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Psalm 46 is our text this morning. Psalm 46, verses 4 through 11. Turn with me in your copy of God's Word. Psalm 46, verses 4 down through to 11. Our title of our message this morning is Be Still and Know That I Am God. Be still and Know That I Am God. Let me ask you, have you ever been anxious? Have you ever been anxious? Have you ever been worried about something? Have you ever been fearful about something happening? Chances are you have living in a fallen world, one of those truths that we interact with is we interact with worry, we interact with fear, and we interact with this thing called anxiety. The believer, the unbeliever, both alike, perhaps have experienced times and seasons of these three things. Now the writer of Psalm 46 speaks to this. The writer of Psalm 46 answers the question: Have you ever been anxious? Yes. Have you ever been fearful? Yes. And he has laid the groundwork in the opening verses of Psalm 46. And this groundwork we covered last week, God is our refuge and strength. Like groundwork, it's meant to support something above it. If you just built a foundation and left it there, it would be incomplete. There must be something built upon it. So the psalmist continues. He's laid the groundwork, built the foundation in verses 1 through 3. Now he continues wonderfully. And he continues and concludes with one of the more well-known phrases of the Psalms, and of course, Psalm 46, and that's verse 10. Be still and know that I am God. In a verse like this, we are given a call, and by a call we mean a request or an appeal. It's a command. The psalmist at times gives a call. These are requests, they're appeals, they're commands to do something. And verse 10 is that call. Be still and know that I am God. What a call, what a request, what a command is found here. Well, as we seek to unpack this, we first have to understand the call is in itself to be still. It's to be still. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. What is meant here by still? Well, this word means to rest or relax. Some other translations, depending on what you have in front of you, it says, cease striving. Cease striving and know that I am God. Relax and know that God is God. Rest and know that God is God. It means to stop doing something, but not just that. And an invitation to do something else. What's the stopping? Well, worry, anxiety, fear. What's the something else? Knowing and resting in a truth. The psalmist calls himself then to relax in God. Relax. Rest in God. Do not be frantic. Instead, simply be in God. Now the rest is still, and being still is both physical and spiritual. It is not just to spiritually be in God. The physical is included. We are embodied souls. So when we see in Scripture teaching on the spiritual, we understand it's exclusive to that. And the teaching on the physical, we understand it's exclusive to physical, but there's also this wonderful spiritual connotation to it. This is what we see in Psalm 46: physical and spiritual. We are not just to spiritually rest in God, but physically as well. All of the God follower must rest in God. All of oneself is called to be still in Him. Well, Psalm 46, 10 is good to pair with it other passages like this. Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous, do not be frightened, do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. What Joshua is saying in Joshua 1.9 is very similar to what Psalm 46.10 is saying. Be still, do not fear, God is with you. The Apostle Paul writes to a church in Philippi. Do not be anxious about anything. But in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. What's Paul saying? Do not be anxious, do not worry, do not be fearful. Instead, pray. Instead, pray. Well, the call in Psalm 46 is to be still. And we need this call to be still because of who we are. We need a call of God upon our lives to be still because of our human nature. In the garden, sin entered God's creation, and in this entrance, man fell from a state of innocence. And by this fall, we mean there is a natural want to do wrong. Since the garden and the fall of mankind, each and every heart that has entered the world has a natural ability to want to do wrong. Human nature is naturally inclined to fear. One could say this it's a presupposition to be afraid. You and I, untrained, are really good at giving in to fear. We're really good at being not still. And this is why the psalmists and others write a call away from fear. Because the psalmist knows the human tendency is to question God's providence. Now, in light of anxiety and worry and fear and the call here to be still, our world has many remedies for this. Our world has many remedies against this type of behavior. And the Christian must be very careful not to allow the world to dictate how we think or live or interact with the sin of anxiety and fear. To allow the world to teach us how to live or think is to deny God that prerogative. In other words, church and believer, it's God's desire to mold your thinking and mine, because he is the potter and we are the clay. We do not mold ourselves. God molds us, God molds how we think. So we seek for him to mold our thinking, help us to interact with fear, worry, and