But today, as we sing this psalm, our pilgrimage, our journey of faith, ends in the Lord Himself. What the Bible calls sinful pride and selfish ambition, our society says is a good characteristic: it’s “looking out for number one” and it’s “rising to the top” and “being all you can be.” Think about the push from parents for their children to get into a prestigious university. Introduction: (Read 1 Samuel 24.1-6) Mr. Spurgeon said of this Psalm, “It is one of the shortest Psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn.” At first glance, the opening statement may be somewhat shocking to us. This is a sermon on Psalm 131 ***** Sermon on Psalm 131 ***** By: Rev. Calm your troubled heart I his presence. Instead of trusting in God, But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. Samuel | 2 Psalm 131: An intensely personal song of humility, this psalm contains David’s declaration of humility (verse 1), declaration of trust (verse 2), and call for hope (verse 3). And then he turns and tells all Israel to do the same thing. How do we know he is referring to contentment in God? of Salvation | FAQS, Twitter | FaceBook | Pinterest | YouTube | Blogger | Live Of David. In particular, he says this: The mature Christians I have met along the way are those who have failed and have learned to live gracefully with their failure. of the content found within this website for the spreading Therefore, when it appears that God has abandoned you or is not answering your prayers as He once did, remember that you are being weaned. and said, Assuredly, I say to Trust Bible Verse; Newest; Oldest; Most Viewed; Most Shared; Message. I wanted this. How, then, would I encourage us to live? People do terrible things — to themselves and to others — when they lose hope, no matter where you live. A Personal Testimony (131:1-2); II. my eyes are not raised too high; The owner of the local cycle shop wouldn’t sell bikes with stabilisers. It is an expression of what a childlike faith in God really is, the spirit Jesus tells about in Matthew 18:3. Hope for what I have just described in verse 2: Hope for a deep, sweet, quiet, calm supreme contentment in God. He doesn’t mean he’s the source of his joy and calm. Bobby Stafford: Psalm 131 Psalms: Psalm 131. Fourth, it is a privilege to be with you in this celebration because I enjoy your pastor. Verse 2 is David’s very intentional composure of soul — calm, quiet, contentment his heart. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Commentators suggest two possible occasions for its composition. And therefore exhorts and encourages to it, to hope in the Lord and wait for his salvation. ], We can see this contented trust in our small children and grandchildren: the total relaxation, unquestioning contentment, the absence of fretfulness of a five year old, holding his mother’s hand. This combining of 130 and 131 points us to Christ. Faithfulness requires the courage to risk everything on Jesus, the willingness to keep growing, and the readiness to risk failure throughout our lives.[1]. I do not aspire to great matters or things too lofty for me. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Only later did I learn that my parents couldn’t afford a bike for me and that my poor sense of balance helped them save face, but my wobbliness was a self-evident truth. If you look at the miseries of our broken and dysfunctional inner cities, for example, one of the deepest roots is the loss of hope. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. August 24, 2013 Dave Faulkner Sermons 2 comments. Of David. Corinthians | Galatians, Ephesians | Philippians | Colossians | 1 This is the God in whom we find rest. Psalm 131 August 7, 2016. I assigned Jeremiah Burroughs’ book, Rare Jewell of Christian Contentment, to my class on Philippians and have been reading it again. How do we know that? in time the child learns that it can go on without the nursing. Pride is a great evil, and David renounces it at every level. And so He weans us. However, such people are not necessarily faithful or mature. SermonAudio.com - Psalm 131 Sermons. There are various practical ways in which we can come to a sober judgement of our gifts, so that we do not raise our eyes too high and then fall. Psalm 131 is about a kind of contentment, or stillness, or quietness of soul, that is rooted not in circumstances, but in God — a God who never changes in his utter commitment to us in Christ. Say to the world of Ray Rice abuses, and ISIL beheadings, and Ferguson tensions, and untold family upheaval — tell that world: Hope in the Lord. about in Matthew 18:3. The peace of a weaned child secure in his mother’s lap. (Psalm 131:1–3) Let me tell you several reasons why it is a privilege to be with you as you begin your 40th anniversary celebration in this year. All it says is his soul is calmed and quieted, like a child with his mother. Verse 3 is David’s call for his people to join him in this restful, hopeful, waiting on the Lord. And so he weans us. There is good Christian reason for omitting the infamous verse from ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’: The rich man in his castle, The poor man at his gate: God made them high and lowly And ordered their estate. But as discipleship continues the sensible comforts gradually disappear. The pride of having is the pride of those who have superiority, or think they do; and it expresses itself in boasting or intending to boast. Peter | 1 They may display signs of immaturity, throwing tantrums when they don’t get what they want, for example. Psalm 131 August 7, 2016, Sermon Series: “Short and Sweet Summer Psalms”, Today’s Sermon: Psalm 131 – “Fully Content in the Lord”, Pastor Louis Prontnicki Maple Glen Bible Fellowship Church. It is an expression of what a And he called all Israel to join him in this soul-satisfaction. Take the example of attending the worship services. Adrian Dieleman. I want to know contentment of soul that is based not on my circumstances but on my unshakeable restfulness in God. Remember that although Jesus told Simon Peter to feed his sheep, it is also true that the Lord our shepherd in Psalm 23 simply takes the sheep to the green pastures: the assumption is that the sheep get on with feeding themselves. 5:9 Paul said that it should be our ambition to please the Lord. Still has a bond with the woman who nursed him. Pride is very subtle and cloaks itself with some remarkably weak-looking forms so that you will feel sorry for it and see how much it is suffering, and how unrecognized this virtue is. And that leads to the other helpful way to approach this: ask your friends and family what they think your strengths and weaknesses are. Psalms 131 Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the Church of Christ, presents a verse level look at the Bible. Verses 1-3 (see note on Psalm 120:1-7). You will be tempted to keep thinking as you were before. Please feel free But the focus here is on one thing: God takes pleasure in us when we find our supreme pleasure in him. Notice those two things: Pleasure in God, and the effort to maximize it. Mature Christians are those who are never satisfied with the level of their spiritual lives. Timothy | Titus | Philemon | Hebrews | James, 1 Peter | 2 They usually come in the form of a questionnaire. A song of ascents. therefore, David would put his hope in the Lord for the future. child is my soul within me., (Verse 3) O Israel, hope in the Lord From this When I read the first line of Psalm 131 — “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up” — I immediately think of the sursum corda, the opening dialogue to the Great Thanksgiving, which is used across many Christian traditions as part of the eucharistic liturgy. Be careful you don’t just see pride in the arrogant. We’re on a mission to change that. But seek first the kingdom of God and His Psalm 130 shows the desperation of the psalmist . Bulletin Articles and Bible Studies published in this He said stabilisers were harmful to children’s attempts at cycling proficiency. The word of God.