Be still, and know that I am God I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Commentaire de ce verset
The Setting of Psalm 46:10
Psalm 46 is the great song of God as Israel's refuge in the time of Jacob's trouble; verse 10 is the divine voice that breaks across the noise of the nations to settle every fear. It looks beyond the rage of the heathen to the moment when Christ has shattered every weapon and lifts His hand to declare His sovereign supremacy.
A J PollockIt has in view the sufferings and deliverance of the remnant of Israel in the great tribulation. It is divided into three sections, the close of each marked by the word Selah.
The End of Man's Wars
The verse follows directly after the description of God's intervention. Every plan of man, energized by Satan, comes to nothing in one tremendous stroke from Christ.
A J PollockBut the day is coming when the last terrible single stroke of Christ's arm will bring in desolation on man's aims and plans — man's as energized by Satan — but it will break the bow, and cut the spear in sunder and burn the chariot in the fire.
Men dream that human effort can usher in lasting peace, but Scripture is clear:
A J PollockThere can be no millennium without Christ; there can be no peace save as founded on righteousness.
"Be Still, and Know That I Am God"
The command to "be still" is the highest call of faith — a complete laying down of self before the supremacy of God. It is faith's most honourable posture.
Confidence MagazineThis attitude of stillness shows a spirit of rich reliance on God. And may we not say that there is progress of soul in the order in which we have quoted these three verses? It may be more easy for us to stand still than to sit still; and yet it is our strength to sit still. Again, it may suit us better to sit still than to be still, and yet it is in being still that we learn that "I am God." This is surely the most valuable lesson.
Confidence MagazineHere we have faith in happy and thorough passivity. Man is silent — he has no place — God is supreme — He exalts Himself. And is not this the very highest and most honourable phase of faith? Does it not hereby bring more glory to God, since it allows Him entire and perfect control: allows Him to act for Himself, and to have His own way? Let us but call to memory the words of our Lord Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, "Not my will, but Thine, be done." What passivity! What setting aside of a will, which, though real, was ever in harmony with that of the Father.
"I Will Be Exalted Among the Heathen, I Will Be Exalted in the Earth"
The two-fold declaration looks on to the millennial reign, when the Lord becomes King over all the earth and the long centuries of His rejection give place to manifest glory.
VariousSo the Lord becomes King over all the earth. The people will see the King in His beauty (Isa. 33:17) and He will be exalted among the nations and in the earth (Ps. 46:10) — quite a contrast to His rejection nearly 2000 years ago!
After this, every question of the heart is finally laid to rest:
A J PollockEvery question is settled: "The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."
The Word for the Tried Saint Today
The remnant's coming experience speaks straight into the believer's present trials. The same God who tranquillizes a nation in catastrophe steadies the trembling soul today.
Words in SeasonAs the winds and waves of adverse circumstances are sweeping and surging in all their menacing power around the beloved remnant of a coming day... comes those precious words in all their tranquillizing power, "Be still and know that I am God."
Words in SeasonGod, in His formative ways with us may allow the pressure of external things to continue, but will enable us by the Spirit's power not only to be superior to the disquieting influences of these things, but also to enjoy positively the deep and unruffled serenity of His own blest presence.
A J PollockThe God who is sufficient for the whole universe can care for a sparrow, and the God of Psalm 46 is enough for you and for me.
Summary
- Prophetic frame. The verse is set in the deliverance of Israel's remnant during the great tribulation, when Christ's single stroke ends all human warring.
- No peace without Christ. League of Nations or human idealism cannot produce the millennium; true peace rests only on the righteousness of Christ's reign.
- Stillness is faith's summit. "Standing still" and "sitting still" prepare the soul, but only in "being still" do we truly learn "I am God" — happy, thorough passivity before His supremacy.
- Gethsemane pattern. Christ's "Not my will, but Thine, be done" is the perfect picture of the stillness this verse calls us into.
- Universal sufficiency. The God who will be exalted among the heathen and in the earth is also the personal refuge of every tried believer — sufficient for nations and for sparrows alike.