INTRODUCTION: Read Psalm 131: Samuel 6 & 16.
This is a Psalm of David, "a man after God own heart". He lived in "harmony with the Lord", both as a young shepherd boy and as God's chosen king,yet, as a human he still had his failures. Still,. the greatest quality God saw in David was "his humility"- He saw his "servant heart."
"He also chose David and took him from His own sheepfold......Having found my servant David, I annointed him with oil." Psalm 78:70, 89:20 (NASB)
"God develops our inner qualities. He is never in a hurry to develop our character - we work on it througout our whole lifetime. He's never in a hurry! That is how we become like David, men and women after God's own heart." Charles Swindoll
Commentators have mentioned 3 times in David's life when this sign may have been written:
1. David was in a cave, hunted by Saul. This was one of the lowest times in David's life - losing his best friend, his wife and his job; everything, except the love and presence of his Father God.
2. David was repeatedly accused of ambition as the king of Israel. Yet, he was being prepared by the Lord for some humble service. At this early stage in his life, he was a young man of integrity, waiting to lead his people.
3. In response to his wife Michal who had accused him of undignified behaviour after he had danced in a procession - brining the Ark of the Covenant back into Jerusalem. David knew that the ark was the central place of worship for him and his people. So here was David's dancing and laughing as the Ark was retured to its rightful place of worship.
"Whatever the ocassion, the short Psalm is a beautiful denial of pride, arrogance and selfish ambition." David Guzik.
"It is one of the shortest Psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn. It speaks of a young child, but it contains the experiences of a young man." Charles Spurgeon
DAVID'S HUMILITY - Verse 1
"Lord, my ear is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too proud for me." Psalm 131:1 (NKJV)
David learnt to resist pride, and he knew that "God gave grace to the humble." David knew that God rejected arrogance and he was a man who wanted to live like his Father God. He didn't want to "look down on others" or "think himself better" than others.
Though David had accomplished great things in his time as king, he also had times when pride overwhelmed him. At these times in his life he now wanted to "renounce selfish ambition". He wanted to have more "godly aspirations". He waited patiently to be "lifted up" by His Father. David understood that following God's will, rather than his own pride and ambitions, would lead to contentment in his soul and spirit.
"God resists the proud but GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE......HUMBLE YOURSELF IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, and HE WILL LIFT YOU UP" . Jamed 4:6b & 10 (NKJV)
"Therefore, HUMBLE YOURSELVES under the mighty hand of God, and HE WILL LIFT YOU UP IN DUE TIME, cast your cares upon Him, for HE CARES ABOUT YOU." 1 Peter 5:6&7 (NKJV)
DAVID'S CONTENTMENT - Read Verse 2
"But I had calmed and quieted myself. Like a weaned child with His mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." Psalm 131:2 (NIV/NKJV
David wanted to find "calm and serenity", following the ways of the Lord. He enjoyed serving the Lord, finding rest and stillness in a quiet soul and spirit.
"I wait quietly before God, for MY VICTORY COMES FROM HIM.... Let all that I am wait quietley before God, for HOPE IS IN HIM. " Psalm 62:1&5 (NLT)
"A child not yet weaned embraces his mother with a desire for good and immediate satisfaction. A WEANED CHILD embraces his mother with a desire for LOVE, CLOSENESS and COMPANIONSHIP. Such was David's humble desire to DRAW NEAR TO GOD." David Guzik
God is normally represented as OUR FATHER, but in these versess and another in Isaiah , He has the compassion of A MOTHER. .
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I WILL NOT FORGET YOU!" Isaiah 49:15 (NIV)
"Weaning" is one of the first trials we experience as a toddler, and it is disturbing for "little hearts"; but we can overcome it, for"it is nececcary for our development." The process of weaning is natural, but the child may regard it "as a battle". David's contentment with God did not always come naturally either as he struggled with difficult behaviours. When we are overwhelmed with circumstances in our life, we too need to rely in the "weaning process", as we develop in our faith and relationship with God, as David did.
"Blessed are those afflictions which subdue our affections, which wean us from self - sufficiency, which educate us in our Christian growth, and which teach us to love God, not merely when He comforts us, but even when He tries us." Charles Spurgeon.
DAVID'S ENCOURAGEMENT - Verse 3
"O Israel, hope in the Lord, from this time and forevermore." Psalm 131:3
David was the only person who could truly encourage his people in te of his kingship. Why? Because of His testimony and experiennces in following the Lord. He wanted them to enjoy these too. Like Jesus, David wanted the Israelites to follow the will of God as he had.
"My food is to do the will of Hin whon sent me." John 4:34 (NKJV)
"Let his faithful people hope and trust, not in themselves, their wisdom and their power, but in Jehovah alone,whyo will not fail to exalt them." George Horne - cited by David Guzik.
The decision to put your hope and trust in the God is never ending - FOREVER -m jusst like David and the Israelites.
CONCLUSION
The promises that David wants us to grasp are:
* Our Father is everything we need. He is our OMNIPREST, FAITHFUL God whom wilill never leave our side.
*JESUS IS OUR SAVIOUR who died on the cross for us, and rose so we could have eternal life. Jesus is the one we base our hope and trust in. We will enjoy inner peace in Him.
*God wants us to "rest our soul" in Him as the "centre of our intellect and emotions". And in our SPIRIT we can "discern our soul".
So our FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT are in all we need to find compassion, as a child clings to his mother, Even as we are weaned, we still need them FOREVER AND EVER.
"Let Israel Hope in the Lord - Psalm 131", 2019, Esther Mui (Composer & Performer)
"The Holy Bible - New American Standard Bible", 2020, The Lockman Foundation.
"The Holy Bibe - New International Version", 2011, Biblia, Inc.
"The Hope Bible - New King James Version." 1982, Thomas Nelson
"The Holy Bible - New Living Translation." Tyndale House Publishers
GUZIK, David, "Psalm 121, David's Humble, Learned, Contentment in the Lord.", 2020, ewm@enduring word.com
LE BOITILIER, Pastor Paul, "Psalm 131 - I Have Quieted My Soul." www.ccontario.com
SPURGEON, Charles, "The Treasury of David - Commentary in Psalms." 1885/2021, Christianity.com
"The Bible Says What: Psalm 131 - What God Wants fom Us", 2021. You Tube.
SWINDOLL, Charles.R, "David: A Man of Passion and Destiny", Thomas Nelson
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