anxiety as God would want us to interact with. Proverbs 12, 25 says, Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. What is this good word? Well, it is none other than God. God is the good word that makes the heart glad. This is why the call to fear must be understood to be linked to the description of God. The call to be still is linked to the description of God. Twice the psalmist says in verse 7 and 11, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress. Why is he saying these two things around this wonderful verse 10? Well, it's both a description of God and a remembrance of God's historical faithfulness. Descriptions of God are good fruit for us as we live lives as Christians. And here's the description: He is a Lord of hosts. That is, he is a God of many angels. Hosts, this word hosts brings with it a large number. And this number is in reference to God's angels. Whenever Scripture says he's a Lord of hosts, it means he's a Lord of many angels. In fact, the word also brings with it army in warfare. To be a Lord of hosts means to be a Lord with a large number at your side. 2 Kings 6 gives us a great picture of this. 2 Kings 6 finds us with a man who he's given to fear. He's a servant of a prophet. And we find him going out in the early morning hours, looking out at the outskirts of a city in which he is residing. And he sees encamped around him a pagan nation that seeks to harm the prophet of God, whom which he serves. Now, he's fearful. You can try to understand this servant. He goes out in the morning and he sees an army encamped about them and they're ready for battle. They're not sleeping in front of him, they have spears in hand, they're ready to attack. So what does he do? He goes to the prophet and says, We're in trouble. You know what the prophet says? The prophet is Elisha. The prophet says, This, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And then he prays, Lord, reveal to this servant what is before him. So the servant turns around and goes back out and looks. And around this army of which he was just fearful of, is an even bigger army, an even greater army of the Lord of hosts. There all along, but he could not see. This is the Lord of hosts. He's a Lord of hosts because he has an army at his side. The Lord, God of heaven, has hosts around him, and they are myriads upon myriads. There's a number too large for us to count. This is a Lord of hosts. And this is why he says he's a fortress, the God of Jacob. He's historically this Lord of hosts. And to offer a little bit of insight into this further, this Lord of hosts has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars to cease, he breaks the bow, he bends the spear, he burns the chariots with fire. What is meant by those phrases? The Lord of hosts, God wins. God wins. God does not lose, God wins. So notice that the call to fear seems difficult, void of the description of God, the Lord of hosts. Now, there are requirements or guidelines in how to be still. And like any behavior of holiness, it is to be learned. We, as God's people, learn how to be holy. Now, I want to stress with you this morning, there are really only three options for the Christian in regards to spiritual growth. And they are the following growth, stagnancy, or backsliding. And it is within these three, each believer finds themselves, and it is within these three, you and I find ourselves even this morning. We are either growing, we are either backsliding, or we are either stagnant. What do we mean by these terms? Well, backsliding is when the love for the sins of the flesh that were at once appalling to the Christian is now rekindled. Backsliding is when one repents of sin, turns from their wicked ways, believes in Christ, and then in a season after that turns back again and loves the sins of the former life. What was once appalling and repented of is now lived for. The spirit is quenched and grieved. That's backsliding. Stagnancy, however, is a little different. Stagnancy is not that various sins that were once repented of are now loved again. It's instead that no new holiness or growth is offered. It's stagnant. It's in other words, it's a spiritual plateau. It's not necessarily loving the former sins prior to coming to Christ, but it's instead just not growing in holiness at all. It's staying in one spot. Now, both backsliding and stagnancy forfeit any spiritual victory over things like anxiety and fear. The stagnant Christian has no victory over fear, worry, or anxiety. The backsliding Christian has no victory over anxiety, worry, and fear. It is only the spiritual growth and the growing Christian that seeks and finds victory continually over sin like anxiety, worry, and fear. It is only the growing Christian that is the one that is to be still. Paul encourages Timothy, practice these things, immerse yourself in them so that all may see your progress. Paul wanted Timothy to progress. He wanted him to practice and immerse himself in what are these things? Well, it's godly behavior and good doctrine. It's the call of the elder, Timothy was in the church, to immerse yourself and practice good doctrine, good growth, so that you may progress. Well, that's for the elder, it's also for any believer. Hebrews 5 says this