“Be Still, for the Presence of the Lord” was written in 1986 by British composer David Evans (b.1957). During the 1970s, Evans was involved in the early house church/charismatic movement, and over time he became concerned that aspects of its worship and music were in danger of trivializing God and ignoring His majesty.
“Like Jacob at Bethel,” he wrote, “I felt that we were asleep on holy ground … I felt that our contemporary worship had been largely oblivious of the awesomeness of God’s presence within it.” Specifically, his comment references Genesis 28:16 — “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it’” — and alludes to Exodus 3:1-6, where Moses encounters God “on holy ground” in the form of the burning bush.
Evans’ hymn has been featured several times on the BBC’s “Songs of Praise” program and was voted in 2019 as one of the UK’s 10 most popular hymns.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here;
Come bow before him now with reverence and fear:
In him no sin is found — we stand on holy ground.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here.
Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around;
He burns with holy fire, with splendor he is crowned:
How awesome is the sight — our radiant King of light!
Be still, for the glory of the Lord is shining all around.
Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place;
He comes to cleanse and heal, to minister his grace –
No work too hard for him — in faith receive from him.
Be still, for the power of the Lord is moving in this place.
Soprano/organ score — $6.00
This arrangement is licensed by Hal Leonard and available at Sheet Music Plus. To purchase, follow this link to the product page on SheetMusicPlus.com>>