Be Still and Know that He is God

Be Still and Know that He is God
Psalm 46:1-11
December 2-3, 2023

The famous verse out of this Psalm, really, it's a wonderful, amazing Psalm, but the most famous is the verse where it says, be still and know that I am God. One of the great deep understandings of our relationship to God. We make plaques and put them on the walls and put the saying on great letters and all this, but the deeper context really reveals a depth of meaning out of this Psalm. So this Psalm was written to strengthen your faith in times of trouble.

The idea of intent was to increase your confidence in who God is. That is faith itself, that you would arise in your confidence to understand who God is so that you're not shaken or torn down, or that your faith would be shipwrecked in even the severest of circumstances. There are principles of victory that we see in this Psalm, and the theme again, is that your faith would arise, that you would have confidence in who God is.

He wants us to see, in advance, these things that you would be ready, that you would be paired, that your soul would be in revival, so that when the storm comes, your soul is strengthened, your strength will not fail. Know you'll stand strong. Now, this Psalm, as with many of them, were meant to be sung. You see that right away because it says for the choir director.

In fact, one of the greatest hymns of the church was written based on this Psalm. You'll recognize most of you who know Psalms or hymns would recognize a mighty fortress is our God. A mighty fortress is our God, one of the famous ones, written by Martin Luther, based on Psalm: 46, the very first words of the Psalm.

The idea, of course, is that you sing a Psalm to memorize it. That was the intent, to memorize the words, but I submit that there's something beyond memorization. What I mean by that is, what is beyond memorization is when you write the words on your heart. In other words, when you take hold of them for your life because you believe in them. They become pillars of faith, the truths of God have become the construction of your character and your soul. That goes beyond memorization. That's when the words are knitted into the fabric of who you are.

I was thinking of an illustration. When I was a teen and we were going to a small country church, they offered to give scholarships to summer camp if we would memorize Bible verses. The more Bible verses you memorized, the more scholarship you would get to summer camp. Well, we were very poor, and so my mom says, "If you're going to summer camp, you're memorizing those verses." I memorized the verses, but did I take hold of them? No, I did not.

I looked for the easiest, shortest verses to memorize. The easy one, John 3:16, check. Romans 8:1, check. What is the shortest Bible verse in the Bible? Jesus wept. John 11:35, check. I know, and this is my time to recite them like, oh, check, check, check, check, but did I take hold of that? No. Or maybe better said, did they take hold of me? No. There's something beyond memorization. Then I remember in my 20s, and my heart is now stirring, God is doing something.

I was challenged to memorize large sections of Scripture. I memorized all the Romans 6, all the Romans 8, and something happens when you memorize the large sections and you have to repeat them over and over and over and over. Something happens. Something happens. They started to take on deeper meaning. Something was dawning on my soul. It was changing me. Something is beyond memorization.

Then later on, roll the tape forward in time. Then later as a pastor teaching God's word, verse by verse, chapter by chapters, a Calvary Chapel Pastor, to prepare in passage-- and I'll give you an insight on how I would prepare a message. That is to read the section over and over and over and over and over. Don't go to the commentaries, read it over and over and over and over and over until it's written on your heart, until you know the heart of the one who gave us that word.

I'll tell you what, I've been doing this now for 34 years, and it is changing me. I am seeing things now. I've got to teach God's word. This is our fourth time to the entire word of God, but for me to prepare is by reading over and over and over and over, and something happens. I am seeing deeper truth than I have never seen before. I am seeing the beauty of the Lord in His word. I'm seeing the glory of what God wants to do on the soul. That which is beautiful in marvelous, and it is bringing revival to my life.

I am being changed by the word of God, and it is causing me to see how beautiful the Lord is. It is revival itself, and I want that for all of us. Amen? Let's give the Lord praise. That's what God wants to see us do. This is one of those Psalms. If you would take hold of this Psalm, your faith would be strengthened. Your confidence in God would arise, knit these words on the fabric of your soul, for they are some of the greatest truths that will strengthen your faith and your confidence that God is your refuge, God is your strength, God is a very present help in time of trouble.

Let's read it. Psalm 46:1. There's 11 verses. God is our refuge. God is our strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the Earth should change. Notice how he describes here, poetic expression. Even if there are cataclysmic type of things that happen, it's a poetic, powerful expression of cataclysmic life, earth-shattering type of things. Even if the earth should change, that the mountains slip into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the Holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, and she will not be moved. God will help her when mourning Dawns. The nations made an uproar, kingdom tottered, but he raised His voice and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come, behold the works of the Lord who has rut desolation in the earth. It is He who makes wars to cease to the end of the earth.

