In Stillness Comes Knowing

 

“Be still and know that I am God! I will be exalted by every nation. I will be exalted throughout the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)

Note in this verse the verbs: be still and know. One is a verb of being and the other verb leads to action. Let us consider them as we study this verse.

First, as you read Psalm 46, you recognize that the voice—the person from whom the words came—changed. David spoke (wrote) through the first nine verses and the last verse of this Psalm in praise and worship of God. He invited listeners and worshippers to join him with this psalm.

The next thing we should consider is what God said in verse ten. The first part of this verse tells us God gave two commands. These commands are “be still” and “know.” God commands our innermost being—heart, mind, spirit, and soul. If these parts of ourselves are in conflict, frustration, or turmoil figuring out how to end the difficulty or get through it, then we cannot be attuned totally to, be with, and love God with our whole being. Our being is distracted and unable to be with God. Remember, God said we are to love Him with our whole being—heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Mark 12:30). If we are in turmoil for whatever reason, we cannot love God with our whole being; it is being occupied by other matters. God deserves and, in this verse, commands that our relationship—genuine relationship—with Him be with our whole being.

The next command God gives, an in the same breath, is “know.” This command God gave about knowing makes us ask three questions. What or whom are we to know? How are we to know how or by which ways to know God in heart, mind, or spirit? What did "know" signify initially?

Let's tackle questions in reverse order. This English verb, “know,” comes from the Hebrew word of yada’. Yada’ means to perceive, hear, listen to, and obey (act upon what you heard from the speaker). Anything we hear calls us to an action/reaction. We think about what we heard and either agree or disagree with it. This then leads us to talk about it as good or bad; that is an action. This may prompt bodily action by saying or doing something, such as doing what the person, in this case God, said to do. Yada’ involves intentional relationality.

God, in Deuteronomy 6, and Jesus, in Mark 12, tell us how we are to relate to God, to be in a relationship with Him. They tell us we are to love Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Matthew records Jesus’ teaching on this as loving God with our heart, soul, and mind. Luke records it as loving God with our heart, soul, strength, and mind. This means we are to love God with our whole being. To be related to God requires all our selves. That requires willing ourselves to attune to God with our whole being. We are to know God in the same way we are to love God.

Carrying this thought further leads to answering the final and supreme question. Who or what are we “to know”? Psalm 46:10a, tells us the whom or what we are to know, God. In this verse, God says we are to “be still and know that I am God.” Knowing God, being in a relationship with Him, requires intentionality, determination, faithfulness, and love. This relationship requires knowing each other, which requires intentionally getting to know, then loving the other person. From this devotion, who we are changes; the relationship changes us. Here, God changes us as we become still and know He is God. Intentional relationship leads to love that leads to actions and reactions that change us. The relationship with God, the getting to know and knowing God, leads us to change within our selves and act based on the relationship and change in our being from that relationship.

Now, returning to the entire command in verse ten, we must acknowledge who gave the command. We recognize the “voice” of the command changed from the rest of this psalm. David did not speak these words. God spoke through David in his worship of God. Verse ten comes from almighty, sovereign I AM God, the One whom no other can reach or attain to be. The sovereign I Am, the God who was, is now, and will be after time, commands anyone who perceives, hears, and listens to His voice to obey Him. God has authority. We have 100% relationship with Him as worshippers alongside of David. God speaks to us. His commands cause us to choose to listen and obey Him. Or, if we walked away from Him, we hear God and disobey Him either with inaction or counteraction. No matter how we choose to act after hearing Him, it remains an action caused by hearing God. Hearing always causes action-obedience, inaction, or counteraction.

In verse ten, what did I Am, God, tell His people to do? God commanded them then and us. He commands our hearts, bodies, minds, spirits, and souls, by which we totally have a relationship with God and by which we worship Him, to “be still in heart, mind, body, spirit, and soul. God commands us to know Him with our full being. Work to know Him better so that your whole being is involved in a relationship with Him can perceive, hear, listen, and obey Him and be still—have complete and perfect peace.

What was God’s impetus for intervening in David’s worship of Him in verse ten? David was proclaiming about God, then God reminds him, when David faces assumed unmovable mountains, earthquakes, storms, enemies, and wars, that He is still God. God still stands there with Him amid those tumults. He reminded David to still his entire being, sink into God’s peace, and remember, perceive, hear, and listen to/for God’s voice and take heart. Obey God’s voice, then you will find and return to peace because you are rightly related to God.

Finally, at the end, God foretells and reminds His people of the certainty of life…God will be exalted among the nations. He will be exalted in the earth. God did not say He would probably be exalted or that He may be exalted. He said He, God, will be exalted. That is future tense. David proclaimed what God had done in verses one through nine. God spoke and commanded him and all His people in the present tense. Then, God proclaimed the certain eventuality in the future. Truly God is I AM, existing before time, in time, and after time ends.

