge in Him. When the psalm reaches its climax in verse 14, God Himself speaks in the first person: “ Psalm 91:14-16 says, Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name.” The two halves of that verse are parallel: setting love on God and knowing His name describe the same posture of trust from two angles. To know God's name, then, is not to hold a fact about God but to entrust oneself to the God whose character has been revealed.
In the ancient world a name was not a mere label. It stood for the person, their character, their reputation, and their authority. To know someone's name could mean to have access to them, to be on terms of relationship with them. When God revealed His name to Moses at the burning bush, He was not handing over a password; He was making Himself known in a new way to a people He was about to redeem. So when Psalm 91 says a person has known God's name, it means that person has come to know God as He has revealed Himself. It is relational knowledge, not informational knowledge. That distinction is at the heart of the psalm and of the whole Bible's way of speaking about knowing God.
The Hebrew word for knowledge used here carries the sense of experiential, relational knowing, not mere acquaintance with facts. The same kind of word describes a husband knowing his wife, a shepherd knowing his sheep, and God knowing those who are His. This is why Psalm 91 can promise deliverance to the one who knows God's name. The promise is not a reward for correct information; it is the natural fruit of a relationship in which a person has learned to trust the character of the God who made Himself known. A person who knows God's name in this sense has staked their life on who God is, not merely on what they have heard about Him.
This also explains the opening line of the psalm. The one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High is the one who has made God's presence their home. The imagery of dwelling and resting is not the imagery of a person who visits God occasionally; it is the imagery of a life oriented around God. Knowing God's name in Psalm 91 is therefore not a single decision but a settled way of living. The person who knows God's name has come to rest in the shadow of the Almighty, which means the knowledge of God has become the shelter of their life. That is the posture the psalm celebrates and the posture God promises to deliver.
Moses Knew God By Name And Found Favor
Exodus 33 gives one of the clearest pictures in the Old Testament of what it means to know God by name. Moses is leading a stubborn people through the wilderness, and God has told him to bring the people up to the land He promised. But God also says He will not go with them Himself, lest He consume them on the way. Moses responds with one of the boldest prayers in Scripture. He does not ask for a new strategy or a better map; he asks for God's presence. “ Moses said to Yahweh, ‘ Behold, you tell me, Bring up this people; and you haven't let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight’” (Exodus 33:12). Moses appeals to the very thing Psalm 91 promises: God knows His people by name, and they know Him.
Notice the exchange that follows. Moses asks God to show him His ways so that he may know Him, and God responds by promising His presence. God says His presence will go with Moses and He will give him rest. The language of rest echoes Psalm 91's picture of resting in the shadow of the Almighty. For Moses, knowing God's name was bound up with God's presence going with him. He was not satisfied with a mission without the God of the mission. The favor Moses found was not a reward for flawless leadership; it was the favor that belongs to a person who knows God face to face, as a friend knows a friend. That is the kind of knowing Psalm 91 has in view.
This is also why Moses' request to see God's glory is answered the way it is. God does not show Moses a diagram or a doctrine; He proclaims His own name. The name of the Lord passes before Moses, and God declares who He is: merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. To know God's name, in the Bible's own terms, is to know God as He has revealed Himself, not as we imagine Him. Moses knew God by name because God chose to make Himself known, and Moses responded in trust. Psalm 91:14 describes the same pattern: God delivers the one who has known His name, because knowing God's name is the substance of a trusting relationship.
Moses' experience also shows that knowing God's name is not a guarantee of an easy life. Moses faced Pharaoh, plagues, a grumbling people, and the constant threat of failure. Yet he kept returning to God's presence and appealing to God's character. Knowing God's name did not remove trouble from Moses' path; it gave him a place to stand in the middle of it. That is exactly what Psalm 91 promises. The psalm is not a promise of a trouble-free life but of a refuge in the day of trouble. Moses knew that refuge because he knew the God whose name is a strong tower.
