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Psalm 46 - Be still and know that I am God

Finally this one seems pretty straightforward. A easy read!

 Summary
v1-3 God is our refuge and our strength
v4-7 We shall not be moved
v8-9 Behold the works of the Lord
v10-11 Be still and know that I am God

God is our refuge and our strength
The first 3 verses are rather simple. It opens with the title - that God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. The author goes on to state very clearly that though the mountains tremble and the seas roar he will not be shaken for his trust is in God, who is beyond the forces of this world (tbc!)

We shall not be moved
Here the author goes on to describe the splendour of God as the reason why he has no need to fear. Again, imagery of a very royal, powerful King. This section closes with the same line as the one at the end of the Psalm - The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. I think there are two things going on in this line.

1. The LORD of hosts - as interpreted by some as the LORD of heaven's armies. Now that is pretty scary. I mean, look at the armies around the world today. Russia? The US? The SAF? Now scale that to an infinite number of soldiers and upgrade the firepower by a few million times... Now that's probably what we're talking about here.
2. The God of Jacob - The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as commonly referred to in the Old Testament. Jacob is, of course, the founding father of Israel. By using the term God of Jacob, the author could be referring specifically to God's promise to choose a people for Himself, and the author having full assurance of being part of that people by the old covenant with Israel. I think similarly, today, through Christ we can have that same assurance of being part of God's people.

Behold the works of the Lord
The next section talks about the works of the Lord and how He is higher than the powers of the world. Like what I was saying about the Lord of hosts, here it is exemplified as God being greater than any army, and even using them for His own purposes. It does not explain why though (though it is found in other parts of the Bible!)

Be still and know that I am God
Oh how many hymns have been written around this line. And yes, how true. This is the only part of the Psalm where there is a narrative from God - and He says BE STILL. Many times our hearts are so caught up with the wars of this world, the worries and the struggles - that we rush through our days and actions and don't take the time to be still. And why be still? Because when we are still and we take time to reflect on what we're doing and why we're doing it, we KNOW THAT HE IS GOD. Knowing God is the precursor to all the security and refuge and strength the author has been talking about in this Psalm. Knowing God is giving Him the due respect as commanded by the Lord of hosts and the God of Jacob. It is a command from God explicitly.

So tonight, be still and know that He is God.
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