Finding Yourself in the Psalms

Psalm 131

A Psalm of Quiet Confidence in the Lord

What kind of athlete do you admire most?
• arrogant?
• boastful?
The kind that knows his abilities and the abilities of his opponent and demonstrates quiet confidence.
Psalm 131 addresses humility before God, and gives an example of one who has learned that

confidence in the LORD and humility before MEN go hand in hand.

I. Humility Before the LORD. 131:1
Two Parallelisms
A. Heart and Eyes

1.

Heart

a.

“My heart is not proud”

b.

“It’s hard to talk about your own humility without losing it!”

c.

(Proverbs 27:2) "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;

someone else, and not your own lips."

d.

BUT David is not talking to MEN. He is addressing the LORD

e.

(Psalm 139:2) "You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive

my thoughts from afar."

f.

(Job 34:21) "“His eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every

step."

g.

(Jeremiah 17:10) "“I the Lord search the heart and examine the

mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to

what his deeds deserve.”"

h.

We cannot fool GOD about our heart. If there is pride, HE

KNOWS IT!

i.

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people, and of

course, as long as you’re looking down, you can’t see something

that’s above you!” CS Lewis, in “Who Said That” (Sweeting)

j. The HEART = Internal affairs
B. Great Matters, Wonderful things
1. Eyes
a. The EYES = External affairs
b. What the HEART conceives, the EYES confirm
(1) wandering eyes
(2) angry eyes
(3) judgmental eyes (looking at a person’s clothes, skin color, etc)
(4) disinterested eyes c. My eyes are not haughty
(1) (James 4:10) "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he

will lift you up."

(2) (Micah 6:8) "He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

(3) (Psalm 147:6) "The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground."

(4) (1 Corinthians 1:28-31) "He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

II. Contentment In the LORD. 131:2
A. “Quieted” =
1. “to make plain, to level”
2. A ploughman’s term
3. (Isaiah 28:25) "When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field?"
4. David BROUGHT his heart in LINE with God’s WORD
5. Where do HUMILITY and CONTENTMENT come from?
a. (Hebrews 4:12-13) "For the word of God is living and active.

Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

B. Like a weaned child – He is satisfied! C. My soul is weaned.
1. “What the Psalmist says is: I have disciplined my soul, until now it is at rest, and no longer am I proud, disdainful, and falsely ambitious. The discipline is the method, the stillness is the result” Scrogie
III. Hope In the LORD. 131:3
A. Structure of Psalm:
1. 4 ideas, v. 1
2. 3 ideas, v.2
3. 2 ideas, v. 3
4. This illustrates the CALMING effect that God’s word has in our hearts
B. APPLICATION:
1. If you are TROUBLED, seek the Lord
2. When you are in TRANSITION, seek the Lord
3. In moments of SUCCESS, humble your heart
4. In moments of FAILURE, trust Him to life you up!