"Surely God stills my soul, because he is my hope."1
Another translation of this verse is "be still my soul, for my hope is from him." This word for "be still" is damam, "be silent, be still, quieted is my soul, be astounded, hold peace." God stills the soul because he is our hope or expectation. This word for hope is tiqvah, literally, a cord; figuratively, expectancy -- expectation ((-ted)), hope, live, thing that I long for. This is our hope, a cord tied to a sure God who is faithful and true. Be still my soul for God is my hope, provider, he is the substance of things hoped for, my peace, and in whom I put my trust. I find rest in Him, my soul is stilled, for I have learned to put my trust, hope, expectation in him.
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..."2
Real Hope. In the new covenant we are sealed by His Spirit, we can say we are attached by such a "cord," an anchor to Him and we know that an element of faith is hope. It is a great spiritual blessing to find our soul at rest in Him. "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."3 "Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth."4 "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."5 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."6 In Jesus we find living water, satisfaction for our souls.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."10
Thirsty Soul. "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?"6 "My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD;"8 "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water."9 "For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good."10 "He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty."11 "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied..."12
"moreover, exists faith, assurance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen."4
Hope in Faith. This word for faith is pistis, "faith, belief, trust, confidence" it is divine persuasion of things hoped for. This word for hope is from elpis "hope, expectation, trust, confidence." This word for assurance is hupostasis, "assurance, substance, reality" (from hypó, "under" and hÃstÄ“mi, "to stand.") In faith we stand under or are persuaded, have assurance of hope and things not seen. This word for evidence is elegchos, "a proof, possibly: a persuasion; reproof." properly the internal persuasion from Him.
"...strong encouragement we might have, refuge we obtain, hope set before us, which we have an anchor for the soul... "3
Our Hope. This hope we have is real, it is not just wishful nor optimistic thinking, it has substance which comes from God. "For you to abound in hope in power of the Holy Spirit."4 "Indeed, we through the Spirit by faith eagerly await the hope of righteousness."5 This hope comes through trusting God, putting Him first, it is a product of a renewed mind and learned behavior and thinking. "For you are my hope, oh God my trust from my youth."6 His Spirit also strengthens us in our time of need, such gives the hope of faith and teaches us dependency on Him and in his provision. It is to know He is faithful, that he will never leave nor forsake us.
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"9
Our Provider. Learning to trust that God will provide is a great principle of putting the Kingdom of God first. I would say a foundational teaching. "Leave to thy God to order and provide..." Not only is it freedom from worry and anxiety, prolonging health, it deepens our relationship and trust in God, in his provision. My expectation or hope is in His faithfulness as my heavenly Father, who would give good things to his children. Establishing trust is most important to Him. Upon trust He can establish and deepen other principles like obedience, contentment... Jesus taught the disciples such a principle.
"He calls the twelve and began to send them forth two by two... He instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts..."11
Stilled is my soul because my expectation, hope is in Him. If God takes care of the birds, much more will he care for me, thus my hope, expectation, trust, is in Him. We have real hope in our faith, an anchor for our soul. Blessed are those who put their hope in God, they have rest for the soul, and truly can say "be still my soul, for my hope is from him."
"For this God is our God forever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end."12
Another translation of this verse is "be still my soul, for my hope is from him." This word for "be still" is damam, "be silent, be still, quieted is my soul, be astounded, hold peace." God stills the soul because he is our hope or expectation. This word for hope is tiqvah, literally, a cord; figuratively, expectancy -- expectation ((-ted)), hope, live, thing that I long for. This is our hope, a cord tied to a sure God who is faithful and true. Be still my soul for God is my hope, provider, he is the substance of things hoped for, my peace, and in whom I put my trust. I find rest in Him, my soul is stilled, for I have learned to put my trust, hope, expectation in him.
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..."2
Real Hope. In the new covenant we are sealed by His Spirit, we can say we are attached by such a "cord," an anchor to Him and we know that an element of faith is hope. It is a great spiritual blessing to find our soul at rest in Him. "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."3 "Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth."4 "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."5 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."6 In Jesus we find living water, satisfaction for our souls.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."10
Thirsty Soul. "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?"6 "My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD;"8 "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water."9 "For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good."10 "He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty."11 "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied..."12
"moreover, exists faith, assurance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen."4
Hope in Faith. This word for faith is pistis, "faith, belief, trust, confidence" it is divine persuasion of things hoped for. This word for hope is from elpis "hope, expectation, trust, confidence." This word for assurance is hupostasis, "assurance, substance, reality" (from hypó, "under" and hÃstÄ“mi, "to stand.") In faith we stand under or are persuaded, have assurance of hope and things not seen. This word for evidence is elegchos, "a proof, possibly: a persuasion; reproof." properly the internal persuasion from Him.
"...strong encouragement we might have, refuge we obtain, hope set before us, which we have an anchor for the soul... "3
Our Hope. This hope we have is real, it is not just wishful nor optimistic thinking, it has substance which comes from God. "For you to abound in hope in power of the Holy Spirit."4 "Indeed, we through the Spirit by faith eagerly await the hope of righteousness."5 This hope comes through trusting God, putting Him first, it is a product of a renewed mind and learned behavior and thinking. "For you are my hope, oh God my trust from my youth."6 His Spirit also strengthens us in our time of need, such gives the hope of faith and teaches us dependency on Him and in his provision. It is to know He is faithful, that he will never leave nor forsake us.
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"9
Our Provider. Learning to trust that God will provide is a great principle of putting the Kingdom of God first. I would say a foundational teaching. "Leave to thy God to order and provide..." Not only is it freedom from worry and anxiety, prolonging health, it deepens our relationship and trust in God, in his provision. My expectation or hope is in His faithfulness as my heavenly Father, who would give good things to his children. Establishing trust is most important to Him. Upon trust He can establish and deepen other principles like obedience, contentment... Jesus taught the disciples such a principle.
"He calls the twelve and began to send them forth two by two... He instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts..."11
Stilled is my soul because my expectation, hope is in Him. If God takes care of the birds, much more will he care for me, thus my hope, expectation, trust, is in Him. We have real hope in our faith, an anchor for our soul. Blessed are those who put their hope in God, they have rest for the soul, and truly can say "be still my soul, for my hope is from him."
"For this God is our God forever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end."12
Promise maker, promise keeper
You finish what you begin
Our provision, through the desert
You see it through to the end
The Lord Our God is ever faithful
Never changing through the ages
From this darkness, You will lead us
And forever we will say
You're the Lord Our God...