Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Shut Up, and Know That I am God
Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.”
I’ve always heard those words spoken in a devotional way. I cannot count the number of times I have used them to introduce a time of silence during worship. Stillness seems so peaceful, so contemplative. We read “be still,” and we think of these words as calm and serene.
But “be still” doesn’t mean just quieting the soul. It is a command and a rebuke. In Mark 4:39, when Jesus addresses these words to the storm, the author says it is a rebuke. It’s as if Jesus looked at the sky and said, “shut your mouth!” In Isaiah 23:2, the prophet uses “be still” when he addresses wicked cities in the same way he uses “be ashamed” in the very next sentence. Psalm 31:18 likewise uses it in the context of judgment: “let lying lips be stilled.”
When I transpose these other uses to Psalm 46:10, it gives the Psalm a new meaning: Shut up and remember who is in charge! In fact, this reading fits better with the rest of the Psalm, which is partly about the judgment of nations who war against ancient Israel. “My voice is louder and more authoritative than these petty princes,” says God. “Shut up.”
There is a more comforting usage of the phrase in Psalm 37: “Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.” But I do not think the Psalm 46 “be still” is meant to be comforting. I think it’s meant to be intimidating.
It’s also a word I think we need to hear. God says to the principalities and powers: “shut up! I’m bigger than you.” Read it with that attitude, and the psalm makes more sense:
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
‘Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.’
