Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
What does Psalms 46:10 mean?
Come and see the effects of desolating judgments, and stand in awe of God. This shows the perfect security of the church, and is an assurance of lasting peace.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside its immediate passage and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Psalms 46:10
Be still - The word used here - from raphah - means properly to cast down; to let fall; to let hang down; then, to be relaxed, slackened, especially the hands: It is also employed in the sense of not making an effort; not putting forth exertion; and then would express the idea of leaving matters with God, or of being without anxiety about the issue. Compare Exodus 14:13 , "Stand still, and see the salvation of God." In this place the word seems to be used as meaning that there was to be no anxiety; that there was to be a calm, confiding, trustful state of mind in view of the displays of the divine presence and power.
Key words
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Be still, and know that I am God,.
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Who further says for their encouragement, and is to be hearkened to in it, I will be exalted among the Heathen; with or in the conversion of the Gentiles; when the kingdoms of this world shall become Christ's, and all nations shall come and worship before him, Revelation 11:15 .
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Who further says for their encouragement, and is to be hearkened to in it, I will be exalted among the Heathen; with or in the conversion of the Gentiles; when the kingdoms of this world shall become Christ's, and all nations shall come and worship before him, Revelation 11:15 .
Context in Psalms 46
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Psalms 46 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as Book II. Psalms is the Bible’s great book of sung prayer, teaching the full range of faithful speech from anguish and repentance to jubilation and doxology. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prayer, praise, and lament in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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Passages on trusting God, receiving Christ, persevering without sight, and the relation between faith and lived obedience.
Passages on asking, persistence, confession, dependence, and the way prayer shapes Christian life and attention.
Passages on peace with God, peace in the heart, peace in community, and the biblical difference between true peace and false reassurance.
Bible verses about thankfulness and gratitude
Passages on thanksgiving to God, grateful worship, and the discipline of remembering God’s goodness in ordinary life.
Who quoted Psalms 46:10?
Find out who used Psalms 46:10 in their speeches and writings. Which famous people quoted Psalms 46:10?
Richard Nixon used Psalms 46:10 in Proclamation 4136—Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1972.
APP: Proclamation 4136—Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 1972 »
Barack Obama used Psalms 46:10 in Reading at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City.
APP: Reading at the National September 11 Memorial in New York City »
Quotes found on Wikiquote (match for «be still and know that I am God»):
A Course in Miracles · British Raj · Church of England · Ego · Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh · Lord · Psalms · Tanakh · William Shakespeare