Why does the third part of verse ten sound as if God said the same thing twice? God just said he would be exalted among the nations. Why did He say He would be exalted in the earth/world? First, Bible writers and other writers through the millennia repeat a line with a slight change to emphasize a point. In God’s first “exalt” sentence in this verse, He spoke of humanity. In this second one, He said the whole earth/world would exalt Him. That includes all people, mountains, oceans, rocks, plants, animals, and all creation exalting him. The psalmist who wrote Psalm 98 spoke of this in verses seven and eight. Isaiah 24:14-16, 35:1-2, 42:10-12, 44:23, 49:13, and 55:12, Luke 19:40, Romans 8:19-22, and Revelation 5:13 speak about nature exalting God. The third line of Psalm 46:10 emphasizes and expands on what God said in the second line of verse ten. All creation will shout for joy and exalt the Lord.

In one verse, God gave a command that reminded people who He is and that He is greater than anything they may face. He reminded them of the perfect peace He gives them. God reminded David and all others of His children after that time how to being in a close relationship with Him.

Be still in your heart, mind, body, spirit, and soul.

Know this in your entire being because you are rightly related to God and will obey His voice.

Then watch and participate with David, the nations, and the world in praising and worshipping Me (God).

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. (Psalm 46:11)

Know and Be Still

Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10a)

Often people quote this phrase of the verse. I call it a phrase because two other parts combine with it to make the whole verse. Contextual reading of each verse in the book is crucial. We should not consider solely one part of a verse.

Historically, the Korahites, descended from Korah, the son of Levi, wrote this psalm. During King David’s time, the Korahites were the choral and orchestral music writers, singers, and musicians. They wrote Psalm 46 for the Israelites about Yahweh God to tell of His might, sovereignty, and care for His people. When we read Psalm 46, we must look for what it tells us about God. A verse is not the complete lesson of a chapter or book. The psalmist unfolded for the congregants and his later hearers and readers a reminder of God to help each person understand God is greater than anyone or thing we could ever imagine. He is beyond our imaginings.

The psalmist began by stating in verse one, “God is our refugee and strength.” When does a person need refuge? When that person is facing an enemy or a seemingly insurmountable problem. During those crisis times, God provides safety from danger. He is our hope of shelter and the One whom we always can trust, according to this Korahite psalmist. Beyond protecting and providing for His children, God gives His strength for His children to endure, press on, draw closer to Him, and become victor over trials. The Korahite writer reminded the Israelites that God gives them strength and hope from His storehouses. God also is our defense. He can and often fights our battles Himself and provides shelter for us to rest and recover.

With verse one, the writer reminded the readers and hearers God is and gives us hope, refuge, strength to fight, and/or becomes our defense against our enemies. The psalmist also wrote, “He is an ever-present help in times of trouble.” God is omnipresent. That means He is everywhere at the same time and sees everything that happens. God is beyond time and breaks into time to be our loving, protective Father, who is sovereign over all created things. His help is always available, ever-present. God's help is constant and ever-present, never coming and going. His ever-present help supports, assists, and gives aid, relief, shelter, comfort, guidance, and defense in our times of trouble. The psalmist reminded the Israelites of God in their past when He reminded them of who God He had been to and for them. He assured the Israelites and assures us we can always turn to Him for our needs, crisis or not.

Verses two and three relay God’s stability and forever-ness. The psalmist showed this by writing about natural calamities. The writer said we need not fear when anything comes against us. He gave a list of intense events, like landslides, earthquakes, storms, and raging seas. God remains ever-present, sovereign, and almighty. We can trust that He will protect us and carry us when necessary.

With verse four, the psalmist spoke of the hope of gladness God’s people, His children, will experience in God’s kingdom. God’s river of gladness, of joy, will give delight to its inhabitants. His people shall fear no more since they will live in His kingdom. God reigns in His kingdom. Nothing can cause calamity there, like the earth changes mentioned in verses two and three. Its inhabitants will have stability, peace, and joy. Joy will flow like the river running through it.

The psalmist stated explicitly in verse five about what he reminded the Israelites in verses two and three. He wrote, “God is within her (His kingdom and His children); she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.” That last sentence reminds us that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). God is constantly present, faithful, and loving. He never leaves His kingdom or His people. Because of God’s reign and supremacy, His kingdom and people will never be moved or removed from where He established it. This verse sums up what God wants His children to remember. Fear not, for God is with you; He is sovereign.

With verse six, we find the writer used a clever writing technique. The psalmist compares nations and kingdoms with earth’s calamities of verses two and three. In verse six, He wrote, “Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when God lifts His voice.” Just as God masters the earth, mountains, and water (all creation), so He masters nations and kingdom (again creation). Like God causes the earth to crumble, mountains to slide into the ocean, and seas to roar violently, He can cause this to nations and kingdoms. He can cause them to fear and become faint with the sound of His voice against them. These nations and kingdoms the psalmist wrote about are the enemies of God’s people. These unsaved people will recognize their sin when faced with God’s righteousness, omniscience, and power. For the Israelites, those nations and kingdoms were Gentiles. For God’s saved children, the Gentile nations and kingdoms are unsaved people unsaved, those who have not believed in Jesus as the Messiah.

