Be Still, and Know That I Am God




The last verse of Psalm 46 reads “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” So, what does “be still” mean?

If you’re a parent, you must have said to your kids (at least once!) “oh my goodness, you need to be quiet, I’ll take care of it!” - in response to them clamoring is it ready, are we there yet, I’m hungry NOW…; that’s what this verse means to me.

The psalm recites a litany of dire and horrible events: cataclysmic mud slides, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, destruction of empires, then ends with the instruction to “be still”.

As children of God, we can stop our clamoring, fussing, worrying, laments, because we’re confident that God knows our issues and struggles and is more than able to “take care of it”.

There are many beautiful musical arrangements of Psalm 46: a simple one in our hymnal (#414), the well-known chorus that became well-known in the 1980s, contemporary, and elaborate choral settings.

I hope you enjoy this offering by the Mississippi Mass Choir: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=be+still+and+know+that+i+am+god+chorus&&view=detail&mid=34FB179ADC941AD2A24B34FB179ADC941AD2A24B&&FORM=VDRVRV

This recording is by Don Moen, a prolific writer of contemporary praise music:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=don+moen+be+still+youtube&&view=detail&mid=B6707E4802FA58F44B40B6707E4802FA58F44B40&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Ddon%2Bmoen%2Bbe%2Bstill%2Byoutube%26go%3DSearch%26qs%3Dds%26form%3DQBVDMH

 

Joy Christian

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