It is He who breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. It is He who burns the chariots with fire. Then now famous word, so be still, cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Now, that is a powerful song, wonderful truths to strengthen your confidence in who God is in even cataclysmic events of life.

I. God is a Very Present Help in Trouble

Though, let's look at these principles that God would give a starting notice in verse 1. God is a very present help in trouble. Verse 1, God is our refuge. God is our strength. Not a refuge, our refuge. There's only one place we run to seek refuge from the storm. That is the idea. In the storms that arise, the adversities and troubles of life. No, you run into the shelter of the Most High.

Some great verses I love to quote. These are some of my favorites. Proverbs 18:10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are saved. Run, you move into the shelter of the  most High in the storms of adversities. Psalm 91:1-2. Love these verses. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High. Oh, what a beautiful picture. Is this poetically powerful? He will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Oh, I love this verse. To abide in the shadow of the Almighty. See, you're drawing near, you're running to the shelter of the Lord. Then he says, "I will therefore say to the Lord my refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust." See, notice though that he says, "God is the refuge and God is my strength." See, in other words, when there is trouble, when there's adversity, even like cataclysmic type of events, you run under the shelter of the Most High, but you're not just there abiding in the shadow of the Almighty waiting for the storm to pass. No, you're not just waiting the storm out. No. Something happens there. When you run under the shelter of the Most High, under the shadow of the Almighty, something happens there and that is that God would be your strength. He will strengthen your soul.

In other words, you get along with God, you run to the shelter of the Most High, you get along with God, and you let him speak life, and you let him speak truth into that soul, and your faith will be renewed and strengthened. Confidence in God will arise and there in the shadow of the Almighty, he there will direct your steps and show you the way through the trouble, through the adversity, through the storm. See, in other words, you're not running from your troubles. No. You are running through the tower of the Lord, to the shelter of the Almighty.

There you are strengthened so that you are able then to face your troubles head-on, to drive directly straight into the teeth of the storm. In other words, don't run from your troubles. This is a scriptural principle of victory. Don't run from your troubles. No, you'll be strengthened in the shadow of the Almighty and know that your confidence is in Him, that He is a very present help, and that He then will direct you in the steps that His help will provide.

Now, I recently mentioned a great example. We were looking at this in an earlier Psalm, the story of David, where, and again, it's a great illustration at this point. This was before David was king. One of the great troubles of David's life occurred when David and His men had been away from the village facing an enemy for sometime.

When they returned, they found that the Amalekites had raided the village and burned the village with fire and taken the women and children hostage, which ought to remind us of the current situation, by the way. What happened next is the lesson. It says in 1 Samuel chapter 30:6. "Moreover, David was greatly distressed." This was a problem of epic proportions. Now, David is greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him because all the people were embittered each because of his sons and his daughters.

A. God’s help is the victory

Here is the point, here is the lesson. Here is what David did, but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. What did David do? He ran into the shelter of the Most High. There he didn't just wait out this trouble, no. There under the shelter of the Most High, God strengthened him in his faith. He arose again in that confidence of who God is. Then he came back like a roaring lion and he led those people to victory. That's what God does when you come into the refuge of the Almighty and your soul is strengthened because God's help is the victory.

See, notice verse one. God is our refuge. God is our strength. God is a very present help in trouble. Now, the phrase, a very present help in the Hebrew is literally translated God's help in trouble found exceedingly. You see, he's trying to give us a beautiful picture of the exceedingly great nature of God's help, exceedingly found. Now, this is one of the greatest keys to David's faith. See, David's faith was different than most.

For David, he understood where help comes from, number one, but he knew how to take the faith that reside in his soul and then bring it to bear into the adversities and the difficulties and the troubles that he was facing in the everyday course of life. David could take faith and live it. That is what made David's faith different. One of the things we have to understand is that God desires to help, God desires to show himself strong in your behalf, it's a theme that runs through the Scriptures.

Let me give you one of my favorite Bible verses in the whole Bible. 2 Chronicles 16:9. I love this verse. It's like a life verse for me. The eyes of the Lord are searching. God is looking to show himself strong. The eyes of the Lord search to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are completely His. There it is. You see that God wants-- he's looking for those who would trust him, who would arise in confidence in their faith.

Now, David, we know was considered to be a great captain, a great warrior, a great leader, a great king, but David was also called a man after God's own heart. You cannot separate the two. They are intricately related. It was David's heart after God that made him a great warrior and king and leader and captain. That was the key. David understood, no, it is God's help that makes me great. That's why David's faith was different. Notice, for example, 2 Samuel 22, several verses there, David explains to us, he's showing us the insight of his faith.

