Psalm 131 Contentment.

The Psalmist says, “In the old days, I was so proud! But now, my heart is not proud.”

Number 1. Pride is of the heart. It is that proud and haughty attitude that wants to put ourselves above other people that is not right.

Number 2. “My eyes are not haughty.” (v1)You’ve heard of the saying that someone is “stuck up.” Those are people who make it obvious that they feel they are better than other people. In the old days, a stiff collar was worn by rich people, and their heads were “stuck up” because their collars were so stiff and high that they could hardly see the poor people beneath them.

Number 3. The Psalmist used to be over-ambitious, concerning himself with “great matters and things too wonderful” for him (v1). He always wanted more.

We know that it is not wrong to be ambitious. Good ambition is when we use our God-given gifts well. We need to pursue excellence in our everyday work, whether it is as a housewife, or a builder, or nurse, or lawyer. We say, “Lord, You’ve given me these gifts, and I want to use them well, and honour You.” Col 3:23

But here the Psalmist is talking about the wrong kind of ambition, which is rooted in selfishness, and sometimes others can be hurt because they are being trod upon in order for the person to climb higher up the ladder. Selfish ambition has no servant spirit, it’s all about “me, me, me.” The key word here in the Psalm is the word “too.” He says, “I don’t concern myself with things too wonderful for me.” I don’t want to over-reach myself.

Number 4. Now he is calm. “I have calmed and quieted myself.” When he was living beyond himself, and striving for unrealistic goals, life got rough. It was up and down and stormy. But now his life is calm.

Number 5. He feels like a weaned child. (v2)

What do we need to be weaned from?

(i) We need to be weaned from things. Now, of course, it’s fine to enjoy things. 1 Timothy 6:17 tells us that God gives us all things richly to enjoy. He loves us to enjoy things. The point is, how dependent am I on these things? So, if you have a kayak, and you like going out kayaking, go for it! If you have a swimming pool at your place and it’s a hot summer’s day, enjoy it! But if we are totally dependent on these things, and if, for some reason, we can’t do them and we get absolutely and unreasonably upset, then we need to ask ourselves if we have our priorities right.

(ii) We need to be weaned from the love of money. What part does money play in my life? Of course, we know that it is an essential commodity. The question is: “Is it governing my life?” Do we need to be weaned off the love of money, where seeking after money becomes our main goal?

(iii) We need to be weaned from the approval of other people. Again, we need a balance. We need to be affirmed by others. But in terms of weaning, we need to ask, “Does my life revolve around the approval of others?”

“Like a weaned child.” A child that is content to sit on his mother’s lap and nestle into the comfort of her arms around him and love her just for who she is. Contented and settled.

Weaning can be such a struggle. There is no easy way to wean a baby. We have all heard that demanding cry in the middle of the night of a baby who wants to be fed!

The secret is the cross. The cross is the centre point in the heart of God. It stands for so many things.

Jesus died in our place. “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin.” (From the hymn we sing at Good Friday.)

We need to learn that our ego must go. Galatians 2:20. Dying to self means:                                 

 (i)Taking time to read our Bibles and pray.

(ii)lovingly showing the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and reacting with patience when things upset us, or kindness when someone needs us.

We close with the invitation in verse 3. “Oh Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forever.” Why don’t you put your own name there? Thank You Lord, that we can trust You day by day. We don’t have to strive for attention. We don’t have to prove ourselves. And we can say with Charles Wesley, “Thou, O Christ, art all I want. More than all in Thee I find.”