Occupied with the Lord | Psalm 131

What does it take to be great? Maybe it is extraordinary skill or expertise in a certain discipline. Maybe it is a wide reaching network of great people from across the world that you are connected with. Maybe it is a limitless stream of cash overflowing in your bank account always at your disposal to be spent.

In 2001, Jim Collins wrote his famous business book Good to Great. Jim Collins was trying to answer the question, can good companies and corporations become great corporations? And if so, how?

Jim and his team of researchers spent multiple years watching and interviewing people from 11 different corporations that had already made the lead from being good companies to being great ones in order to seek out an answer to this question.

Mr. Collins once gave a talk where he shared about two specific character qualities shared by the CEOs of these good-to-great companies. The first was no surprise: These men and women possessed incredible professional will. They were driven, willing to endure anything to make their company or corporation a success story. They would put in the time and effort necessary to become great. They were wired to work. And to work hard.

The second trait was not something that Collins and his team of researchers were expecting to see, let alone be one of the two top traits of these CEOs who led these good-to-great companies. The second trait was that these leaders were self-effacing and modest. They consistently pointed to the contributions of others and didn’t like drawing attention to themselves. These CEOs were described as quiet, humble, reserved, gracious, mild-mannered, and understated.

Would people say those things about you? Would your wife or your husband use the words humble and gracious to describe you? Would your coworkers, roommates, or your family members notice you as a quiet, reserved, and steady person who doesn’t easily get caught up in the stormy circumstances of life?

In Psalm 131 King David teaches us what a Christian should and shouldn’t do to be great in growing in godliness and contentment. He proclaims by his experience and by his example that the calm, quiet, and humble soul is not rooted in any external circumstances - but in God, the LORD!

So, because we believe that God’s word is a gracious gift to us in order to make us wise Christians I invite you to open your Bibles with me and to stand and follow along as I read Psalm 131.

Though this may be a shorter Psalm and one that might not be as well known, David teaches us an invaluable lesson here in these three verses. He instructs us to be content with the lot which God has marked for us, to consider what he calls us to, and not to aim at fashioning our own lot. Therefore, Psalm 131 wants to help us understand and embrace this morning this central theme: A calm and quiet soul is occupied with the LORD and His purposes.

As we begin to walk through this text in a few seconds we are going to see these main points emerge from the text: The Pull We Feel, The Posture We Need, The Practice to Persist In.

The Pull We Feel

David here begins this psalm by making a negative statement. He states in verse 1, “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high.” He says right now, this is not happening. But, we all know from experience, as did David, that there are times where our hearts are lifted up and our eyes are raised too high. This is the pull that we all feel as sinful human beings.

Pride rises up in our hearts and our eyes start to gaze past what God has given us. The attitude of our heart is focussed on ourselves, our wants, and our needs. We believe that I deserve better than what I am getting right now.

That then shapes our attitude towards a certain person or a circumstance. Finally our pride normally gives root to other sins like coldness, indifference, bitterness, and anger.

The late author, Jerry Bridges, takes it a step further and noted how pride lifts one’s heart up against God and “contends for supremacy” with Him.

Our friend CJ Mahaney notes in his book Humility that when he recognized pride in his life he learned to say, “Lord, in that moment, with that attitude and that action, I was contending for supremacy with You. That’s what it was all about. Forgive me.” Theologically, that frames pride in its right place and biblically, Scripture is incredibly clear about the perils of pride. 

In 2 Chronicles 32:24-26 we read a brief account from the end of Hezekiah’s life. It says, “In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the LORD, and he answered him and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.”

Because of the pride of Hezekiah’s heart and his ungratefulness for what the Lord had given him, him and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem were threatened by the coming wrath of God. We are reminded in Proverbs 16:18 that “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” When we play with pride we are on a path heading towards promised destruction.

Jesus told his disciples in a discourse recorded in Mark 7:14-23, “And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside of a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”... And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Our hearts are naturally born evil. And from our hearts comes pride which defiles us and makes us unclean and unworthy to stand before God on our own.

Take notice of the parts of the person that David highlights in verses 1 and 2: my heart, my eyes, my soul.

