this is my world the metaphysics and today i bring you be still a treatment against fear
by emmett fox this is the most powerful audio book you will ever listen to that explains the 46 psalm
that explains what to do in the time of need when you're overcome by anxiety fear and worry
this book is a must listen to it a few times until you understand and then go read the 46 song
learn it and use it it will absolutely change your life so now let's get to be still a treatment
against fear by emmett fox be still the bible teaches spiritual truths in many different ways
it gives direct teachings about god as clear and precise as any book on philosophy
that has ever been written it expounds the great message indirectly through historical narrative
and by means of biographical studies for the bible includes the most wonderful and interesting set of
human biographies that has ever been written it contains unmatched collection of essays
treaties on the nature of god and the nature of man the powers of the soul and the meanings of
life consider saint john's opening section in the gospel for instance or the 11th chapter of hebrews
or the 12th and the 13th of corinthians 1 or the 5th 6th 7th of matthews only to name a few each of
these chapters in a different way gives direct and simple teachings of the truth unsurpassed in any
work outside of the bible but it is in its prayers and treatments that the bible is transcendent it
contains a large number of the greatest prayers ever written beginning of course with what we call
the lord's prayer prayers the like of which has never been found elsewhere for they go right down
to the depths of the human soul meeting every need that can arise and providing for every possible
temperament and any conceivable contingency in fact they cater to all sorts of conditions of men
among all the beautiful and heart-searching prayers of the bible
there is none that surpasses the wonderful poem that we call the 46th psalm this is an inspired
treatment that will enable you to overcome any kind of difficulty if you can tune yourself into
the level of consciousness to which it contains it is a supreme bible treatment against fear
now the objective of prayer and treatment is just this very arising of the consciousness and a good
prayer in the instrument that enable us to do so we need not expect to begin our prayer with the
realization if we already have a realization we should not need the help of the prayer we do not
need a step ladder to reach a height on which we have already placed the ladder is employed
in order to enable us to raise ourselves step by step to a height above the ground to which our
muscles alone will never carry us so a good prayer is a ladder upon which we may gradually climb from
the lower level of fear doubt and difficulty to the spiritual height where these things melt
away in the light of truth our psalms begin as do nearly all the bible prayers with an expression
of faith in god this is extremely important in practice you need to affirm constantly that you
do believe in god not merely as a vague abstract concept but as a real vivid actual power in life
always available to be contacted and thought never changing and never failing it cannot be
too strongly emphasized that it is not sufficient to take this for granted it is not sufficient to
accept the truth once and for all or once a week you must continuously reaffirm any thought and
in words if necessary you must constantly remind yourself that you do accept this position that you
believe in it and that your convictions is good enough to build your life and your hopes upon
all this is treatment and very powerful treatment too it is a treatment that really changes the soul
by clearing out those subconscious fears that are the cause of all your difficulties and so
the inspired writer starts his prayer by saying bluntly god is our refuge and strength
a very present help in trouble you will see that he allows himself no doubt at all about this he
does not dream of taking up the timid almost apologetic attitude that some modern divines
seem to think appropriate in dealing with god he says firmly that god is that he exists indeed
and then he enumerates three facts concerning god he says that he is our refuge he says that he is
our strength and he says that he is a very present help in trouble this verse is really tremendous is
it not if we get through the crust of familiarity that tends to hide the real meaning from us
and we study these words with a fresh mind we shall be amazed i think at all they imply
note that he says that god is our refuge he does not say that such may very well be the case or
that it is pious hope upon which we are justified in leaning but that plain and plump god is our
refuge now pause a minute to consider all god is review briefly at this point the principal aspects
and attributes of god as you know them and then consider that this infinite being is our refuge
that is to say this unlimited power of wisdom and love is a refuge to which we can go in any kind
of difficulty many devote souls have thought of god as a distant potent dwelling in the sky to be
dread to be feared but the bible says the contrary that god is the refuge for those in difficulty
it then says that his omnipotent power is nothing less than our strength this brings
the idea home still vividly god is not merely a matchless power that will come to our rescue
but he will actually be our own strength operating through us to the overcoming of difficulty when we
call upon him in the right way every student of truth must understand that god always acts
through us by changing our consciousness we learn in divine metaphysics that god never does anything
to us or for us but always through us the writer drives these points home in the familiar bible
manner by adding a very present help in trouble the opening affirmation is followed in the most
scientific way by an excellent example of the use of what he's called the metaphysics the denial
the next two verses are a denial that there is any power and condition to make us be or do or submit
to anything short of complete all-around harmony that is the divine will for all of us it says
therefore will not we fear as following logically upon our opening affirmations though
the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea though
the water thereof roar and be troubled though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof
the earth of course means manifestation it is the bible's terms for all one's manifestations
or expressions the body the home the business life relatives associates all come under the heading
of earth or land we know that all these outer things are but the expression of inner states
of consciousness and here the psalmist makes us say that though the earth be removed though
all these outer things seem to go to pieces our health breaks down our money disappears
our friends desert us yet we are not going to be afraid the attitude is extraordinarily valuable
when things are going wrong declare constantly that you are not going to be afraid or intimidated
by any outer condition the more afraid you find yourself the more need is there for doing this
the most important time to say god is my refuge i am not going to be afraid it's when your knees are
knocking together the psalmist says that though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea
and the waters roll and tremble until the very mountains himself seems to shake he is not going
