Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 131:1 and following. Indeed, the trials of a believer contribute usefully to humiliating him and breaking his own will. God allows them, and He must submit. When what he loved was taken away from him, his soul is found to be “weaned.” He looks like the small child suddenly deprived of breast milk but always close to his mother. At the moment he cannot understand that this is the condition of his growth. Thus the Lord sometimes sees fit to take away from us what seemed precious and indispensable to us to force us to expect only Him alone (Ps 130:5-7). The happy confidence of the previous psalm cannot be called presumption: Eliab may well accuse David of wickedness and pride, but this is not so. When trust is “in the Lord,” hope can be bold; and such was then that of David, such is that of the faithful in these psalms; such is also that of every poor sinner who receives the grace and salvation of the gospel.
In this brief psalm, three different states of mind are described. The first is humility: the psalmist denies himself all pride and ambition. The second is tranquility: The psalmist affirmed for himself that he had attained complete spiritual calm, the perfect rest of the heart. And the last state of mind is that of immortal hope, sustained in force by the thought of the wisdom and goodness of the Lord. The psalmist claims for himself that he attained what he desired in other psalms, and for which he prayed, and rebuked himself because he could not obtain it.
Here is the fulfillment of the promise: “You will keep him in perfect peace, the one whose mind is fixed on you.” Let us now confine ourselves to his spiritual tranquility; for just as we need the example of his humility to rebuke our pride, so we need his calmness to rebuke our concern. We are dealing with three portions of time: the past, the present and the future; with three sources of concern, the retrospective of past sins, the sins of the present and the dark anticipations of the future. There is in every man’s heart a silent fountain of worry. Sometimes the hand of remorse, sometimes the hand of dissatisfaction, and sometimes the hand of presentiment comes, and the fountain opens and fills the mind with its bitter waters. There is also no guarantee for our spiritual tranquility, until we have found something to master the remorse of the past, the dissatisfaction of the present and the presentiment of evil for the future.
First, we must obtain the peace of conscience, the assurance of God’s forgiving love. For Christ bore my sins on thewood ; when I rest on this fact my assurance of perfect and eternal forgiveness, it is then that I am sprinkled with the blood of Christ and washed in the fountain. It is only on this that we can rely, only on this that will soften and silence our minds. For the discontent that arises from the present, there is a remedy: to cultivate a faith in the wisdom and goodness of God’s providence that will make our submission to Him in joyful and relatively easy affliction. Face all the calamities that befall you with a righteous mind, and say, “Likewise, Father, for it seemed good to you”; thus the troubled mind is appeased and silenced. These fears that come from the anticipation of the future, how to rock them? By cultivating the same faith in God. God is love today. God will be love tomorrow and forever. God is wisdom today. He will be wisdom tomorrow, and the next day, and forever. God is king today, and God will be king tomorrow and forever.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
My heart is not bold:
· Humility, the stages of spiritual preparation
-Abandonment of idols 1 Sam 7:3 Samuel said to the whole house of Israel: If it is with all your heart that you return to the Lord, remove from your midst the foreign gods and the Astarte, direct your heart to the Lord, and serve him alone; and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. 2 Ch 19:3 But good things have been found in you, for you have made idols disappear from the land, and you have applied your heart to seek God.
-Purification of God’s temple 2 Ch 29:15 They gathered their brethren, and after sanctifying themselves, they came to purify the house of Jehovah, according to the king’s command and according to the words of Jehovah.
-Returning to the Lord Luke 1:17 he will walk before God with the spirit and power of Elijah, to bring the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the rebels to the wisdom of the righteous, in order to prepare for the Lord a well-disposed people.
-Personal Purification 2 Tim 2:21 If, therefore, anyone keeps himself pure, by abstaining from these things, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified, useful to his master, proper to all good work.
· Simplicity, general references
Ps 116:6 The Lord keeps the simple; I was unhappy, and he saved me. Ps 119:130 The revelation of your words enlightens, It gives intelligence to the simple. Ps 131:1 Song of degrees. From David. Eternal! I have neither a swollen heart nor haughty looks; I don’t deal with things that are too big and too high for me. Mt 11:25 At that time, Jesus spoke, and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and that you have revealed them to the children. Luke 18:17 I tell you in truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it.
· Resembling a child, an essential element of the Christian life
Ps 131.2 Far from it, I have a calm and tranquil soul, like a weaned child who is with his mother; I have the soul like a weaned child. Mk 10:15 I tell you in truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it. Luke 18:16 And Jesus called them, and said, Let the little children come to me, and do not prevent them from doing so; for the kingdom of God is for those who are like them. 1 Cor 14:20 Brethren, do not be children in the face of judgment; but for malice, be children, and with regard to judgment be men made. 1 Pet 2:2 desire, like newborn children, spiritual and pure milk, that through it you may grow for salvation,
· Eternal hope
Help the believer at the hour of death Pr 14:32 The wicked is overthrown by his wickedness, but the righteous find refuge even in his death.
Assure immortality Acts 24:15 and having in God this hope, as they themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the unjust.
-A heavenly treasure Col 1:5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, and which the word of truth, the word of the Gospel has previously made known to you.
Anticipates the coming of Christ 2:13 while awaiting blessed hope, and the manifestation of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,
-The sure anchor of the soul Hb 6:18-19 so that, by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may find a powerful encouragement, we whose only refuge was to grasp the hope that was proposed to us. 19 This hope, we possess it as an anchor of the soul, sure and solid; it penetrates beyond the veil,
-Based on the resurrection of Christ 1 Pet 1:3 Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his great mercy, regenerated us, for a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
From all of the above, we note that this short psalm can express the feelings of David, a truly humble young man, when he turned away from Eliab and his reproaches (1 Sam 17:28-29). But he could in the future, be happily in the mouths of the escapees of Israel, when they were free and assured in the salvation that God had made for them. And this sure “expectation in the Lord” is always, when true and produced by the Spirit, associated with the calm and submission of a weaned child. We can call this time of his life youth, the spring of David’s soul, imbued with simplicity and beauty, and full of true moral dignity. He was the neglected child of the family. But he accepted this situation. He was ready to graze the small cattle in the fields, while his more considered brothers stayed at home to receive the guests, and do the honors of the house. When the prophet Samuel arrived, he was called. But no more than contempt had discouraged him, distinctions did not intoxicate him. He must now go to the camp, as previously to the court. But after accomplishing the greatest feats, he agrees to remain unknown, and without any bitterness, he declares who he is to those whose ignorance about him was a real affront (1 Sam 17:55, 58). What beauty, what true greatness in this attitude! And what was the secret? It can be said that he found his satisfaction in Christ. The sheep park was as important to him as the court or the camp, because “the Lord was with him.” The hustle and bustle of the court or camp was not his life, oblivion did not cause him to wither away. He showed the world that he was independent of his gifts or honors. Blessed disposition of heart! Thus, Ps 131 establishes in a few words the walk of the faithful in humility and in the distance from all confidence in himself. Israel must trust in Jehovah now and forever. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” the Lord knows and probes the hearts of men.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.