It is easy to connect the dots between a loud mouth and some arrogant actions - to the pride that is going on in someone’s heart. But what if it doesn’t come out physically or verbally? Often it remains internal and stews. Pride is almost more dangerous when it remains internal in someone’s heart and soul than if it comes with loud and boisterous words or actions. If you don’t see the sin of pride in your heart and call others to help you keep watch and keep you accountable over that temptation it can be a silent killer.

It is for these reasons that David acknowledges the perils of the pride in his own heart and he declares that his heart is not lifted up and his eyes are not raised too high. He knows the temptation of pride and he seeks to cultivate humility and contentment with the lot that God has given him.

The second half of verse 1, the psalmist writes,“I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.” There is nothing wrong with wanting to do great things, but within the context of this Psalm these great things refer to great activities or desires that are beyond one’s abilities to carry out or to control.

And the verb used here is helpful. David says he does not occupy himself with these great matters. He doesn’t allow himself to be consumed by them, he doesn’t dwell on them, he doesn’t get involved with the matters that are too great for him. He realizes that these matters are far above his pay grade.

Yet, without realignment to the Lord’s purposes our personal ambitions are bound to collide with the providence and sovereignty of God. This is the temptation that we all feel to know the answers to the questions that we have. If you are anything like me, you might have some of those questions that come to your mind every single day.

Is it perplexing questions about the latest promotion or recognition that was given to your rude and arrogant co-worker over yourself when all the signs were pointing in your direction? Is it your questions lamenting that though you have a godly desire to be married and to raise a faithful family nobody is knocking on your door or nobody is answering when you try to knock?

Maybe it’s the confusing questions regarding the brother, sister, or family member that has torn your family relationships apart because of their sinful choices and it leaves you heartbroken and without answers for what to do?

Don’t get me wrong these are not wrong questions to have, and they are not sinful questions. But do you find yourself dwelling on them? Does the repetition of these questions occupying your mind cause you to doubt God?

If you find yourself doubting God’s faithfulness towards you and his care and provision for you, repent of that lack of faith and put your hope in the LORD’s purposes for you.

David did not think himself at liberty to move one step unless called to it by God. This is contrasted with the presumption of those who, without any call from God, hurry themselves into unwarrantable undertakings, and involve themselves in matters which properly belong to others and may not yet belong to them.

The pull and temptation of our hearts to pride, even as Christians, is perilous. David continues in verse 2 by describing the posture that he has committed to in light of the pull his heart feels.

The Posture We Need

David describes his posture in verse 2.

David takes action here to calm and quiet his soul. There is no neutrality when it comes to the state of our souls. There is either volatility or peace. Loudness or quietness. Chaos or calm. Turmoil or tranquility. If we believe that without any effort our souls are calm and quiet we are sadly blind to what is true about all humanity.

Naturally our hearts are bent towards pride and presumption of things that are outside of our control or ability. Contentment is not easily obtained. It can be a painful process when you are seeking to quiet your soul.

David’s example here is instructive. He realizes that he must give time to calming and quieting his soul. If he doesn’t he is in danger of the pull and peril of pride that we talked about in point one.

I love how the King James Version translates the word calmed! It reads, “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself.” Our souls can be unruly when agitated or in distress. Have you been faithful to make your soul behave in those moments?

We know that if we don’t do this, God will see to it through means to bring us to a point where we have no other choice but to calm and quiet our souls before Him in simple but secure trust in Him and His purposes. “God, here I am you’ve brought me to the end of my pride and presumption.”

We all have the opportunity right now to follow David in his example and take the posture of a weaned child with his mother. “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

The Psalms often use vivid imagery to carry purpose and meaning for us to explore and understand. Commentator Derek Kidner unpacks the imagery here for us saying, “The child no longer frets for what it used to find indispensable.” The unweaned child is frantic and is looking for food from his mother’s breast when they want it to satisfy their stomach, their desires.

Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs states bluntly the aim of this discontented soul saying, “I am discontented because I have not these things which God never yet promised me, and therefore I sin much against the Gospel, and against the grace of faith.”

On the other hand, the weaned child is a picture of contentment. This child is happy and content to lay there with his mother looking down smiling at him. This child’s disposition isn’t about his stomach and his desires, but the happiness and peace of his heart.

Burroughs once again reminds us of the blessing of contentment, “So be satisfied and quiet, be contented with your contentment. I lack certain things that others have, but blessed be God, I have a contented heart which others have not.”