to be afraid the mountain in the bible always mean prayer the uplifted consciousness this is
the cause which makes us declare that even when in the midst of our prayers things seem to get worse
so that the very prayers themselves are all but swamped by our terror or doubt or despair yet
we are going to hold on to the truth about god knowing that even though it be after 40 days
the water will subside if only we hold on to the thought of god the water of course are always to
human personalities and more especially the emotions the man who wrote this we will agree
had no small knowledge of the human heart its difficulties and its needs there is a river the
streams whereof shall make glad the city of god the holy place of the tabernacle of the most high
this is the capital river mentioned several times in scripture the river of life that flows from
the throne of god it means the understanding of truth that is verily the waters of life
to those who attain it the river as a symbol is rather interesting primarily it stands for purpose
a river means purpose because it is always going somewhere
a river does not stay in one place like a lake or an ocean but it is always on
the way to a destination in this respect it is a true type of the dedicated life which every
student of divine truth is supposed to be living in this teaching if it really means anything to us
we are no longer drifting about like a log on the mercy of the tide but are definitely headed along
the path of understanding and freedom the city of god is a man's consciousness your consciousness
which is your identity in life is called a city in the bible expect the lord to keep the city
the watchman awake wakeeth but in vain now the conscious in which the light of truth begins
to shine again after an attack of fear or unhappiness is a city purified by that holy river
and it becomes a glad city a city of god or good a holy place for the tabernacle of the most high
god is indeed in the midst of every city and when god which is to say our realization of god
is in the midst of our consciousness then truly we shall not be moved god is in the midst of her she
should not be moved god shall help her and that right early hear the psalms ab one of those simple
touches expressed in the most direct and childlike language that goes straight to the heart he says
god shall help her and that right early this beautiful promise shall remove the last traces
of fear doubt that may linger in the dark corners of the soul the metrical rhythm of the poem is
reserved by a reiteration of the general theme in the next verse the heathen's rage the kingdoms
were moved he uttered his voice and the earth melted the heathens neither to say means your own
wrong thoughts those fears doubts self-reproaches and shortcomings of every single kind
that come between you and your realization of god the heathen forces that attack the holy city
of the soul sometimes lay siege to it for days and weeks sometimes even capture and occupy it
for a time only for a time however if you hold steadfast to the god by constant prayer for sooner
or later as surely as god lives the kingdom of error shall be removed he will utter his voice
through your prayers and affirmations and your salvation will come the third and the last stanza
of our treatment is an exercise of thanksgiving and praise these bible treatments are constructed
with the utmost care and in the most scientific way usually though not always for there must be
no hard or fast rule in prayer they begin with the affirmation of faith in god then they analyze
fear worry showing that god has no part in such things and that we therefore need not fear them
they go on to remind us of the love and the power and wisdom of god and of our ability as the
children of god to call upon his power in any kind of danger or trouble they make these truths vivid
to us with unexcel literary skills using the most diverse images and examples to that end and then
they commonly finish as prayers nearly always should with a song of praise and thanksgiving
now the psalmist makes us say the lord of hosts is with us the god of jacob is our refuge this
destroys the feelings of god being far off the lord of hosts is the title for god that stresses
his great power and might it is the omnipotence aspects of god we shall say technically
so here we declare that the omnipresence is with us and working through us and he carefully adds
that it is also the god of jacob now jacob stands for the soul that is not yet redeemed
the soul still struggling and difficulty and conscious imperfection israel the prince of god
is the soul that has realized its divine nature but jacob is still in the midst of his troubles
so the psalmist here remind us that god is the great power the lord of hosts for jacob just as
well as for israel come behold the works of the lord what desolations he has made in the earth he
maketh war to cease upon the end of the earth he breaketh the bow and cut off the spear in sunder
he burneth the chariot in the fire here we continue with thanksgiving saying in effect let
us consider the power and the glory of this god who is always with us how his actions and prayers
transforms our conditions and make desolate or destroys our troubles and worries he makes the
wars a splendid name for worrying and stewing and misery that blinks the lives of so many people
to cease in every part of our consciousness how he disarms all the things of which we are afraid
not just putting them out of the way for the time being but absolutely destroying any power
they ever had when you capture enemy regiment in those days smashing their bows in their spears and
burning their chariots you had put them out of the action pretty completely that regiment could never
trouble you again be still and know that i am god i will be exalted among the heathens i will be
exalted in the earth this it really is probably the most wonderful phrase of the whole bible
it really is the whole bible in a nutshell be still and know that i am god this is
just the very last thing that we want to do when we are worrying or anxious
the current of the human thought that paul calls the cardinal mind is hurrying us along to its own
ends and it seems much easier to swim with it by accepting difficulties by rehearsing grievances
by dwelling upon symptoms then to draw resolutely away and thought from these things and contemplate
god which is the one way out of trouble train yourself to rise above the hurry and tide of
error error is always hurried to sweep you off your feet is its master strategy and turning you
back upon conditions however bad they may seem be still and know that i am god even in your prayers
there is a time for vigorous treatment and there is always a time to cease active work and have
done all to stand be still and know that i am god this of course does not mean merely doing nothing
or going away to concern oneself with some secular things such as reading a novel or newspaper
it is being still to know that god is god such stillness is the reverse of laziness or inaction
the still dwelling upon god is the quietest but the most potent action of all the lord of hosts
is with us the god of jacob is our refuge again metrical symmetry obliges the poet to close his
wonderful poem with a repetition of the general theme spiritually too it is the most powerful and
effective ending to our prayer the god of power who helps weak and frail mortals in the day of
trouble is working through us and so all will be well this is the ending of be still by emmett fox