Be Still My Soul (Finlandia)
A German nun wrote a wonderful hymn based on Psalm 46, and a century later a pious Scottish woman translated it into English. Years later still, a famous melody was matched to the words - and a classic hymn fell into place. How many people have been deeply encouraged and strengthened by this powerful song?
Welcome to Friday Classic Hymns! Today's episode is a special birthday gift for Jennifer Patterson of South Carolina, USA. Her husband Michael told me that this is one of her favourite songs and asked me if I could do this for her birthday today. So happy birthday, Jennifer! God's richest blessings on you today.
What a special song to have as one of your favourites. Michael said that you meditate on this hymn to gather courage and strength for the difficult ministry that you do. What a great song to choose to do that because it really does help. I really love this song for that reason, so I'm looking forward to getting into it.
If you have a connection to the song, if you enjoy it, or maybe you have a memory connected to it, why don't you share your reflections and thoughts in the comments below? I would love to read them. As always, please consider subscribing to the channel and hitting that little bell so that you get notified for each new video.
I really hope you enjoy the type of music that I put out on here. So let's look at the history behind the great hymn "Be Still My Soul."
The Story Behind "Be Still My Soul"
The song was originally written in German by Katharina von Schlegel. I don't know if I pronounce that right, but it would seem that she was a Lutheran nun born in 1697. She was part of what was known as the Pietistic Revival in Germany, which is much like what happened in England in the 1700s and 1800s under Wesley—a great revival overtook the country.
Part of this revival was a congregational singing that came back into the lives of the Christians in that part of the world. The church had become weighed down with a cold and uninspired type of corporate worship, but it was under particularly a leader named Philipp Spener, who was a pastor at the time, that this vibrant congregational singing started to come back in. Von Schlegel was one of the great writers of the time who wrote lyrics to be sung by the people in the churches. The German Christians became world leaders, I suppose, in real worship as congregations.
It was over a century later, in 1855, that Jane Borthwick, who was a member of the Free Church of Scotland, translated this famous hymn into English. Borthwick was born in 1813, and she was one of the outstanding translators of German hymns. In fact, her and her sister put together a book—which I found online, by the way; I'll put the link below—called Hymns from the Land of Luther, where they translated all these German hymns into English. They are beautiful, and this is where "Be Still My Soul," the English version, was first published.
Borthwick was a very pious woman herself and was very involved in mission work in various places in Scotland. She lived a dedicated Christian life, but really it was her translation of the song that has endured throughout the ages.
Many people believe that the reason the song has been so popular and has endured for so long is that it is often sung to a very famous tune. Originally, a musician in Edinburgh wrote a tune for this piece of poetry that Borthwick had written. But in 1927, a Welsh organist and choirmaster named David Evans figured out that you could pair these words with the great and famous tune "Finlandia," which was written by Jean Sibelius, the great composer.
Once those two came together, the song just fitted and just kind of jumped out at you with a new power. So it became very popular to sing it to this tune. Still today, people love the stirring tune matched to those words.
Jennifer, whose birthday it is today, said that she meditates on this song. She needs strength and courage for the difficult ministry she does. I think this is a good practice. Let's take a look at the words that were written and see why you can use this song for such a purpose.
What Do the Lyrics of "Be Still My Soul" Mean?
Verse 1: Trust in God's Faithfulness
The first verse says, "Be still, my soul."
Of course, every verse starts with that, and that's a reference to Psalm 46, which says, "Be still, and know that I am God." Amidst all the difficulties in life, with mountains crashing down and seas roaring, "be still," the psalmist said. Be still and know that He's God in amongst the chaos. So the song is based on this: in the midst of your difficulty, be still and focus on God. The words help you to do that.
"Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side."
That's just a reminder that God is with you, that He's on your side, He's not against you.
"Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain."
Bear it patiently. Don't be impatient with what God is doing in your life, but move on in faith, patiently awaiting God to work through your grief and your pain. That's hard, but that's the Christian life—a consistent walking on in faith even in the difficulties.
"Leave to thy God to order and provide."
Even though things seem disordered, leave it to God. He will get it all back into order. Even if you aren't being provided for the way you wish, leave it to God. He will take care of it.
"In every change, He faithful will remain."
Yes, grief and pain bring change into your life, but God will be faithful and constant. Remind yourself of this.
"Be still, my soul."
That phrase is always repeated at the end, or in the fifth line, of every verse.
"Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly friend through thorny ways leads to a joyful end."
God is your best friend, your heavenly friend. Though the way ahead is through some thorn bushes—so it's going to be uncomfortable—they are leading to a joyful end. I mean, just that one verse is deep enough for you to hold on to through your difficult times, isn't it?
Verse 2: God Guides Your Future
But it goes on. There are five verses, by the way. We normally only sing three or four, but Borthwick's translation had five. Let's look at verse two.
"Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake to guide the future, as He has the past."
Be still because God is guiding the future. He guided the past; you can trust that He is undertaking to make the future good.
"Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake."
