January 3
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PSALM 131 – O LORD, I HAVE CALMED AND QUIETED MY SOUL
O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore. – Psalm 131:1-3
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According to various commentaries and bible study books, this psalm is a psalm of ascent or pilgrim psalm. The city of Jerusalem is situated on a high hill. Jews traveling to Jerusalem for one of the three main annual Jewish festivals traditionally sang these songs on the “ascent” or the uphill road to the city. According to some traditions, the Jewish priests also sang some of these Songs of Ascent as they walked up the steps to the temple in Jerusalem.
Spurgeon notes that this psalm is both by and about David, expressing his humility, his confidence, and his commitment to perform the will of God. The Midrash pairs the phrases in verse 1 with specific events in David’s life that he could certainly have bragged about, yet he retained his humility.
David confesses that his heart is not haughty. In verse 1, he mentions that he does not busy himself with worldly things and anything that will draw attention to himself. In other words, though he had the position to do so, he stayed humble.
In verse 2, he likens his calm and quiet spirit with a weaned child with his mother. We get to see a picture of a baby dependent on his mother and contented that he is in her arms. What a great illustration of David’s dependency and contentment to his Lord God. In verse 3, he is exhorting Israel to have the same contentment and dependency on their creator and Lord.
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REFLECTION
• How can we stay humble and contented in the midst of success?
• How many of us who are in a position of power and wealth can say that they are content with their lives because they have the Lord as their top priority?