RTW 2022

Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.
Psalm 131:1a

“Whatever the occasion was, this short psalm is a beautiful denial of pride, arrogance, and selfish ambition. “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 experience of a man in Christ.” – Charles Spurgeon

“Oh, the wonder of quiet contentment with God! He has enjoyed the walk with God in which he ‘stilled’ (‘composed’) himself and ‘quieted’ (i.e., ‘silenced’ or ‘found rest,’ Psalm 62:1,5) his soul (Psalm 131:2).” – Willem VanGemeren

A Weaned Child

• A child not-yet weaned embraces his mother with the thought of food and immediate satisfaction. A weaned child embraces his mother out of a desire for love, closeness, and companionship. Such was David’s humble desire to draw near to God.

• The weaned child comes to realize that the denial of one of the mother’s gifts does not mean denial of the mother’s presence. He comes to love the mother herself instead of the gift received from her.

How did David quiet in his heart?

He understood the value of:

• humility and submission to God: my heart is not proud and my eyes are not haughty. (Psalm 131:1)
• confident trust in God: don’t concern myself with things too great or too awesome for me to grasp. (Psalm 131:1)
• strong faith in and relationship with God: like a weaned child who know longer cries for its mother’s milk. (Psalm 131:2)
  weaned child is my soul: The phrase is repeated for emphasis. The process of weaning may seem strange and terrible to the child, but it is necessary for the child’s development.
• Pointing others to the sufficiency of God: Oh, Israel, put your hope in the LORD, now and always. (Psalm 131:3)

“If there is any unconverted person here who cannot understand all this, I pray the Lord to make him a child first, and then make him a weaned child.” – Charles Spurgeon

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I know this verse expresses David’s confidence in God for the plans for his life, but it gives me confidence, too.

The Lord will work out His plans for my life— for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for You made me.
Psalm 138:8

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Seek a quiet heart.