Even though you're going through difficulties, don't let this shake your confidence. Be confident in what God is doing.
"All now mysterious shall be bright at last."
The things you don't understand, because they're mysterious to your thinking, will be obvious to you at some point. God will show you at some point why you had to go through this. It'll be bright and clear, even though it's now mysterious.
"Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below."
Do you remember when Jesus calmed the storm? He spoke to the wind and rebuked the wind and the storm. The disciples freaked out and said, "Who is this man who can do this?" I love this part in the song that says, "Well, the waves and winds still listen to His voice." While He was below, they did. They still do while He's now above. So be still, know that He's God, and trust in Him.
Verse 3: Comfort in Grief and Loss
"Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart."
Now the song starts to talk about grief in losing a friend. By the way, this makes this a very powerful song to ever sing at a funeral, because this will remind you of some great truth as you grieve the death of a friend.
"Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart, and all is darkened in the vale of tears."
When that grief of losing someone is darkening your life, be still. Remember that He's still there. In fact, at our church, we've had a lot of funerals in the last month. Death has been kind of hanging in the air, and it has felt like all has been darkened by the veil of tears. But she goes on and says:
"Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart, who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears."
When you're in the dark place, when you're grieving, that is when you can better know God's love and His heart, because He comes to soothe your sorrow and your fears in a really powerful way.
I remember a friend of mine once saying to me, "God does His best work in caves." When you're in a dark cave, that's when God is closest and can get closest to you to help you and to come alongside you. In your time of grief, God is near. He's near, and His love and His heart for you is so clear in those moments as He comes to soothe you. If you're facing loss, remember that you can be still and know that He's with you to soothe and comfort you.
"Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay from His own fullness all He takes away."
The things that you've lost, the dearest friends that have departed—Jesus can repay from His fullness what you lose in them. So in Christ, you have got the fullness you need, even though you are missing your loved ones. That's a beautiful thought—that His presence is enough to sustain you even though you are missing your loved ones. This is heavy stuff, but this is faith. If you can hold on to these words, they're going to help you so much.
Verse 4: The Hope of Eternity
"Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on when we shall be forever with the Lord."
You're closer to death than you were a few seconds ago. Be still. You're going to be with the Lord soon enough, so take courage in the fact that you'll be with Him and you'll enjoy His presence at some point.
"When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone, sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored."
That's going to be a place when you're restored to relationship with God. When you are forever with Him, there'll be no disappointment, grief, fear, sorrow—but only love's purest joys, and they'll be restored to you in fullness. Beautiful picture of the life after death that Christians look forward to.
"Be still, my soul."
Don't be troubled. Be still because of this.
"When change and tears are past, all safe and blessèd we shall meet at last."
Yes, you're going to face loss, but one day you're going to be face-to-face with Jesus. Then there'll be no more change and tears, but all will be safe and blessed. You'll meet Him in glory, and you'll meet all those who've gone before you. You can be still as you look forward to this day.
Verse 5: Begin the Song of Praise
Now, verse five is one that we don't often sing today, but Borthwick translated this from the original, and I think it's a pity we don't sing this one, because listen to how this very heavy song ends.
"Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise."
Immediately, this one is looking up, where the others were perhaps looking down with a bit of a hung head.
"Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise on earth, believing, to thy Lord on high."
Yes, we're on earth, but give praise to the God who's on high.
"Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways."
Don't let your grief and your pain stop you from acknowledging Him in the way you live.
"So shall He view thee with a well-pleased eye."
You can still please Him by living for Him, even if you're grieving.
"Be still, my soul: the sun of life divine through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine."
God will shine His light into you through the passing clouds, and they'll be even more bright if you just hold on to Him and if you praise and keep acknowledging Him and living for Him.
That's an important verse. I think it's a shame that we sometimes leave that out, because it brings it back around to: carry on, keep going, keep praising, keep living for Him. There is hope.
Conclusion
What words mean something to you? Did a particular line jump out at you? Maybe you'd share that in the comments below. I'd love to hear where God spoke to you as you heard all of these words.
Before we sing it together, I want to say thank you to those who donate towards my channel on Patreon and on PayPal. I'm so grateful that you are so kind. Thank you.
Let's sing the song together. Whatever you're going through, I hope that these words are going to draw you nearer to God, give you courage, give you help to overcome in His name.
References
"Hymns from the Land of Luther" - https://archive.org/details/hymnsfromlandofl00bort
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-be-still-my-soul
https://hymnary.org/text/be_still_my_soul_the_lord_is_on_thy_side
https://forthefainthearted.com/2011/11/16/an-a-z-of-hymnwriters-katharina-von-schlegel/
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~anncarson/genealogy/Borthwick/janefletcher.htm
Kenneth W. Osbeck. 101 Hymn Stories. 1985. Kregal Publications: Grand Rapids
John McLelland. The Ambassador Book of Great Hymn Stories. 1994. Ambassador Productions Ltd: Belfast
Ian Bradley. The Penguin Book of Hymns. 1989. Penguin Group: London