He says this. "By you, I can run upon a troop." Yes, David was a great captain and warrior, but he says, "It's by God. By my God, I can leap over a wall. No, it is he who makes my feet like hind's feet." A hind is a deer." In Israel, you can see these deer up on the cliffs bounding from rock to rock, and you think, how can they do this? David says, "That's like God to me. He makes my feet like hinds' Feet. He sets me on high places." Then he gives us the great insight. No, your help is what makes me great.

Then there's Psalm 27:3, where we see again, David's confidence in the Lord is the key to his faith. He says this, "Though a host in camp against me. In other words, even if I'm outnumbered, my heart will not fear. Though war arise against me, in spite of this, I shall be confident." See, in other words, God is our refuge. God is our strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. There is the insight. When your confidence arises, he says, "Therefore, do not fear because fear and faith are complete opposites."

B. Therefore, do not fear

Now, we were born in the nature of man. The nature of man, the natural condition is that of fear. Fear, insecurity, weakness, that's the normal state in which every person is born. Faith arises in your life as you draw nearer and nearer in your heart for the Lord. Faith arises, and as faith arises, fear abates. The greater your faith, the greater your confidence in God. The less that fear abounds, it abates, but the likelihood of fear increases as troubles melt.

See, in other words, the greater the trouble, the more likely the fear. We can understand that. The greater the trouble, the more likely the fear. To help us to see this, the Psalmist writes  poetic expression are catastrophic, like cataclysmic, earth-changing types of troubles. He says it poetically to express the types of troubles that will shake you to the very core of your life. Notice how he says that. "Though the earth should change, we will not fear. Though the mountains should slip into the heart of the sea, we will not fear. Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at a swelling pride, we will not fear." Now, we would be very wise to take heed of these words because of what we are seeing now. The world is on the precipice of deep and catastrophic trouble. Look and see the condition of things in the world today. There is a deep economic turmoil ahead of us. As the US mountain of debt nears a tipping point of no return. There are great economic troubles, and if the United States' economic situation collapses, the whole world will be in trouble.

Then we see world's alliances being transformed into a new axis of evil that's arising in the world. Then, the war between Israel and Hamas has brought the world to the brink of a new world conflict, but God is our refuge. God is our strength. God is a very present help in times of trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. When faith in God arises, your confidence arises in who He is. Even though earth-shaking cataclysmic things should happen, we will stand.

C. Make glad the heart in the river of God’s delight

Notice then where he goes next in the Psalm after expressing all of that. Verse four, he brings us to this. Make glad the heart in the river of God's delight. This is a tremendous transition in the Psalm after declaring earth cataclysmic type of events. Therefore, we will not fear. Then he brings us to this. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. Oh, beautiful, poetic expression.

For in there, in that holy dwelling place, the soul is made glad. This is the key to faith. This is the key to victory, for he wants us to see. Not only do I say to you, do not fear, but I also say to you that the joy of the Lord is strength. Joy of the Lord is strength. When your soul is made glad in the presence of the Almighty, there is strength in that because your confidence in God is arising because the presence of God is filling, and when the presence of God fills your soul, He does a great and beautiful thing.

You know when we think about the throne of God, we think about the presence of God. Many times, people think in the sense of awe and fear, which is understandable, but what he describes is that the nearness of God is beauty on the soul. The heart is made glad in the dwelling places of the Almighty. The soul is filled with glory. See, the river that flows is a picture of the presence of God, the Holy Spirit of the living God.

Wherever the river flows, there is life, there is joy, there is peace. There's glory made glad in the presence of the king, and whoever drinks from the river will find delight in the soul. This is a theme. It is strength itself. We've seen this theme now running through the Psalms. For example, Psalm 36 is becoming some of my favorite verses. Psalm 36:8-9 where it says, "They drink their fill of the abundance of your house, and you give them to drink of the river of your delights."

Isn't that beautiful picture? To drink your fill in the river of God's delights, that is strength itself. When faith arises, confidence in God arises. You're drinking from the river of God's delight, for with you is the fountain of life, and in your light, we see light. Then, notice when he goes next in verse five. Therefore, when God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved. That's an expression that we can take hold of for our lives as well.

II. Cease Striving and Know

When God is in the midst of your soul, when God is doing this work of building confidence and faith in God, then you know that you are standing on that rock and your life, your faith will not be moved. That's where he brings us then to the famous verse 10. Cease striving and know that I'm God. Cease striving. I will be exalted in the nations. I will be exalted on the earth.

Now, striving in oneself is a picture of someone thinking that they can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps or by their own self-effort they can win the battles of life, but this is vanity, God says. This is emptiness itself. Cease all this you're driving and know that He is God. Striving can also mean the worries, the fears, the anxieties, the soul that is disturbed within cease all of this striving.

