STILLNESS

STILLNESS

PSALM 46

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3  Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4  There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

6  The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.

7  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

8  Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

9  He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

11  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

          This psalm of trust and thanksgiving focuses on the God of Israel; He is their refuge and strength in the present time of trouble in verses 1-3.   Verses 4-7 deal with the city of God (Jerusalem), their security; of course, the earthly city here represents the city of God coming down out of heaven, or it can represent the actual city of God in heaven.  Verses 8-11 represent the deliverance of God, their peace; bringing it all back to the fact that God is our refuge and strength in our present times of trouble.

          In the Hebrew tongue the word trouble here means in a figurative speech tightness or trouble; this word was used in their language to describe the conflict between ourselves with an adversary, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, tribulation, or just trouble in general.

          Regardless if we are dealing with an adversary, adversity, affliction, anguish, distress, or just a tribulation of sort; it becomes a tightness in our lives and we carry it around in our chest until we have worked through it and found the peace we need to endure it. 

          Usually the tightness we carry in our chest concerning our trouble is more about us than it is our adversary, our adversity, our affliction, our anguish, our distress, or our tribulation.  Therefore, is not the removing of these oppositions that solves the tightness or conflict we deal with in our troubles; it is when we manage to see the connection of lust or desire in our own flesh with our oppositions, that our hearts are turned and we find the refuge and strength that is found in God.

Psalm 4:2-4 declares, “O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah. But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.”

When His glory should be transforming us and working change in us, we at times turn His glory into shame.  This is when we are eaten up from the floor up with vanity and walk in denial concerning our partnership and ownership to the troubles we are experiencing. 

The scripture in the King James Version calls this leasing.  In the Hebrew tongue this means we are living out lies; leasing in the translation reveals our inabilities to own our contributing portion to the troubles we are experiencing.  In other words, rather than owning any space for ourselves; we rent our space out to the enemy, giving rights to the enemy to establish a stronghold in our mind concerning our tragedies.  

Consequently, it is when we quiet ourselves and become still that God can become our refuge and strength in a web of deceit such as this.  When we decide that being godly is more important than our own will, is when we can stand still long enough to have a truthful conversation with ourselves.  I call this siding against our selves for the sake of truth.

This is the violence the scripture is talking about concerning the advancement of the Kingdom of God in the life of the believer.  “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). 

God’s Kingdom cannot come into us unless we are willing to learn the art of siding against ourselves for the sake of truth.  It is not standing against the enemy that we see truth; it is standing against ourselves that we see truth; in return, that gives us the power and the authority to stand against the enemy.

Jacob’s wrestling with the angel all night was in realty a violent moment with his own self.  He had to come to terms that everything he had gotten in life up to that moment was through lies and deceit; even Jacob’s name meant “sup planter” and he had a grove of ripened deceitful fruit hanging ready for harvest when he encountered the creature from heaven.

It is not a wonder why we many times find ourselves lying quietly on our beds, still and resolved that only God can make a difference in the mess we have made of ourselves.  It is in this stillness of recognition and “awe” that God positions Himself to take charge on our behalf; simply because, God will not act outside of truth and the correct recognition of that truth.  “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

          When it comes to understanding scripture, it is much like holding a diamond in our hand; as we turn the diamond, there are different cuts reflecting many perspectives that the diamond holds.  For example, we must consider the textual content, the author, and the historical content that scripture holds.  When we do, we get a broader perspective and come closer to seeing the original intent and content of that scripture (Dr. Thomas).

          I remember when we visited the national site where the star spangled banner was written; we sat in their theater showing us the history behind the song.  I had heard that song and sang it in school and other places all my life.  However, after that visual aid and cut on that song, it brought a much deeper meaning to me; the song took on new life and revelation.

          This spiritual song; Psalm 46, was historically written during the attempted invasion of Jerusalem by Sennacherib during the reign of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18-19 and it seems to anticipate the next song Psalm 47, which is a song of God’s kingship, and thus ultimately refers to the millennial reign of Christ.

          Alamoth here in our text literally means maidens and probably infers that the song should be sung by soprano voices, and that the song was designed to be expressed from a female heart; the need for God’s masculine relationship as the groom and the safety He provides to His bride.

          Knowing the historical and textual content to this scripture gives us a deeper meaning to this song.  The back drop is laid here with the Assyrian King Sennacherib, he sends to Judah the only military strength left in Israel his diplomat Rabshakeh to make a speech against King Hezekiah the present leadership and the nation itself.  His goal was to strip them of any trust they may have had in their God to protect them.

          Rabshakeh speaks outwardly in the streets not in his own Aramaic tongue; rather, he speaks to them in the Hebrew tongue.  This lends to the fact that he was defying the leadership of their people by not speaking diplomatically to just their leaders, but rather to the people as a whole.  In his speech he speaks against their God Yahweh; he reminds them of how Hezekiah had stripped the temple gold to pay their dues to the Assyrian empire, defaming Hezekiah to his own people saying, how can your God support your King after such an act against Himself. 

          What Rabshakeh did not understand was that our God is more about relationship than the outward religious practices that represent that relationship.  The more he spoke against Yahweh and his leader Hezekiah, the more he sealed God’s heart against them.     

          The Assyrian king was after Jerusalem their capitol, their symbol of security and peace, the very heart of Israel.  The small Hebrew nation was compiled of 12 tribes of Israel divided into two kingdoms, the northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom.  Some of the tribes have already been taken into exile; yet, Judah was practicing the Deuteronomic blessings under the leadership of Hezekiah.  Therefore, God by that blessing had obligated Himself to prosper and protect them.   

          When we are in the battle for our thoughts and we are facing the fray; with all the different things slapping us in the face it is hard to focus on trust; nonetheless, Hezekiah held out to the end.  The Assyrian kingdom even mockingly offered to give Israel and what was left of it chariots and horses to defend their selves; Hezekiah stood still before His God, and Hezekiah’s representatives kept silent towards their accusations.

          As a result, God sent His angel and destroyed Sennacherib’s military without Judah lifting one spear or sword against them.  Sennacherib went back to Nineveh the present capitol of the Assyrian empire. 

          Now this song Psalm 46 has a deeper meaning; to know why it was written and when it was written; its historical purpose speaks to us.  Our God will do battle for us against all odds if we can manage to “be still.”  My spiritual Mom once said to me, son you can be going wide open in the natural and still be still in your spirit.  Being still against the odds that are against us gives God the opportunity to deal with those odds.

          There is no happy sin in me, and the sin that is in me will remain unhappy till the wrestling match is over.  Even if it looks like the whole world is going to drop off into the ocean; God will find a way to preserve us, God will find a way to heal us.  It is in the stillness and the quietness of our souls that God shows Him self strong on our behalf.