Has your soul learned a comparable lesson? Is your soul free from the nagging of self-seeking? Has your soul learned the lesson not to be ultimately disturbed by frets and fears?

Jesus addresses the self-seeking of the soul in Matthew 18:1-4. It says, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”

The soul of the child isn’t concerned with his status or position in the kingdom of heaven. The soul of the child is free from the nagging of prideful self-seeking for position and recognition.

What about the disturbances of frets and fears that we all have faced or will have to face?

I’ve always been helped by the imagery of a ship that is off at sea for many weeks. All of a sudden there comes a couple day stretch of a ruthless storm that doesn’t let up. There are violent winds pulling at your masts. There are merciless waves that are rocking the ship back and forth. There is so much water coming overboard that there is worry that the ship could very well begin to sink at any moment.

Have you ever thought about what it is in those times of a storm at sea that keeps a ship upright? The ship has a ballast in the center of the ship that provides a central weight to keep the ship stabilized. Therefore the rocking of the waves doesn’t ultimately tip the ship onto its side. It is able to stay secure and upright in the position it is in.

Does your soul have a ballast? What is your assurance that keeps the ship, your life, from giving in to the waves of the stormy circumstances of life?

If you find yourself getting tossed around by the reckless waves, recall what the prophet Jeremiah holds on to as his assurance in Lamentations 3. “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion’, says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lam. 3:21-24).

When we have calmed and quieted our souls, receiving the LORD as our portion we know that we are where we need to be. A calm and contented soul is able to be present and attentive to the ways that the Lord blesses us each and every day in the ordinary and mundane things of life.

I was struck this last week by something that one of the members of our Missional Community shared. At the beginning of our MC gatherings on Wednesday nights we always take time to look back at evidence of God’s grace that we experienced or had observed in the past week. We have one family in our group, and sometimes their oldest son, who is only about 4 years old, will share with us ways that he experienced God’s grace.

So when everyone found their seats and the chatter of catching up with friends died down, his mom whispered to him it was time to share evidences of grace and so he ran into the middle of the circle and said, “GUYS! I saw a praying mantis this week!”

Of course we all shared a good laugh together but then his dad and mom gave us some of the backstory. He had recently read a book and had watched a movie about insects and was fascinated with the praying mantis. And he REALLY wanted to see one in person.

It just happens to be that as they were leaving Hyvee this past week there was an employee that was standing outside the doors and when they walked by he stopped the mom and her boys and said “Hey, come over here I think this might be something that your boys would like to see.” There it was. This man showed them a praying mantis that was sitting there. They were all shocked and obviously the little boy was thrilled that he got to see this bug that he had really desired to see.

The point of this illustration is this, do you get too occupied and concerned with the big things in life that are outside of your control that you end up missing the small ways that God seeks to provide and satisfy us? Or have you calmed and quieted your soul, content with the station that the LORD has brought to you and you are ready and attentive to the ways that the Lord is going to remind you of his care for you even through the ordinary and seemingly insignificant things?

As I heard this little boy’s parents share about this small way that this four year old boy was so happy over seeing that bug, I was immediately convicted. He had so much joy and was content with such a small and in all reality an insignificant thing as seeing a bug that he liked.

Let’s not miss out on the daily gifts of grace, provision, and care that the Lord gives to us all the time by being consumed with pride and presumption over things that are too great and marvelous for us.

The Christian with a calm and quiet soul is content because they know that the Lord cares for them. The Lord’s care is like the care of a mother. He is wise and tender towards his children. He knows us and therefore deals with us as our age, weaknesses, witlessness, and other necessities require.

The Practice to Persist In

Here in verse 3 David clues us in on the secret to keeping a calm and quiet soul, a soul that isn’t consumed by matters too great for himself. Look with me at what he says, “O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.”

To combat the pull and temptation we feel, and to develop and nurture the posture that we need, next in verse 3 is the practice we need to persist in. He breaks out in passionate proclamation in verse 3 telling us where our hearts, our eyes, and our souls should be occupied in hope.

Notice the object of our hope. Our hope is not in things getting better. Our hope is not in receiving what we desire, however godly it might be. Our hope is not in our position or station of life. Our hope is in the LORD!