for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature. For those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice. This is spiritual growth. This is not stagnancy or backsliding. Solid food is for the mature. For those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish what? Good from evil. So it is in growth. One grows in Christ, or powers of discernment are trained by what is good, what is wrong. That is spiritual growth. Stagnancy does not train the conscience. To grow is to be constantly trained in righteousness. It is to be continually sharpened. It's to be ready for every good work. Discernment is developed. Holiness is learned. I'm learning to be still because I'm growing in Christ. Because the Lord of hosts is with me. Stagnancy will not give you this fruit, oh Christian. Only growth. Active pursuit will. Well, the psalmist continues to offer us wonderful teaching. And it could be offered to us in the heading of how to be still. How to then be still. Well, being still requires being near the gracious streams of the living God. Look at verse 4. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. God will help her when the morning dawns. Notice the psalmist is teaching us here. The presence of the Lord yields the joy of the Lord. The presence of the Lord yields the stillness of the believer. Joy and stillness are not two opposing passions of a believer. One is joyful and one is still simultaneously in God. And this grace is being near him. And it is drinking from the streams of the living God. I remember vividly over the years visiting our brother Arnold. And one thing that stood out to me was even though Arnold was in his 80s and his health was slowly waning, he would always, and I mean always, to mean always, he would tell a joke or a story to bring about laughter. Now, as I would make my way even out of the door, as I'm leaving, he would offer another one-liner or another phrase or another joke, and he would always laugh. This was obvious, but I'll state it. He loved laughter. No matter his health, he loved to laugh. He was always joyful. Isn't laughter an incredible blessing? Laughter is a blessing, not a chore. Joy is a fruit of the spirit, not a chore. A joyful spirit is wonderfully part of the Christian walk. A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the very bones. Proverbs 17, 22. Ecclesiastes 3.4 says this. There is a time to laugh. Imagine that. There is a time for you, O Christian, to laugh. When is that? When we are in the joy of the Lord. Laughter is spirit filled, joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and it is an outcome of knowing God. Growing up, my family owned a camp a few hours away from our home. Many times we would take trips to stay there, and that camp sat Where two rivers met, one river bigger than the other. And we would visit, we would, me and my siblings spend hours upon hours around those rivers enjoying the cool water in the summer heat, and many hours were spent in laughter as we enjoyed the fun the water had to offer. Believer, it's this mindset that we see in verse 4. The river whose streams make glad the city of God. It is this mindset the psalmist brings to sing about the rivers of God's blessing. As the river flows and brings fresh water to those that reside around it, so God's presence in the midst of his people brings joy to them. As the river brings water to fertilize and sustain life, so does God's presence amidst his people. God's presence is a keeper of life, not a taker of life. And the psalmist is brought to joy because he's drinking from the well of his God. In fact, consider for a few moments, most cities or towns in our world. There's usually a river running through it. And this is because long ago, when these areas were being settled, what's the first thing they asked? We need water to sustain life. And that's why, in large part, a river or a lake is found at the center of a town or city. As a river brings physical life, so God's river brings spiritual life. God is in her midst. God resides with his people. And as refreshing as streams are to a city, is as refreshing as God's mercies are to his people. They yield gladness. And so, within the DNA and the fundamental truths of being still in God is found joy. And so the believer and the follower of God is to be a joyful person. To be a Christian is to be a glass half-ful personality. It's not to be pessimistic. It's instead to live cheerfully. We cannot be cantankerous Christians. Instead, we are to be bountiful believers. One could say joyous Jesus people. Merry men and women of Christ. Why? Because God is in our midst. Come what may. And it does. We have the joy of the Lord. The more we live and grow in Christ, not the more grumpy we become, but the more merry and joyous we become. Because God is continually in our midst and he is teaching. And we do not overlook the sorrows that we face on a daily basis living in a fallen world, but we do not neglect to lay these sorrows at the foot of the cross in which he gives to us joy and peace in believing. Shakespeare begins the merchant of Venice with the following phrase: In sooth, I know not why I am so sad. In sooth is old English for in truth. Antonio says, In truth I know not why I