BE STILL AND KNOW (Psalms series)
#048a(s) BE STILL AND KNOW
Scripture Psalm 46:1-11 NIV Orig. 10-9-83 (Psalms series)
Passage: 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.[c]
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.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
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[d] with fire.
10 He says, “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.
Timeline/Series: Psalms
Introduction
In North Carolina once, we were hiking and became confused about our location. It was noon, with no help from the sun. Planes were flying and making a lot of noise. Not only were we lost. But I became aware that we were walking in a circle.
As we took a rest to try to figure out the best course of action to follow, the planes suddenly flew off to some other place. After a moment, the sound of trucks on the highway some miles off were heard, and we had our bearings.
I. Consider the Pace. V2 “Though the earth be removed.”
What terrible things we do to ourselves when we continue without recourse in the never-ending cataclysm of activity. The Psalmist moves from dismay to disillusion, through despair to discovery. As the Psalmist views his troubled mountain, we need to view our troubled world.
II. Consider the Pause. V10 “Be still and know.” The word “be still” means “to relax.” It is not surrender, giving up. It reminds us of the sabbath rest. Worship is the best place and sphere for this to take place. Vance Havner, preacher from the Blue Ridge Mountains, wrote that “the trouble with the church today is that we have too much ‘supper room’ and not enough ‘upper room.’”
III. Consider the Peace. V11 “The Lord God of Hosts is with us.”
- Mark 4:36, still of storm, “Peach be still. . . . Have ye not yet faith?”
- Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
- Luke 19:37f Dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees. They wanted Him to rebuke the disciples for believing that peace followed Jesus.
- Paul “I have learned in whatever state I am therein to be content.”
IV. Concluding Thought.
- Verses 1-3 Picture God holding the reigns in a struggle through creation’s cataclysm. Selah
- Verses 4-7 Picture man struggling in social relationship, and vainly, apart from God, living happily. Selah
- Verses 8-11 Picture the perfect peace to come that clearly is the accomplishment of God alone, for His people alone.
Closing
St. Francis of Assisi, “Christ and the City,” p 104.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in the giving that we receive,
It is in the pardoning that we are pardoned,
It is in the dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Ephesians 6:20, ”[The gospel], for which I am an ambassador in chains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”