I shall not be moved

Now in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be moved." LORD, by Your favour You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. – Psalm 30.6-7

I am old enough that whenever I read this words the first thing that comes to mind is the old song that was sung in the protest marches of the 60s. Even if people don’t remember it will have heard it.

We shall not, we shall not be moved

We shall not, we shall not be moved

Just like a tree that's standing by the water

We shall not be moved

Originally this was an African-American spiritual with its roots in slavery. It expressed the faith that no matter how bad things got the people’s faith would never be moved.

I suspect, though I don’t know, that the song was based on a passage like this one. The psalmist was sure that God’s favour made his mountain strong and because of that he would not be moved no matter what happened.

I wish my faith was more like that. Too many times I have been shaken by that phone call or that email or that text or that letter or that Facebook post. If I had the psalmist's faith I too would not be moved when this stuff happened.

There is a great old gospel song I love that we don’t hear much anymore. These words from ‘Beulah Land’ still encourage and bless me. We need not be moved when stuff happens to us. We can stand firm and solid with our God as our salvation.

Far away the noise of strife upon my ear is falling;

Then I know the sins of earth beset on every hand;

Doubt and fear and things of earth in vain to me are calling;

None of these shall move me from Beulah Land.