Psalm 131:1-3 NKJV
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
131 Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.
Leave it to Luther to write more words about this psalm than the psalm itself contains. But they are good words, for here is what he says:
“The 131st psalm is a psalm of instruction. It speaks against the proud, stiff-necked saints who comfort themselves by placing confidence in their great services of worship and their great holiness, and not in the forgiveness of which the previous psalm speaks. In contrast to the proud saints, the psalmist declares, ‘I cannot travel so high and boast of my holiness as these people do, who rely on themselves. For whenever I have wanted to do so, not grounding and stilling my heart on God’s grace, I become like a weaned child. Without the milk of the promise and grace, I cry day and night and have no peace in my conscience.’” (Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 316)
It would seem as if David were boasting in himself by saying, “My heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.” He is clearly reminding himself that only by God’s grace his soul is quieted, as he rounds out the psalm in verse 3: “O Israel, hope in Yahweh.” Or as Luther also says about the ending, “Therefore, this is the psalmist’s conclusion: Let Israel and everyone trust and hope in God and depend only on His grace, Let no one take this sustenance from you, for the promised and coming Christ is on it.”
By God-given faith in Christ, you are part of the true Israel, and you can certainly have your soul quieted with the certainty that you are God’s child by virtue of your baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. Your hope is indeed in the Lord Who made you and Who sustains you through every time in your life.
Let us pray: O God, the Strength of all who put their trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without You, grant us the help of Your grace that in keeping Your commandments we may please You in both body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.