A Contented, Quiet Soul: Psalm 131

The Contented, Quiet Soul

Psalm 131 

The Lord knows how to order things better than I. I only see things at present, but the Lord sees a great while from now. And how do I know but that had it not been for this affliction, I should have been undone!
Jeremiah Burroughs

Right before bedtime each night, my youngest daughter and I have snuggle time. We sit in the recliner in her room and sing a song together and then snuggle. It used to be, when she was very little, I would nurse her one last time before bed. But now that she’s older, she no longer even remembers that I nursed her. She no longer frets for what she used to find indispensable (Kinder). She’s content with a few minutes of snuggles before bed (although she usually asks for one more minute). David, in this Psalm, likens the quieting of his own soul to that of a weaned child with its mother (131:2). He, like Paul, has learned in whatever circumstances he is in to be content (Philippians 4:11). 

Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition (Burroughs). When David composed Psalm 131, he had placed himself in his proper place as creature and not Creator. He said his heart was not “lifted up,” and his eyes were not “raised too high.” He did not occupy himself with things that were too “great” or “marvelous” for him. All of these words are used in other places in Scripture to describe God and His works. It is God who is lifted up and exalted (Isaiah 33:10). It is His works that are great and marvelous, and I think what David is saying here is that he does not try and put himself in the place of God. He does not pridefully think that he can figure out and plan his life better than God has ordained for him. He knows the Lord, he sees his circumstances, and he has learned to be content, to have an inwardly quiet and gracious frame of spirit, which both submits to AND delights in God’s purposes for him in every circumstance. 

And so, after acknowledging that he is not the High and Exalted One, David says that he has calmed and quieted his soul. He has stilled his soul from the turmoil and agitation that comes when we aren’t resting in God’s loving and fatherly care of us. He has quieted his soul from the constant inner questioning, arguing, doubting, and fretting. He has settled in his soul that he will be content with whatever God has ordained rather than the things he thought he must have or the outcomes he thought he needed. 

He then reminds us to “hope in the Lord” (131:3). Wait in hope. Place all your expectation in the Lord and who He is and what He can do. Contentment has its hope settled in the proper place. When we have our hope set on a change in our situation, we will be discontent and our soul will not be still and calm. But when we hope in the Lord, when we hope in His will to be done, when we set our hope on eternity, when we can be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10), then we can learn to be content in whatever circumstance, which leads to a soul that is calm and quiet, peaceful and still. 

Be anxious for nothing (Philippians 4:6). What has you inwardly (and perhaps outwardly as well), fretting and anxious? Give those situations to the Lord, trusting His “wise and fatherly disposal in every circumstance.” In gratitude of His innumerable mercies, cry out to Him to govern your circumstances and your soul. His peace will guard your heart and mind. He will give us the strength in Him to be content and to calmly and quietly hope in Him. 

131:1-3 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. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.
‭‭Let’s pray:
▫️We would not be proud, but rather humble ourselves before the Lord and His perfect will for our lives.
▫️We would reject in ourselves any haughtiness or boastfulness, any presumption that we know better how our lives and circumstances should be governed.
▫️We would recognize when we are occupying our minds with things that we cannot understand, control, or change, and we would give those things to the Lord and trust Him for the outcome.
▫️As we lay our requests before Him, He would guard our hearts and minds with His peace, a peace which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). 
▫️The Lord would help us be content in whatever circumstance we are, and that contentment would lead to an inner tranquility.
▫️Our hope would be in the Lord, in His kind and fatherly care of us, in His wisdom in all things, and in eternity. 
▫️We would be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). 

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All right reserved.
Photo credit to lianamikah

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Mother’s Longing

Image
A Mother’s Longing “…in your faith you are standing firm.” 2 Corinthians 1:24 It is not surprising that 3 John 4 is so often quoted by Christian parents in their deep desire for their children, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (NASB). This is the deep longing of my heart as a mother. I want my children to truly know Christ, to walk in His ways, to love His Word, and to be committed to His church. I desire to be able to say to them, “in your faith you are standing firm” (2 Corinthians. 1:24). Am I being a faithful steward of my role as a Christian mother? Are my actions reflecting this deep desire to see my dearly loved children walking in the truth?  As we head into this new year, it is wise to both look back and look forward. The new year offers us many possibilities to grow and change and also to continue to persevere in the things that God, by His grace, has enabled us to carry out faithfully. If one of my deepest longings is to see ...
Read more

A Piercing that Drives Us to Our Knees

Image
A Piercing that Drives Us to Our Knees: to the mothers of the brokenhearted and the wandering Where there is a praying mother there is always hope. J.C.Ryle From the time our children are a positive line on a pregnancy test and then placed in our arms for the first time, our hearts as their mother are intricately intertwined with theirs. The first cry brings tears and joy, such inexpressible joy. And then they grow, and we love to see them exploring, learning, and developing their personalities. But the moment they come home having faced rejection for the first time, or they struggle with a mental illness that leaves us feeling deeply inadequate, or we get an email from the school that they’ve been caught cheating, each taste of sorrow and sin that they taste, we experience as well. The words spoken to Mary could be the gentle warning each mother must heed, “and a sword will pierce even your own soul”(Luke 2:35).  I’m not sure our children will understand until they become parents ...
Read more

Don’t Give Up, Mom: when mothering makes you weary

Image
  Don’t Give Up: when mothering makes you weary Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we never give up… 2 Corinthians 4:1 ESV, NLT Mothering can have seasons where weariness and discouragement lie right at the surface. Perhaps it’s a physically exhausting time, maybe spiritually you’re struggling or a child is, maybe it’s just busier than normal and it’s hard to juggle everything without feeling stressed out, or maybe it’s hard to even find a reason why you’re struggling. It can be so many little things, or big things and little things, and you just want to give up, even if only for a little while. You wish you could run away and rest, clear your mind and breathe. How can we faithfully persevere through motherhood, each of its season, and each season’s hardships?  As I studied 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, I wanted to see how Paul could say, “we never give up.” Studying this book, I have come to appreciate the tenacity of Paul and his steadfastness through so many diffic...
Read more