Matters that are beyond me (Psalm 131) 29/01/2023
- Robert Neilly
- Jan 29, 2023
- 4 min read
O Lord , my heart is not proud, nor do I have a haughty look. I do not have great aspirations, or concern myself with things that are beyond me. Indeed I am composed and quiet, like a young child carried by its mother; I am content like the young child I carry. O Israel, hope in the Lord now and forevermore!
Psalms 131:1-3 NET
This is a very short Psalm and, like the two previous Psalms which we have looked at in Day Shares, this is a Song of Ascent. [See the first paragraph of Day Share on 24th July - I look to the mountains.] There are three verses - 2 verses about the writer and his attitude to God. The third verse is a plea to his own people to hope in the Lord.
Verse 1 makes a negative statement about the writer's attitude to life and to God. There are four things which are not true of him. Some of the scholars find fault with the psalm writer's attitude - they think he is being smug. I tend take this psalm at its face value - this is a psalm where the writer has examined his heart and made an honest assessment. These four characteristics are signs of spiritual health.
His heart is not proud
He does not have a haughty look
He is not ambitious
He leaves matters in the Lord's hands
Pride can be a huge obstacle in our spiritual life. We can be proud of our looks, our possessions, our talent - even our spirituality. Some cynical commentators have indeed suggested that this writer is too keen to tell everyone how humble he is - he is proud of his humility!
This relates to his attitude to other people. He does not consider himself better than other people. This sort of attitude has featured in several previous Day Shares. [e.g. Fruit of the Spirit - Love (2) * (Galatians 5:22-24) 06/03/2020; Fruit of the Spirit - Gentleness * (Galatians 5: 22-24) 20/03/2020]
He is not ambitious - he does not have great aspirations for himself. This kind of attitude would be criticised in most career pathways. However, this fits in well with the teaching of the Lord Jesus in the sermon on the mount. I am not condemning or criticising those who have been successful in their career, their profession or their business. However, unbridled ambition can be harmful and reduce our impact in God's service. The second chapter of Paul's letter to the Philippians reminds us that we should do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. [Philippians 2: 3] and we should be humble enough to value others above ourselves. Paul points to the sacrificial example of Jesus Christ, who 'made himself nothing.' [Philippians 2: 7]
He is content to leave matters in God's hands. He compares himself to a young child - who is prepared to trust his mother fully. It is interesting that Jesus also stated that his followers should be like little children in their faith and trust.
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
Matthew 18:2-5 NIV
Notice that the psalm writer says that 'he does not concern himself with matters that are beyond him.' There is an interesting verse in Deuteronomy which makes a distinction between things which call for action on our part and matters which are out of our sphere altogether.
Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29 NET
There are some matters which God does not reveal to us. Many have asked questions to which the Bible does not provide an answer. For example, we are not told who Cain married as his wife. There are some verses which we find hard to interpret because God has not revealed them to us. (See Genesis 6:1-4) This short passage has cause much debate - who are these 'sons of God.' However, there are matters which the Lord has revealed to us very clearly but we sometimes find them too challenging and want to ignore them. For example, the sermon on the mount - Matthew Chapters 5 - 7 present real challenges to our conduct and attitude.
Psalm 131 ends with a plea to the nation of Israel to 'hope in the Lord now and for evermore. This is my plea to us all in our day and generation - to deal with our pride and selfish ambition and to be content to accept God's plan for our lives.
Here is a well-known prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr which, in my opinion, expresses a similar attitude to the writer of Psalm 131.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.
reinhold niebuhr (1892-1971)
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