Be Still
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Psalm
Psalm
The title we have comes from the Greek translators of this book, it could be translated as “song”. The original Hebrew title is Tehillim, which means “hymn” or “praises”. The passage we are looking at this morning should be familiar to many, at least parts of it. This Psalm is where Martin Luther got his Scriptural basis for the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. I got the title for this message from the text itself (verse 10).
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots 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 of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
This Psalm is the first of several that celebrate God’s presence and protection. We see some comparison and contrast used here to show how God provides protection.
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
We start this Psalm off with why we should not fear. Yahweh is our stronghold or our impenetrable fortress. He is the source of true strength. The phrase “present help” literally translated means “a help He has been found exceedingly”. There is only one who can truly help, and He is there, He is always there, always available to His people.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
Remember when we see “therefore” we have to look back, and as I just mentioned a minute ago verse one tells us why we should not fear. Here we see what causes fear to man, when what we assume to be unmoveable begins to move fear sets in. But as children of God we should not fear these things or anything else other than the Yahweh Himself. When the earth quakes we should not fear. There is some form of the phrase to not fear found in scripture 365 times. You can read a verse everyday of the year where we are instructed to not have fear. Even though the waters of the earth are rough we should fear not. We see the chaos of our world that causes fear, but God has power over that chaos, so we should not fear.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
Here we see the contrast, there is another river that is calm. “the city of God” this is where God resides the temple in the time this was written and now in us a His children, and this stream carries God’s favor to all of His church. It washes and renews His church.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
Here is another contrast the city of God will not be moved unlike the mountains. It is a secure place, a place of refuge. God is there to help.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The raging nations is something familiar for the nations would rise up against each other in battle, and some would totter or topple. But at His voice the earth melts. The power of His voice causes fear. At His word He is able to create or to condemn and destroy.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Here we see the start of the praise for what God has done and will do. This phrase “LORD of hosts” in the Hebrew refers to Him as commander of the heavenly army. It speaks of His protection, and how He is with His people. I think of Romans 8:31 when Paul says “if God is for then who can be against us”. Why do we worry why do we fear “the LORD is with us.”
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
Come and see what God has done for His people. We see the power of God over nations, shown through the breaking of the bow, which was a symbol of strength. He burns chariots, there is no one who can stand against Yahweh. These verses should cause us to trust in God as our fortress, our refuge. Not only has He given His people victory over the nations of this earth, but He has given us victory over sin and death through Christ. Our battle is not always with flesh and bones, but God will still be victorious.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
I think allot of times we give the devil to much credit and not enough to the power of God. For those who are in Christ we have the Spirit of the living God that resides in us, the same Spirit that overcame death and raised Christ. But are we tapping into that power are we filling ourselves with God’s word allowing the Spirit to work. (Pop cans).
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
“be still” in Hebrew means “to release” or “let go” to drop it. This verse is not only for believers, this is also a warning to those who remain God’s enemies to stop and recognize that He is the one true God. And He will be exalted, “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess” (Romans 14:11) But for believers it has a different meaning. It is this verse that caused me to want to go over this Psalm this morning, I Now there is phrase that some people say “Let go and let God”, there are parts of this I agree with but not how most people intend its meaning. But are we letting it go, and trusting in God our refuge, our fortress. Where are we turning when the mountains shake and the streams rage against us. Who do we trust in when life seems bleak, are we letting all that go and trusting in Him the one true God. There is a song by Aaron Cole called “Right on Time” there is a line that says “your problems seem God’s size, but when you see them through God’s eyes”, are our troubles to big for God, the God who at His voice causes the earth to melt.
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
The opening phrase of this verse describes God’s roll as the Lord of the heavenly armies. It shows us God’s roll as a warrior who fights for His people (which can be seen from the history of the nation of Israel). This phrase is used 285 times in the Old Testament. Again I think of what Paul says in Romans 8:31. Yahweh is with us the God of our forefathers is with us, the God who is in control of all things is with us. When we put our trust in God, we can find peace and comfort from the storms of life. There is only one true way to peace and that is through Christ.
Be Still
Be Still
Are we putting our trust in the right place, are we trusting in the world or are we trusting in God our fortress. Are we letting go of things and trusting in God for all our needs. Are we being still and listening for God’s direction, for His comfort, and protection.