am so sad. Let me ask you, which is worse, to know why you're sad or to not know why you're sad. I think not knowing is worse than knowing. Here's why. It's easier to steer ignorance than stubbornness. Try to steer ignorance. It can happen more than steering stubbornness. A heart may not know joy until Christ. But a heart that professes to know Christ and refrains from joy is stubborn. And stubbornness is a tall task. A hard heart is a difficult thing. But ignorance can be developed. Therefore, believer, arise, city of God. Arise, God's church. God is in your midst. What have you to fear? God is in your midst. You will not be moved. What have you to dread? There is a stream, there is a truth that brings about joyous dispositions and joyous outcomes. So know this being still requires being near the gracious streams of the living God. They make glad those who partake. And that joy leads to the stillness of a soul. Well, being still requires also sight. Notice the psalmist says this come behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. Being still requires sight. In this verse, verse 8, we see a call to see. We see a call to behold. Look at this. See what this is. The object of this call is the works of God. Look at what God has done. And He has created, He has sustained, He has authored, and He has finished our faith. He has graciously walked with many believers prior to us. He has blessed every generation and every single culture. So the believers to look what God has done. And this is none other than a call to see God's works in the world and in the word. What do we see in the word? Genesis through revelation are filled with the works of the Lord. What he has done. What he has accomplished. Genesis through revelation, time and time again, what God has done, but also we see what he has done in the world. The heavens declare the glory of God, the stars show his handiwork. So, believer, being still requires seeing God's work done. Do not miss Matthew 6. The eye is the lamp of the body. We need to watch over what we see. We need to watch over what we perceive. We need to watch over what we are beholding, because what we behold by our sight dictates our soul and our innermost being. Said this way, it becomes us what we see. So being still requires sight and sight of God's works. Also, the psalmist tells us in verse 10, be still and know that I am God. We could also make the observation that being still must be with knowledge. We are to be still, and it is due to knowledge. Now, ponder with me for a few moments. Knowledge is such a wonderful thing, isn't it? Think of the practical aspect of knowledge. With knowledge, our world continues. Men build great structures out of their knowledge. Great books are written out of knowledge. Stories are told, both in film and literature, due to someone's intellect. Knowledge is wonderful. Without knowledge, we would be void of a host of many blessings. Without knowledge, we are void of intellect. Without knowledge, we are dumb. And so the believer must understand to be still is to know God. The believer is left godless without the knowledge of Him. Be still and have knowledge of who God is. Well, we must understand to know that God is God. Being still requires sight, being still requires knowledge, being still also needs faith. Hebrews 11, 6, without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. It is impossible to please God without faith. You can rest assured the psalmist understands faith. He believes God will do a great thing, which is why he says, I will be exalted among the nations, speaking of God. Ponder with me that phrase. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. What great faith it took for the psalmist to believe that statement. That God would be exalted among the nations, that he would be exalted in the earth, takes great faith and trust to believe. So, Christian, this morning, as we seek to be still and know that God is God, understand that you must have faith in God and his work in order to be still in him. And lastly, being still requires loving God. It could be that one understands the description of God. It can be that one sees his work. It can be that one knows that God is God. It can be that one even trusts somewhat in him. But we must understand one must also love God in order to be still in him. Not within the psalmist writings here, but no doubt, still known by him is the greatest commandment to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. So to be still and know that God is God is to love him. It's to have your affections be ordered towards him. It's to wake up and desire him. It's to fall asleep desiring more of him. It's to want to love him more. And the more one loves God, the more they trust him, and the more they simply rest and are still in him because he is God. Well, believer, good fruit for you and I this morning in this passage. Understanding that in light of the good fruit that's offered, our many temptations otherwise. There are many things in our world that seek to pull us away from these things. But may this fruit be something in which we can strengthen our stakes, understand that we can be still in God and waging good spiritual warfare against threats from without. Let's pray.