Notice how the Psalmist then throws light on God Almighty. See, earlier in the Psalm, he spoke of world cataclysmic events that could shake your life to the very foundations. Now, he contrasts all of that, those earth's shaking events, with the greatness of God. It reminds us that in Hebrews chapter 12:27, where there's a prophetic word about-- he says, "Those things which can be, will be shaken so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."

A. He makes wars to cease

Though there will be a great earth cataclysmic shaking, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. When your life is built on that rock, on that foundation, you will not be moved, for your confidence is arising in who God is. That's why he makes this declaration. After looking at all of the earth-shaking cataclysmic events, he brings light to God Almighty, and he declares it is he who makes wars to cease.

See, he's causing your faith to arise. Notice how he says it, starting in verse six. Nations made an uproar, kingdoms tottered, but he raised his voice, and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come behold the works of the Lord who has brought desolation in the earth, and it is he who makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. It is he who breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two.

He burns cherries with fire. Cease striving and know that I am God. See, we are reminded. We need to be reminded of this great truth of the greatness of the Almighty so that our faith would arise in confidence because of what we see unfolding in the world today. Jesus spoke of the signs of the times of the latter days in Matthew 24, and he describes there in Matthew 24 Earth-shattering cataclysmic events that he says are merely the beginning of birth pangs as the latter days draw near.

Notice, Matthew 24:6-7. Jesus says, "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not frightened." Now, notice the similarity. "Make sure that you do not become frightened because those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation. Kingdom will rise against kingdom, and in various places, there will be famines and earthquakes, but all of these are merely the beginning of birth pangs."

When nation arises against nation and kingdom arises against kingdom, this is man striving with man, but God is the one who will arise in  the latter days and he will set all things right. This is a mess of broken-down world and we know how this story ends. We know that the king of kings and the Lord of Lords will come and he will set all things right. The nations will give him glory when he comes and sets all the things right. Let me describe it to you out of Revelation 19:11-16 where he says, "I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse. He who sat on it is called faithful and true and in righteousness, he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems and he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and his name is called the Word of God.

The armies which are in heaven clothed in fine Lenin white and clean. We're following him on white horses and from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty on His robe and on His thigh. He has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We know how the story ends. Amen, let's give him praise and glory. Amen.

B. Know that He is God

Notice the correlation to Psalm 46 for after declaring be still and know that I'm God. He says, "I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted on the earth." Notice how he finishes, be still, and know. Let this settle on your soul. Let this be settled. Know that he is God. See, to be still in a time of turbulence even cataclysmic, epic aspects of adversities and turbulence, to be still at such a time speaks of a heart that is at peace with God. You're at peace. Your soul is settled with the almighty. Faith has arisen.

Confidence in God is settled so that you know that you are standing on a rock of foundation and that you will not be moved. It's as though you were saying, "I know my God." Be still and know. It's as though you're saying, "I know my God." I know how he moves and I have every confidence in who he is. My soul is at peace. I will not allow my heart to be troubled within me. In other words, he says, cease, be still. Do not be anxious or fearful or taken captive by doubt.

No, let all such worries and fears and striving cease, stop, be still. It doesn't say just be still. Be still and know something arises when you know, I know my God. I know how he moves. I know my confidence is in him. I know in whom I have believed and I am persuaded that my God is able. There is that peace, I know. Be still and know, not just be still, be still and know. I know my God, I know how he moves and I see this world is in great and grave trouble. Do not let your heart be afraid.

Do not be troubled within. I know my God, I know how he moves. Let faith arise, that confidence arise. Be at peace and know your God. I know my God and my soul is settled within me. Your word is settled in heaven and it has settled on my heart. This is settled with me. I am at peace. I know my God. Amen. Father, thank you for showing us such glorious truths so that faith would arise.

Confidence would be settled on the soul. I know my God, I know how he moves, be still. Stop all this fear and worry and anxiety and insecurity, stop. Be still my soul and know that He is God. Let confidence in the Almighty arise in your soul, church how many would say to the Lord today, "My soul is settled with thee." I know my God. I am at peace with my Lord, and I know that He is a rock. I will not be moved.

My confidence arises in you oh my God. I want to make that declaration to the Lord. Would you just raise your hand as that declaration to the Lord? God, I want to just declare it to you. I am at peace because you are that rock. I know my God. Lord, thank you for everyone who is moved and filled by the Spirit of the living God, that we would have great confidence in you in who you are. That faith would arise in us today. We give you glory and honor in Jesus' name. Everyone said, amen. Let's give the Lord praise. Amen. Amen