The Good Shepherd Calls His Own Sheep By Name
In John 10, Jesus takes the language of knowing by name and applies it to Himself as the Shepherd. He says the gatekeeper opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. Then He adds, “ He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out” (John 10:3). This is a startling claim. The God of Psalm 91, who knows those who take refuge in Him, is the Shepherd who knows each of His sheep personally. The sheep are not a faceless flock; they are known individually, by name. Jesus is not describing a vague spiritual influence but a personal relationship in which the Shepherd speaks and the sheep recognize His voice.
Notice how the sheep respond. They listen to His voice. They follow Him because they know His voice. Jesus goes on to say that they will not follow a stranger, because they do not know the voice of strangers. The knowledge of the shepherd and the knowledge of the sheep are mutual: the shepherd knows the sheep by name, and the sheep know the shepherd's voice. This is the same mutual knowing Psalm 91 describes. God knows the name of the one who takes refuge in Him, and that person knows God's name. In Jesus, that mutual relationship becomes personal and concrete. The Shepherd knows you, and He speaks; the question is whether you know His voice.
This also helps us see how Psalm 91 and John 10 fit together. Psalm 91 speaks of deliverance and protection for the one who knows God's name. John 10 presents Jesus as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. The deliverance of Psalm 91 is not the removal of every danger but the presence of the Shepherd in the middle of danger. Jesus says His sheep will face wolves and hirelings, but He will not abandon them. The one who knows the Shepherd's voice is the one who keeps following Him even when danger comes. Knowing God's name is not a charm against harm; it is a relationship with the Shepherd who is with us in the valley.
It is worth noticing how practical Jesus' teaching is here. The sheep follow because they know His voice, and they know His voice because they have spent time listening to it. Knowing God's name is not a mystical experience reserved for a few spiritual elites; it is the ordinary fruit of hearing and responding to the Shepherd's voice over time. It grows through Scripture, prayer, obedience, and the fellowship of the church. The promise of Psalm 91 is not for those who merely know about the Shepherd but for those who know the Shepherd and follow Him. That knowledge is learned, often slowly, as we listen and obey.
Nahum: He Knows Those Who Take Refuge In Him
Nahum is an unlikely place to look for comfort. The book announces the judgment of Nineveh, a violent empire, and much of it is dark. But in the middle of that darkness comes a bright line: “ Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him” (Nahum 1:7). This verse, quoted often in Christian devotion, is a deliberate echo of Psalm 91. The language of refuge and the day of trouble is the same. And the key word is knows. God is not distant from the troubles of His people; He is a stronghold for them, and He knows those who run to Him.
The word knows here carries the sense of attentive, personal regard. God is not merely aware of a category of people called those who take refuge in Him; He knows them individually. This is the same truth Psalm 91:14 announces when God says, “ I will set him on high, because he has known my name.” The relationship is mutual. God knows those who take refuge in Him, and they know His name. In a world where judgment is falling on a violent empire, God is a stronghold for those who trust Him. The verse is not a generic statement about God's goodness; it is a promise to a specific kind of person: the one who takes refuge in Him.
Nahum's context also reminds us that taking refuge in God is not passive. To take refuge is to run to a place of safety when danger is near. It is a deliberate act of trust. The person who knows God's name is the person who, when trouble comes, runs to God rather than away from Him. That is what Moses did when the people grumbled and God's anger burned. That is what David did when he was pursued by enemies. That is what the psalmist does in Psalm 91 when he says of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress. Knowing God's name is not a status you possess; it is a habit you practice. It is learned in the running.
The promise in Nahum is also deeply stabilizing. God knows those who take refuge in Him. He has not lost track of His people in the chaos of history. The same God who judged Nineveh also knows His own. This is the pastoral heart of Psalm 91. When life feels like a day of trouble, the promise is not that the trouble will vanish but that God is a stronghold and He knows you. He knows your name, your situation, your fear, and your faith. You are not a nameless face in a crowd. You are known by the God who is good and who is a stronghold in the day of trouble.
