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 (Psalm 46:2-3 ESV)
Two words used here will be used again in the psalm: “roar” (v. 3) and “moved” (v. 2). The authors picture those times when nature roars and moves.
Thunderstorms. Earthquakes. Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Floods. Blizzards.
Plagues. Diseases. Pathogens.
There are times when nature itself seems deady. Nature roars and moves.
The authors also consider the nations:
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; (Psalm 46:6 ESV)
Two key words are used once more: “rage” (v. 6 – translated “roar” in v. 3) and “totter (v. 6 – translated “moved” in v. 2). The authors picture those times when nations rage or roar and when nations move or totter.
Wars. Protests. Conflicts.
With these confessions about nature and nations, the authors of Ps. 46 are honest. They don’t sugar coat things. The world can be a hard place. It is often loud, noisy, deafening, and deadly. It roars. It rages. Winds blow. Lightning cracks. Storms howl. Politicians pontificate. Armies march. Missiles fire. Bombs explode. Diseases kill.
And in that kind of world it can be hard to experience God. He can be hard to find through the unsettling movement.
But God is there, the authors promise:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Ps. 46:1 ESV)
“Trouble” is the word the authors use to describe the world of nature and the world of the nations which we live in. Even in that trouble, God is “very present.” The phrase “very present” can also be translated “exceedingly discoverable.” God is the kind of God who makes himself abundantly find-able. Even in the midst of hurtful howling and unsettling movement, God is exceedingly discoverable.
This word “present” is used in a beautiful line from the Song of Solomon:
Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me. (Song of Solomon 3:4 ESV)
The one she loved was “found.” This is the same word used in Ps. 46 where it is translated “present”–God is very “found-able.” The One we love can be found. Even in a world like ours.
That’s why the authors command this:
Come, behold the works of the Lord (Ps. 46:8 ESV).
Behold. Come and see. Take notice. Look. God is exceedingly discoverable. Even in the midst of the noise and the movement, he can be seen.
But how? When we are reeling from the painful and raging noise and movement of nature and nations, how do we find this exceedingly findable God, this very present God? That’s where the author finally leads us:
“Be still, and know that I am God (Ps. 46:10 ESV).
There are several meanings wrapped up in this command “be still.” One is “let go.” To be still means to let go. God is asking us to stop our frantic attempts to try to bring order to the chaos of the world and instead let God do it. When we let go of what we cannot control, we find God.
But the primary meaning is simply to be still. To be idle. Elsewhere in Scripture this word shows up on Pharaoh’s lips when he accuses the Israelites of being idle:
6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ (Ex. 5:6-8 ESV)
The Dictionary of Biblical Languages reports that this word “still,” “idle,” or “lazy,” was used in reference to a soldier taking off his military belt, signaling an end to fighting. It means to sit down. Relax. Stop. Be still.
It’s only when we slow down and stop whatever else we are doing that what had been invisible about God in the world just a moment ago becomes visible; what had been inaudible about God in the world becomes audible. It’s only when we are still that we can hear past the rage and roar of nature and nations and hear God. It’s only when we are still that we can see past all the movement and tottering of nature and nations and see God’s gentle movement.
Would you take some time today, right now, and just … be still?