Psalm 131 is not calling us to quiet introspection, or to be introspective, looking in at ourselves. If that is what we come away with from this Psalm we have missed the point. The thrust of Psalm 131 is to get us to take our eyes off of ourselves, our desires, and our ambitions and to rather set our gaze on the LORD and His purposes!

Remember who the LORD is. The people of Israel who read this Psalm would have known tangibly and remembered vividly the mighty acts of the covenant-keeping LORD.

It was the LORD who kept his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that they would be the father of many nations and they would possess the land that God had promised them.

It was the LORD who spoke to Moses through the burning bush and promised to deliver His people from their sufferings in captivity under Pharaoh in Egypt.

It was the LORD who was present with his people when he led them out of Egypt as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

It was the LORD who saved his people from the hand of the Egyptians by allowing them to cross the Red Sea on dry land while crushing their enemies behind them.

It was the LORD who filled the tabernacle with his glory signifying his presence with his people in the wilderness.

It was the coming of the LORD that was prophesied by Isaiah that a way should be made through the wilderness for when the Lord would be coming to his people.

It was the LORD who came not as a ruling King but as a lowly infant who would grow up to be despised and hated by men. And the LORD would die on a wooden cross facing the full wrath of God in that moment for all the sins of his people. It was the joy of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who got to rush back to the eleven disciples and they got to proclaim “The Lord has risen indeed!”

When we continually recount who the LORD is and what He has done for His people, the pressure that we feel from the distractions, disturbances, and disruptions of life will begin to pale in comparison.

As Christian we are able to calm and quiet our souls because our greatest need has been met. That need was met on a hill called Calvary where an innocent, and truly humble man shed his blood so that prideful men and women like you and me could be freed from the punishment that we deserved for our prideful hearts.

A call to hope is a call to humility for the long haul and a refusal to be prideful or presumptuous. We are meant to persist in our hope and trust in the LORD until our last breath.

John Calvin writes, “The servant of God who desireth to persevere to the end, must wait on God in the way of humility, and hope in him unto the end... he is a humble man, who, in the sense of his sins and infirmities, standeth in awe of God, keepeth himself within the bounds of his calling and commission, renounceth all confidence in his own wit, and submitted to God’s dealing, in hope to be helped by God in all things, as he standeth in need.”

Calvin identifies that the humble man who waits on God until the end: Understands his sins and infirmities and stands amazed at God’s mercy and grace. He keeps himself and his thoughts within what the Lord has called and brought him to. He doesn’t trust in his own wit or understanding alone but asks the LORD for help. He submits to God’s providential dealings with his life to provide for his needs, knowing that God works all things for his good.

I wrote those four things down on a note card by my desk to be used as a daily check for myself and to remind myself how to cultivate a calm and quiet soul that is occupied in the LORD and His purposes. This practice to persist in isn’t always going to be easy. There will be dark and stormy seasons of the soul where it’s hard to see that bright sliver of hope through the clouds.

And you won’t be able to do it alone. You’ll need a community of Christians around you who are committed to walking the path of godliness together as a church. They can’t carry your personal responsibility to calm and quiet your own soul for you, but as wise counselor Samwise Gamgee from the Lord of the Rings once said, “I can’t carry it for you, Frodo but I can carry you!” This community is here to walk alongside one another (and sometimes take our turns carrying one another) as we all grow in grace and humility together.

May we as a church family continually encourage one another to set our gaze upon the LORD because He is why we have much reason to hope!

So, how is your soul doing this morning?

Do you have a calm and quiet soul that is occupied with the LORD and His purposes? Or is your heart lifted up in pride and you find yourself dwelling on things that the LORD has never promised that he would reveal to you?

If that is the case, come back and revisit David’s instruction and example in Psalm 131. But don’t just stop there!

Then look to Christ, the greater David, the King who sat on David’s royal throne who never acted in pride or arrogance but always counted others more significant than himself. Look to Christ who didn’t count equality with God a thing to be grasped but came as a servant, humbling himself. Look to Christ who was committed not to fulfilling his own desires and completing his own agenda but he was committed to doing his Father’s will unto the very end, even by dying on a cross.

And finally look to Christ, our hope who sits now in the Heavens where He will remain forever caring for us and our souls until He returns. And when he returns, we will all be gathered together continuing to sing His glories as our hope will be complete, and we will see Him face to face