Unless otherwise stated, all citations are taken from the New International Version (NIV).
This is a psalm of David. VanGemeren[1] refers to this as an individual psalm of confidence. One commentator calls this a “jewel of simplicity.”[2]
(131:1) My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
“I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.” The words “great matters” (geḏōlôṯ) or “things too wonderful for me” (nip̱lāʾôṯ) occur elsewhere to “describe the works of God in the world” (Ps. 86:10; 136:4; 145:5-6).[3] Estes[4] compares this to the lesson Job learned (Job 42:1-6).
God has revealed some things to us that we should reflect on, but there are limits (Deut. 29:29). We shouldn’t come to God trying to solve only the problems that he can solve. It’s actually arrogant (“proud” and “haughty”) to reach beyond what God has called us to do. There’s only one Messiah in the world, and it’s not you!
(131:2) But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.
What does it look like to have a stilled and quieted soul? It means that I’m not thinking about all of the problems in my life or in the church. It means casting my anxiety onto God because he is a faithful Creator who cares for me (1 Pet. 5:7). Estes writes, “Rather than exercising the typical human drive to exalt himself, he has made a conscious decision to calm and quiet himself because he finds his satisfaction and contentment in the Lord.”[5]
What does he mean by a “weaned child”? Weaned children don’t come to the mother asking for anything (i.e. breastmilk). The child sits on his mothers’ lap, wanting to be near simply because the child enjoys being near the mother. When we act like the “weaned child,” we enjoy being in God’s presence—even if he doesn’t need anything from him. Jacobson and Tanner write, “The metaphor suggests a child who no longer cries out in hunger for the mother’s breast, but who seeks out the mother for her warm embrace and nurturing care.”[6] They continue, “Pride, haughtiness, and seeking after great and wondrous things will not provide the calm and quiet that simple reliance on God provides.”[7] Estes comments, “In contrast to the nursing child who needs the mother to satisfy her biological requirement for nourishment, the weaned child chooses to lean on the mother because of love and delight in her. By this striking image, the psalmist indicates that he refused to let his drive for greatness steal his satisfaction in drawing close to the Lord.”[8]
(131:3) Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.
Once David experiences this sort of peace, he wants others to have it as well. He “wants others to enjoy the intimacy and contentment with the Lord that he has come to enjoy as he takes time to rest in him.”[9] He “invites us to relax like a child in its mother’s arms.[10] This is the same picture that Jesus gives for his followers—being childlike (Mk. 10:13-16) without being childish (Eph. 4:14).
Devotional Paraphrase of Psalm 131
“Let Me be God. Don’t try to focus on the problems that only I can handle. To be honest, it’s the height of pride to try to solve all the problems that only I can handle. Instead, spend time with Me in peace—like a young child with his mother. This is when you’ll find peace and a calm mind. Once you experience this sort of peace, you should spread this to others.”
[1] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 802.
[2] Cited in Nancy deClaissé-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner, “The Songs of the Ascents: Psalms,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 930.
[3] Nancy deClaissé-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner, “The Songs of the Ascents: Psalms,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 931.
[4] Daniel J. Estes, Psalms 73-150, ed. E. Ray. Clendenen, vol. 13, New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 501.
[5] Daniel J. Estes, Psalms 73-150, ed. E. Ray. Clendenen, vol. 13, New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 501.
[6] Nancy deClaissé-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner, “The Songs of the Ascents: Psalms,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 931.
[7] Nancy deClaissé-Walford, Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner, “The Songs of the Ascents: Psalms,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 932.
[8] Daniel J. Estes, Psalms 73-150, ed. E. Ray. Clendenen, vol. 13, New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 501.
[9] Daniel J. Estes, Psalms 73-150, ed. E. Ray. Clendenen, vol. 13, New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 502.
[10] Daniel J. Estes, Psalms 73-150, ed. E. Ray. Clendenen, vol. 13, New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2019), 503.