Psalm 9: A High Tower For The Oppressed
Psalm 9:9-10 gives another angle on the same theme. It says, “ Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble.” The tower image is a picture of safety and height, a place of refuge from attackers. The psalm goes on to say that those who know God's name will put their trust in Him, because He has not forsaken those who seek Him. Here again the knowledge of God's name is directly tied to trust. It is not enough to know God's name as a fact; the knowledge of His name produces trust, and that trust produces the practice of seeking Him.
The context of Psalm 9 is oppression and injustice. The psalmist is surrounded by enemies who seem to have the upper hand, and he appeals to God as the righteous judge. In that setting, knowing God's name means knowing the God who does not abandon the oppressed. It means knowing that God is a high tower when human systems fail. The name of God is not a talisman to be recited; it is the character of the God who acts on behalf of the weak. To know His name is to trust Him enough to bring your cause to Him, even when no earthly court will hear it. That is what it means to take refuge in Him.
This is a crucial point for anyone who has been hurt or overlooked. The promise of Psalm 91 is not that the powerful will always be overthrown in this life; the Bible is honest that injustice often persists. But the promise is that God knows His own and is a refuge for them. The high tower is not a guarantee of vindication in this age; it is a place of safety in the presence of God. When you know God's name, you know that you are not forgotten, even when the world has forgotten you. That knowledge is itself a refuge, and it is the kind of knowledge Psalm 91:14 celebrates.
There is a warning here too. It is possible to use the language of knowing God's name while living as though we do not know Him. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:21-23, where He said, “ Not everyone who says to me, ‘ Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” The name of God can be on our lips while our hearts are far from Him. Psalm 91 and Psalm 9 both press the question: do you actually know God's name, or do you merely know about it? The difference shows up in trust, in obedience, and in where you run when trouble comes.
How Do You Come To Know God's Name?
The Bible consistently presents the knowledge of God's name as something that comes through revelation and relationship. God makes Himself known, and people respond in trust. In the Old Testament, God revealed His name to Moses and to Israel, and He called them to know Him in the covenant. In the New Testament, God reveals Himself supremely in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of His nature, and He says that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father. To know God's name, then, is ultimately to know Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. The knowledge of God's name is not a technique to be mastered; it is a relationship with the living God through His Son.
This relationship grows in ordinary ways. It grows through hearing God's Word, where He tells us who He is and what He has done. It grows through prayer, where we speak to Him and learn to listen. It grows through obedience, because Jesus said that whoever has His commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Him, and the one who loves Him will be loved by the Father. It grows through the fellowship of the church, where we learn from others who have walked with God longer than we have. None of this earns God's favor; it is the fruit of it. Moses knew God by name because God first knew him, and the same is true for every believer.
It is also important to say that knowing God's name is not a promise of perfect ease. The psalm itself assumes trouble. Snares, pestilence, arrows, and lions appear in its lines. The promise is not that the trouble will never come but that the one who knows God's name will not face it alone. This is a hard truth, and faithful Christians have differed about how to apply the psalm's promises. Some read it as a strong assurance of physical protection that is realized in this life; others read it as a promise of God's ultimate protection and final deliverance. What the text itself clearly says is that God will deliver the one who has set their love on Him and known His name. How that deliverance unfolds may vary, but the relationship is the foundation.
So the question Psalm 91 leaves us with is not whether we can recite a formula but whether we know the God whose name is a strong tower. Do you know Him as Moses knew Him, face to face and in His presence? Do you know Him as the Shepherd who calls His sheep by name and leads them out? Do you run to Him when trouble comes, or do you run elsewhere? Knowing God's name is the substance of the Christian life. It is not a mystical achievement but the ordinary fruit of trusting the God who has made Himself known. The promise stands: He will deliver the one who knows His name.
What Knowing God's Name Does Not Mean
It is easy to turn the promise of Psalm 91 into something it is not. Some read the psalm as a blank check for health, wealth, and a life free of danger. But the psalm itself speaks of snares and pestilence and terror, and the rest of Scripture is honest that God's people suffer. Hebrews 11 lists people of faith who were stoned, sawn in two, and killed with the sword. Knowing God's name does not exempt a person from suffering; it gives them a refuge in the middle of it. The psalm's promise is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God in trouble. Any reading that promises a pain-free life is reading something into the text that the text itself does not say.
Another misreading is to treat the knowledge of God's name as a kind of spiritual technique. Some teach that if you simply say the right words, claim the right promise, or repeat the right name, you will receive whatever you want. But that is closer to magic than to the faith of the Bible. Knowing God's name in Scripture is a relationship of trust, not a method of control. God is not a mechanism to be manipulated; He is a person to be loved. The one who knows God's name submits to Him, follows Him, and trusts Him even when the outcome is unclear. The promise of deliverance belongs to that posture, not to a formula.
A third misreading is to assume that knowing God's name is automatic for anyone who identifies as religious. Jesus' warning in Matthew 7:21-23 is a direct challenge to that assumption. He says that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom, but the one who does the will of the Father. The name of the Lord can be on the lips of a person whose heart is far from God. Knowing God's name is not the same as knowing the right words about God. It is possible to be near the name and far from the person. The test is whether our lives bear the fruit of trust and obedience that comes from a real relationship.
Biblical fidelity check
What the passage does establish is that God promises to deliver the one who has set their love on Him and known His name. That is the plain statement of Psalm 91:14, and it is echoed by Nahum 1:7, which says that He knows those who take refuge in Him. The psalm does not promise that the righteous will never experience trouble; it promises that they will have a refuge in the day of trouble. It does not say that knowing the name of God is a technique that obligates God to do whatever we ask; it says that God will set on high the one who knows His name. The psalm also does not specify the timing or the form of the deliverance; it leaves that to God. What it does establish is a relationship of trust between God and the one who knows Him, and the promise of His presence in danger.
A common misreading is to treat Psalm 91 as a guarantee that believers will always be spared physical harm if they have enough faith. This is wrong because the psalm's own imagery includes trouble, and because the New Testament is explicit that faithful believers suffer and even die. Jesus, who knew the Father's name more fully than anyone, was crucified. The promise is not that the trouble will be avoided but that the one who knows God's name will be delivered, sometimes in this life and always in the life to come. Holding that tension is not a lack of faith; it is fidelity to what the text actually says. Where faithful Christians differ about the details of how this promise is realized, we can hold our convictions with charity and keep our eyes on the God whose name is a strong tower.
Other passages that speak to Psalm 91
Psalm 91 belongs in the wider biblical conversation about being known by God. Psalm 139 Meaning: Known, Searched, and Made by God explores how thoroughly God knows us and how that knowledge is meant to lead to trust. Psalm 37:4 Meaning: Does God Promise Every Desire? examines another psalm of trust and what it means to delight in the Lord. What Does 1 John 1:1 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application and What Does 1 John 1:8 Mean? Context, Theology, and Application help readers handle the New Testament's teaching on fellowship with God and honesty about sin. Together these passages show that knowing God's name is not an isolated theme but the heart of the life of faith.
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to know God's name in Psalm 91:14?
To know God's name in Psalm 91:14 is not merely to know information about God but to know Him relationally, as He has revealed Himself. In Scripture a name stands for the character and presence of the person. So knowing God's name means trusting the God who has made Himself known, and living in that trust. It is the same posture as setting one's love on God, which the verse mentions alongside it.
Does Psalm 91 promise that believers will never get sick or suffer?
No. The psalm itself speaks of snares, pestilence, terror, and arrows, assuming that trouble is part of life. The promise is that God is a refuge in the day of trouble, not that trouble will never come. Hebrews 11 lists faithful people who suffered and died. The psalm promises God's presence and ultimate deliverance, not a pain-free life in this age.
How is knowing God's name related to knowing Jesus?
Jesus is the fullest revelation of God's name. He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of His nature, and He says that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father. In John 10 He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. So to know God's name is ultimately to know Jesus and to follow Him as His sheep.
