The more a believer matures in Christ, the more humble and childlike his faith becomes. In Psalm 131 the psalmist confesses a simple and humble trust in His God. David is the author, but the circumstances of this Psalm are not apparent. However, we see that David confesses his childlike trust in the Lord, and urges others to do the same. In this text, David first gives us a brief glimpse into his own soul and what happened within, and concludes the Psalm with an exhortation to the people of God.

In this text, you will see:

1)      A Humility Before God V.1

2)      A Stillness Before God V. 2

3)      A Hope in God V.3

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.

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.

V.3: O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

1)      A Humility Before God V1:

The writer first records what he has achieved, by God’s grace. In verse one, David begins by making three great denials: His heart is not lifted up, his eyes are not raised too high, and he does not occupy himself with things that are too marvelous and great! These three denials suggest that this hasn’t always been the case for David. Pride, haughtiness, and selfish ambition have previously shaped his life.

Throughout Scripture we see that pride always has its seat deep in the heart. Pride often expresses itself in the glance of the eye! When self is puffed up, and when the heart and eyes are high, man tries to do things that they are not meant to do! They go after things that are too great and marvelous for themselves! They attempt things that God never destined man to do. The proud seek after these things whether it pleases God or not!

Therefore, these great denials, given by David, show us what he has overcome. Not anymore are his heart and eyes high, but the text tells us that his heart is now low, his eyes are now low, and he does not occupy himself with things that are not meant for him! David now picks the path of Humility. He desires no longer to be self-elevated, self-exalting, and self-centred. No longer will he pursue things for self, but for God. You can feel the Psalmists heart in this passage. That God would be elevated now, that God would be exalted, that God would be the centre and the focus of his thought, not self! O may Christ be the supreme treasure of our heart, Christian! May we treasure Him supremely above all. Remember that great hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus?

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

When we turn our gaze to the awesomeness and majesty of God in the face of Jesus Christ, all the things in this world will grow strangely dim, guaranteed. It’s who we behold that changes everything! The marketing schemes of “self” that this world offers will be seen as complete rubbish, in light of beholding the glory of God. As we look to Him, and fix our eyes upon Him, it will humble us to the point where our eyes are off of self and onto God!

And so, the first verse depicts what David has now achieved, a humility before God. In verse two, we will see that this humility before God was attained by a growing mature relationship with God, which has the image of a weaned child.

2)      A Stillness Before God V2:

This humility was not attained without an inner struggle. The “great and marvelous” things in verse one suggest that there was a time in David’s life when he had great and mighty projects made for himself. However, in time he came to realize that it is wrong for him to seek great things for himself and to aim for his own fame. Rather, all the glory, honor, and fame must be given to God alone.

We see in verse two that David purposed to be calm, quiet, and still before God. He is not giving God the solution to his problems, but waiting for God alone to speak. David now describes what this humble faith looks like. It is like a weaned child! This child is possibly a four or five-year-old, who walks beside his mother, old enough to be weaned off the breast, but not yet old enough to care for himself. It is a child who trusts his parent for everything, one who is fully dependent on his mother. The Psalmist shows us that this is to be the position of the believer, quietly submissive and trusting God entirely, like a weaned child would to his mother. Christian, we are to be weaned from our own ambitions, independencies, self-sufficiency’s, and rest under God’s sovereign care for our life. This weaned child is a maturing child, in regard to their relationship between mother and child. They are becoming more independent, however, they still draw all resources from their mother.

Therefore, David’s humility before God has grown through his maturing relationship with God. As one matures in their walk with God, you realize that apart from Christ we can do nothing. Though we are mature in one sense, a true biblical maturity will humble us as we realize that  we can do nothing! We begin to realize that the only hope we have is to rest under the sovereign care of God. Furthermore, this humility and stillness before God ultimately leads to David’s hope in God.

3)      A Hope in God V3:

After emphasizing in verse one and two that the virtue of true humility is to be cultivated by the people of God, the Psalmist then in verse three takes what he has learnt, and tells Israel to “Hope in the LORD.” After Exile the outward objectives of the people of God had to be thrown away for Israel. Maybe these were dreams of possessions, of wealth, of prosperity – who knows. But David exhorts the people of God to seek an inner objective. The Nation of Israel had to still and quiet it’s soul before God, just as David did, and we must do likewise!

Therefore, David’s application for the people of God is to “Hope in the LORD!” Isn’t hoping in the LORD the true essence of humility? As we hope in the LORD, our eyes move off self, and back onto God! We are to have this hope, this gaze, this dependency on God like a weaned child to his mother, “from this time forth and forevermore.” In other words, there is never a point in our lives where the need for a humbleness of mind is outgrown.

This childlike humility and trust always has an element of hope. As a person trusts God, a confidence in God regarding the future floods his soul. Hope believes that God is always working toward a positive outcome. God who causes all things to work together for the believer’s good is the basis of this assurance for the future. Regardless of one’s personal circumstances, he must have firm hope in God! When we are humble before God, when we are like a weaned child, then we will have cause to glory in God! To hope in him alone! Christian, when trials come, when things turn sour, do we remind ourselves who our Heavenly Father is? That He is the one reigning! That He is on His throne! That we are adopted into His Family! Is our hope in Him……? Its when we truly see God, for who He is, in the Scriptures, that we cast all our hope and dependence upon Him!

In conclusion, David’s humility before God was a result of his stillness Before God, which led to his Hope in God. This Psalm should be the confession of all believers. Every saint should have childlike faith in God. But such trust is never automatic. If it were, we wouldn’t need the instruction of this Psalm. Childlike trust must be nurtured. Therefore, we must purpose like the Psalmist to be still and quiet before God.

How can we practice that? I want to leave you with two things:

1)      Dive deep into the Scriptures and sit under it, being still before God as He speaks through His Word. Start studying the attributes of God. It is when we have a high and proper view of God that we have a low and humble view of self.

2)      We must Pray: “prayerlessness is our declaration of independence from God” (D. Henderson). A Proud man doesn’t pray. Humble men pray, because they are utterly dependent on God! For they know it is not in themselves.

Therefore, Christian, as you grow in your walk with Christ, remember the humility we are to have before our God, the stillness, and the unwavering hope in Him alone, like a weaned child with his mother!