The Great Names of God

August 18th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!”

We first observe in Psalm 91 four titles for God. In verses 1 and 9, He is called “the Most High” (Heb. Elyon), as Abraham also referred to Him (Gen. 14). Elyon refers to authority and exaltedness. Also in v. 1, God is referred to as “the Almighty” (Heb. Shadday), a Hebrew term for absolute power (cf. Gen. 17:1). Then in verses 2 and 9, God is referred to as “the Lord” (Heb. Yahweh)—a Hebrew term that means “to be,” the holy personal name of God given by God to Moses in Exodus 3:15. This “be” verb reflects God’s very existence as “was, is, will be”—the eternally existing One. Fourth, the Psalmist refers to his God as “my God” (Heb. Elohim) in v. 2—a confession of his faith in the great Ruler and Creator of the universe.

A second observation from Psalm 91 is the figurative language used to depict the Psalmist’s God as a bird. Since God is spirit and without body (John 4:24), He is personified as a large bird, perhaps an eagle. Here God is seen providing an enormous “shadow” of protection for His own (v. 1)—a covering for those who take refuge in Him with His “pinions,” a reference to the large wings or tail feathers of a bird necessary for flying through the air. As a “refuge” and “fortress” in v. 4, it is said that those who seek God will find protection “under [God’s] wings.”

The “shelter” (Heb. sēter) God provides for His own concerns “protection,” translated “secret place” in Psalm 32:7. It is a place of privacy and fortification. But it is not a location per se; it is a Person, God Himself. Under the shelter provided by the transcendent Elyon, one dwells in the shadow of Shaddai, receiving protection from the sun (cf. Ps. 121:5-6)—from evil.

Whoever the Psalmist is (his identity is not stated), he had past experiences with finding protection in God while trudging through the “valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4). His imagery of God as a large bird is vivid. Having observed the behavior of eagles protecting their eaglets under their wings, he equated God’s protection of him in likewise manner. Of foremost importance, he noted that protection is provided when one dwells in God: “He who dwells in the shelter of Elyon.” Note the term “dwells,” for it speaks of “inhabiting, or “living under” God’s protection. Since this dwelling is continual, only those who truly put themselves under the protection of God and abide in Him can have such a testimony. Only them. The premise is that those who continually live under Elyon’s protection “will abide in the shadow of Shaddai.” If we don’t dwell under His protection, we won’t abide in His shadow; we won’t have His protection.

Food For Thought
What we think about God says everything about us and how we view life. First, we have to understand that life in this world is a battle—a spiritual war. Our struggle is daily, and it isn’t about flesh and blood; it’s against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Second, we have to know who God is to fight this battle. First, He is Elyon, the Most High God. There is none higher! He is the maximally great God, the one and only. Second, He is Shaddai —the Almighty God. The god of this world, Satan, is powerful, but against Shaddai he’s nothing. Third, He is the Lord—Yahweh, the eternally existing One, He who is yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Finally, He is “my God,” Elohim—the Creator and sustainer of the universe. So, to know God is to know no one greater, the highest, the greatest, the eternal, and sustainer of all. Better than all of that, Jesus is that God! He is the Eternal God (John 1:1-2, 14), the Creator and Sustainer of all things (John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2), the Most High God, the Almighty. If Jesus reigns supreme in your life, then there is no spiritual battle you won’t win.