The psalmist, in verses seven through nine, refocused the readers and hearers on who God has been and will be for them. He penned,

“The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come see the work of the LORD, who brings devastation upon the earth. He makes wars cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.”

Yahweh (I AM) of Hosts is with His people now, just as He was for our forefathers. For the Israelites at the time the psalmist wrote, God’s people are “Jacob” in these verses. I AM will use all of creation—spiritual and earthly—to defend you, keep you safe, and, by it, give you peace in the tumult and in the calm. Recall what God has done in the past, the psalmist wrote. God commanded desolations and the destruction of nations and kingdoms who rose against Him or His people. And, just as God can destroy His enemies. He can break and burn the tools of war. God does not just intervene in our battles and fights for us, causing us to have peace. He uses non-aggressive means to end wars and battles that strike and batter us.

Because you know of God from your forefathers and personal experience and, because of the truths about God that people taught to you, you can have confidence God is for you. He will help in whatever way He deems is best for your whole being. Knowing (yada’) God like this leads to your stillness. Only when you have peace from knowing that God is for you can you have the peace to be still and know God deeper. We must know God to have stillness of heart, mind, body, and spirit, regardless of opposition. This stillness instills peace. This statement is circular. To know God, we must be still. To be still, we must know God. From knowing God and being still with Him, we have peace. In verse ten, the psalmist succinctly restated the most important point of this psalm, knowing God.

Know comes from the Hebrew word yada’. Yada’ means more than that of our English verb to know. It includes perceiving, recognizing, acknowledging, and confessing. Notice each level of knowing is part of a continuum of progressing closeness in relationship, in this case, of knowing God. With human relationships, we meet someone and grow in our connection to the person to perceive he or she is in the room. This leads us to recognize the person in a group. Our growth in relationship with that person eventually leads us to acknowledge our relationship to the person. Finally, our relationship with the person leads us to a confession of our closeness to the person. The Korahite who wrote this psalm led the readers and hearers to recognize and/or remember mighty occurrences from the past were by God’s hand. Next, He led the worshippers to know God has the best in store for His children in His kingdom. God’s mercy and salvation of His people comes with His victory over sin, guilt, and death. The psalmist next led people to recall God is mightier than unsaved nations and kingdoms. He reminds the readers and hearers God is sovereign over the spiritual world, unbelieving people, and earth. This Korahite brought to the minds of his congregants that God is supreme; no one is greater than Him. He is ever-present and almighty. God interacts with all realms of creation since He is supreme and Creator.

When we readers and hearers perceive, recognize, acknowledge, and confess God and His sovereignty, then we can be still in our heart, mind, body, and spirit. We perceive God is near and have peace, then declare His covering over and guiding of us. Perceiving God is near leads us to recognize and acknowledge with our mind, heart, and spirit that God moves in the world and our lives. Ultimately, our growth in knowing God leads to us confessing with our mind, heart, body, and spirit that God saved us from our sins, guilt, and death. Before achieving stillness, we must know God in this way. Our relationship with God should be one of growing closer to Him daily. Without our daily living out our personal knowledge of God in our heart, mind, body, and spirit, a storm could toss us. That storm could cause us to feel desperation, depression, anxiety, fearful, chaotic, sad, morose, and overwhelmed. It could cause us to feel like quitting. For this reason, the psalmist reminded us in verse one that God is our refuge and strength. God is “an ever-present help in times of trouble.”

God used the psalmist to lead worshippers. Those worshippers were the children of Israel. Today, believers in Jesus are the worshippers. With the psalmist’s words, we grow to worship Him, our Rescuer, as verses ten and eleven state. Verse ten is God declaring worship of Himself as our own King, Savior, Rescuer, Defender, Provider, Shelter-giver, and Victor. Verse eleven is each of God’s children proclaiming their testimony of Him.

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth. 

The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

What is our response?

God is my strength and fortress. All my hope is in Him. No need to fear; God's exceedingly abundant love is more than sufficient. God is Sovereign of creation—tangible and intangible—and is worthy of all my praise and proclamation.

Psalm 46 - a devotion

Psalm 46 -
"1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. "Selah" 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. "Selah" 8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. "Selah" [NIV]

We live in a time when nations fight nations, when people within nations fight each other. This is not new and God knew it would happen.

When we are afraid and do not know what tomorrow will bring, this Psalm tells us the ultimate end. God is ultimately in control and brings victory. Because of this, we can know He is our strength and our place to take refuge.

His strength and refuge are seen in that God is the fortress for His city, His people. He has brought desolations upon disobedient people. That is how strong He is. He makes wars cease and breaks the weapons of wars. That is how mighty He is. Nothing man can make or do will make them greater or mightier than God. That is what makes Him our strength, refuge, and fortress. We remember His greatness and recall He is greater than our situations. Then we can know in our hearts and souls that He will be the victor ultimately.

In the midst of the chaos of the world and of your life, slow down, be still, remember God's mighty acts of protection, provision, and love of the past. Remember and know God is Greatest. He is exalted by His children and will be exalted by all humans when they realize He cannot be defeated or thwarted. "The LORD almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress."