I Will Not Be Shaken
The world, it shakes; God, keep me safe for in You I take refuge; I take my refuge. I say to You, oh Lord, “You are my Lord, I have no good apart from You, apart from You”
So why would I drain my cup chasing after other gods? When all I could ever want is in Your presence now and forever
My heart is glad/I will rejoice with all that I am/My body rests secure/Living in a land of decay/I’m not abandoned to the grave/I live to glory evermore in my Lord
I set before my eyes, You, oh Lord, for You are my delight; You alone, You alone
Instruct my heart in the night and make known to me the path of life. Surely the boundary lines have fallen for me where I know You will be
I know that I will not be shaken – for the Messiah whom I hope and glory in descended to the Pit to raise me up with Him and now this joy is mine: to live at His right hand hand
Psalm 16 is such a beautiful psalm. And here I am – blogging about one of the last two songs to make it onto this fulfillment record. In the spring of 2024, I planned a retreat centered around this song with two of my dearest friends (one of whom is now my husband and the other of whom is now one of my biggest promotors – thanks guys!) and they were so kind to listen to many video takes of me attempting to capture this song. But, how easy is it to see the fulfillment of Psalm 16 found in Jesus!
Psalm 16:9-10 “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. My body will also rest secure because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” This is quoted by Peter in Acts 2 of being true not of David, who died and was buried, but of JESUS – David’s greater son! Through HIM he makes known to us (and David!) the path of life.
Some of my favorite memories of this song are how others impacted both the writing and the confidence in what the Lord gave me about this Psalm. Two tidbits – my friend Bekah was the one in charge of organizing solo time on our retreat. I was so struck by her focus on the “I will not be shaken” verse. As I was contemplating this, I realized I am shaken a lot by what happens in this world. But, if my eternity is secure – why should I be? I think this is part of what David is getting at. So, the first line was born – “The world it shakes, God keep me safe” – we have to acknowledge that the world does shake. There is no security found in anything here. But, we can have security! Eternal life is secure in Him! Because He went down to the pit and was raised again!
Another favorite memory was after the song was written I was playing it for a dear friend I do ministry with in Alaska. I was a bit self-conscious about the line “Surely the boundary lines have fallen for me where I know you will be.” I wasn’t sure it fit. And the psalm says, “Surely the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.” I know that line is many people’s favorites and I wasn’t using the same wording that any translation would use. But, when I played that line for my friend – as she was listening intently with her eyes close – as soon as I sang that line, she broke into a huge grin. After the song she said, “That line – surely the boundary lines have fallen where I know you will be – I LOVED that. I was waiting for you to say something about pleasant places – but any pleasant place is WHERE HE IS!” And I knew the Lord had written that line in the song and it still captured the heart of what David was saying.
So, I hope this song is a bop that encourages you as well as it does me. I need these lyrics often when I feel shaken – to remember that the Lord has me in a place where I don’t need to fear what happens in this temporary life. And He is with me and will bring us to be with Him where He is! Surely the boundary lines have fallen for me where I know He will be! Praise Him!