Loved though Weaned
I do not occupy myself with things too great and marvelous. But I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a child that is quieted is my soul. (Psalm 131:1, 2)
Psalm 131 and 46:10; Job 37:14; Isa. 32:17, Matt. 10:15; Ph. 1:6 and 3:13; I Pet. 2:2-3
What Is God Saying?
In the rich traditions of the Jewish faith, all roads led to the Temple in Jerusalem, the place of God's abode and the scene of the important annual festivals—Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Day of Atonement. This often involved long pilgrimages for devout Jews. For this reason, Psalms 120-134 are called, The Pilgrims' Psalms. These Psalms, all set to vocal music, were like steps leading up to the Holy Place in the Holy City, thus they are also called The Songs of Ascent.
They found encouragement and a will to persevere as they moved faithfully along in their pilgrimage, perhaps from a considerable distance and through hostile surroundings. Singing of the glory and the power of their God gave strength to their weary limbs and hope to their sagging spirits. These Psalms stress their unwavering trust in God, ‘Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects his people’ (125:2). ‘The Lord has done great things for us, we are glad’ (126:3). ‘O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord, there is steadfast love’ (130:7).
How Does This Apply To Us?
In this Psalm, by David and of David, we find a child who is being weaned but who is always loved and cared for by their mother. The Psalmist is like a child whose begging has been stilled by her loving touch. Pilgrims en route to the glory and the joy at the end of their pilgrimage, need to be reassured that God, who gave them birth, still cares for them and will care for them all the way—through maturity and growth and struggle to the end of life's journey and the completion of God's plan. This is not a regression into infantilism. It progresses into maturity. It assures us that in our struggles with the realities of life, there is an assured victory. In that way, we can be stilled like a child, which, though weaned, still knows and feels that it is protected and loved by its mother. We are loved and protected and we are growing. We are weaned from the necessary beginnings of faith and we are on our pilgrimage to the City of our God. It may call for painful growth and unwanted denials, but at the end of the pilgrimage, ‘we will lift our hands to the holy place and bless the Lord’ (Ps. 134.2).
Pray With Me
God, You have come, through the infinite tenderness of Jesus, to quiet my soul. He commanded the waves to be still and drove restless demons from troubled hearts, so His Word of forgiveness and acceptance calms my spirit. I rest in this awareness, that the circumstances beyond my control and things beyond my understanding are all under Your authority. Thus my soul ‘can be calmed and quieted, like a child at his mother's breast.’ The child need not occupy themself with matters that they cannot comprehend. They simply receive. They are shielded from danger. They know they are loved. They have all that they need at this stage of their development As they grow, they will understand more, but they are not rejected or ignored because they don’t know everything now.
So it is, dear Father, that I will not ‘occupy myself with things too great and marvelous.’ I will marvel at the wonder of all You have made, I will praise You for the order and perfection of a universe whose greatness I cannot comprehend: for stars beyond sight, for the unvarying precision of molecular structures around me and even within, for the mysterious workings of the mind, for all timely providences. I will thank You for all this, but I will not occupy myself with these things to the point of stress and worry. The same God who created all that is wonderfully created me to be a part of his perfect plan.
Without worrying about what I cannot understand, I will be calmed and quieted by what I experience of Your unfailing love. In humility and trust, I abide in that love. I glory in the unknown because I know everything right and good is of You, Father. I do not fear the unknown because I believe that there is nothing that can touch me in Your arms.
Through Jesus Christ whose great and marvelous love has quieted my soul. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Prayer is often a weaning process. Away from infancy with its understandable demands for immediate satisfaction. Away from our petty displeasure with prayers that do not seem to be answered quickly and in the way we think they should be. A way from childishness to a mature acceptance and understanding that ‘God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.’ In prayer, we should consider the words of that old Christian saint who said, ‘The longer I live the more faith I have in Providence and the less faith in my interpretation of Providence.’ Think about it. Pray about it.
