In Humility and Confidence

My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, Like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore” (NIV. Psalm 131).

This beautiful poetic Psalm, attributed to David, is another Psalm of Ascent, and would have been sung/chanted as worshipers approached the mountain of the Lord in Jerusalem. Again I have typed this last of the “Confidence” series Psalms in contrasting colors to indicate the antiphonal or responsive-reading of it as the congregation would approach the place of worship. The theme of this Psalm is humility before the Lord and confidence in His goodness. The metaphor of a “weaned child with its mother”—that is, complete trust and confidence—is the theme of this psalm.

It is rare to confess humility in biblical prayers. We see it in Psalm 131 and in Psalm 120:1-7. Psalm 120 is what we call a lament psalm, but also sung in ascents, as was Psalm 131. The major difference is that in Psalm 120 the writer is in great distress because of “lying lips,” (false accusations), estrangement (dwelling in Meshech and in tents at Kedar—warfare). However, he declares to be “a man of peace.” We know that humility means to be submissive to a higher power, to be unpretentious, to be meek. What better comparison could we find for humility than a just-weaned baby from its mother’s milk? Although the sustenance of the baby’s life to that point is no longer available, still he/she looks to that same mother for feeding and nurture, knowing that it will be provided, not in milk but in more solid food. So likewise is our walk with the Lord. Peter wrote the Christians that they should desire the sincere milk of the word” (I Peter 2:2). However, there comes a time when Christians are to go on to “strong meat,” as urged in Hebrews 5:14 so that we can discern good and evil. If we, like Psalm 131 admonishes, “put our hope in the Lord both now and forevermore,” and “still and quiet our soul” before the Lord daily; and if we do so with humility and trust, we will be led in right paths and we will experience victory in whatever life offers. This is God’s holy promise to us. And it will be fulfilled if we are humble and wait patiently for Him. Selah!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, June 12, 2010