SERIES: Songs of Ascents
TEXT: Psalm 131
MESSAGE: “Learning to Rest”
‘One of the shortest psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn.’
— Charles Spurgeon
“Instead of reveling in great achievements in life, the psalmist rejoices in drawing close to the Lord. When viewed in conjunction with the previous psalm, Psalm 131 discloses what waiting for the Lord in hope looks like (cf. Ps 130:5–6). More broadly, the psalmist’s response to the Lord parallels Job’s humble acknowledgement in Job 42:1–6, as he yields to the Lord and accepts his place under divine sovereign control and within the mysterious divine plan.” — Daniel J. Estes
Q: What does today’s text teach us about learning to rest? It encourages us to rest in our…(1. Personal Limitations 2. Current Reality 3. Present & Future)
- Personal Limitations (v. 1)
“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.”
“David begins by confessing his spiritual condition with three denials. He claims that his heart is not lifted up (“proud”). His eyes are not raised too high (“haughty”). He doesn’t occupy himself with things that are too great or difficult. These denials suggest that this condition hasn’t always been the case (Lawson, Psalms 76–150, 301). David, like us, knew the temptation of spiritual pride and selfish ambition…” — Daniel Akin
“The economists of the early 20th century did not foresee that work might evolve from a means of material production to a means of identity production,” Thompson wrote then. “They failed to anticipate that, for the poor and middle class, work would remain a necessity; but for the college-educated elite, it would morph into a kind of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community…Our jobs were never meant to shoulder the burdens of a faith, and they are buckling under the weight. A staggering 87 percent of employees are not engaged at their job, according to Gallup . That number is rising by the year.” — Derek Thompson
“The underlying challenge for many is that their lives are stretched like a rubber band about to snap—and church attendance ends up feeling like an item on a checklist that’s already too long…”
— Jake Meador
“The problem is that many Americans have adopted a way of life that has left us lonely, anxious, and uncertain of how to live in community with other people.” — Isabel Fattal
“The proud person looks, compares, competes, and is never content” — William VanGemeren
“The line is concerned with more than seeking to understand things that are too great for human comprehension. Rather the supplicant has avoided trying to go about doing great wonders, like God, rather than walking in faithfulness (Prov 8:20). This psalm testifies to having escaped “vain ambition.” — John Goldingay
“David is giving up trying to do things beyond his control and things for his own glory. His selfish ambition and actions were expressions of arrogance, not humility. This new path that he expresses, however, involves a commitment to simple faithfulness.” — Daniel L. Akin
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
—Deuteronomy 29:29
- Current Reality (v. 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.”
“At the core of the problem is personal ambition and the insidious desire to have or possess something that is not able to be possessed — namely success. We live in a culture obsessed with both having and success…The problem arises from the fact that success is not something one can have or possess. True success is a state of being not having.” — Gary McIntosh and Samuel Rima (Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership)
“By being I refer to the mode of existence in which one neither has anything nor craves to have something, but is joyous, employs one’s faculties productively, is oned with the world.”
— Erich Fromm
“Not that I am referring to be in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.” — Philippians 4:11
- Present & Future (v. 3)
“O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”
“To be careful not to rate others low and ourselves high; to recognize our limitations; to have grasped, like a child weaned…that even without what we thought we needed, we are still loved and cared for; to have a confidence in God which will be as sure tomorrow as it is today—these are lessons worth learning.” — Michael Wilcock
TAKEAWAYS: How can we apply this today? By taking time to…
- Examine our heart
“Are you constantly comparing yourself to others? Are you constantly competing with others? Are you seeking to outdo and outperform others? Are you discontented? These are manifestations of sinful pride that need to be killed.” — Daniel L. Akin
- Evaluate our contentment
- Establish our foundation
v. 3 — “O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.”