Hymn Studies

“BE STILL AND KNOW”
“Be still, and know that I am God…” (Ps. 46:10)

     INTRO.:  A song whose original stanza is taken from Ps. 46:10 and exhorts us to be still and know God is “Be Still and Know.”  The text is an anonymous, traditional “praise song,” and the tune is an anonymous, American folk melody.  It is one of those folk-type hymns which seem to “pop up” out of nowhere and appears to be impossible to trace so far as its origin is concerned.  The Oremus Hymnal website, which is devoted to hymns used in the Anglican-Episcopalian tradition, lists this hymn with three stanzas, “Be still and know that I am God,” “I am the Lord that healeth thee,” and “In thee, O Lord, I put my trust,” the tune arranged by Adrian Vernon Fish, and the first appearance among them in the 1996 Hymns Old and New–New Anglican Edition.   A song with this same title “Inspired by Psalm 46” with music and additional words by Lawrence Keith Holder published in 1998 appears to be some form of this hymn.  A website ( http://www.faqs.org/copyright/be-still-and-know-that-i-am-god/ ) lists thirty copyrights for the hymn “Be Still and Know That I Am God,” and says that the number of similar titles is186, but most of these seem to relate to specific recordings. 

     Because of their repetitive nature, I have arranged the words to include two additional lines with each stanza.  Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord’s church during the twentieth century and beyond for use in churches of Christ, the song may be found with one stanza in the 1992 Praise for the Lord edited by John P. Wiegand; and with an additional stanza taken from Exo. 15:26 in the 1994 Songs of Faith and Praise edited by Alton H. Howard, as well as the 2007 Sumphonia Hymn Supplement edited by Steve Wolfgang et. al.  It is also found in the 2009 Favorite Hymns of the Church edited by Robert J. Taylor Jr. with still another additional stanza by the editor.  I have also added the third stanza found in the arrangement below.  Glenda B. Schales has written a similar hymn simply titled “Be Still” that is found in the 2007 Hymns for Worship Supplement edited by R. J. Stevens et. al.  None of these songs are to be confused with the lovely “Be Still, My Soul” by Katharina von Schlegel set to the main theme from Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia.

     The hymn encourages us to look to God for supplying our needs.

I. Stanza 1 tells us to acknowledge Him as Lord
“Be still and know that I am God.
I know the way that you have trod.
I am the Lord of sea and sod.”
 A. To “be still” does not mean just to sit down and do nothing or even to refrain from speaking at all, but it involves the idea of waiting on God: Ps. 37:7
 B. The reason that we should want to be still and wait for Him is that He knows the way that the righteous have trod: Ps. 1:6
 C. We can be assured that He know the way that we have trod because He is Lord of sea and sod, heaven and earth: Acts 17:24

II. Stanza 2 tells us to seek our strength from Him
“I am the Lord who strengthens you,
If you my will shall always do.
So I will lead and save you too.”
 A. This Lord of heaven and earth will strengthen us just as He strengthened and healed the Israelites: Exo. 15:26
 B. However, to receive the Lord’s strength, we must determine to do His will: Jn. 7:17
 C. If we obey Him, He will save us: Ps. 145:19

III. Stanza 3 tells us to accept His guidance
“I am the God who lives on high.
I am the Lord of earth and sky.
And I shall guide you with Mine eye.”
 A. God dwells in heaven on high: Ps. 93:4
 B. He is the Lord of earth and sky because He created the heaven and the earth: Gen. 1:1
 C. Therefore, He has the power to guide us with His eye: Ps. 32:8

     CONCL.:  The value of a spiritual song is not necessarily in its length.  At the same time, each person and congregation will have to decide if a song, whether short or long, that simply repeats the same phrase over and over, is really suitable for a worship service.  That is why I have tried to take some of the traditional “praise songs” and give them a little more substance.  In any event, it is good to be reminded that concerning what God has revealed to us we should “Be Still and Know”