Psalms — Chapter 131

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1A song of ascents. Of David. My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty. I do not aspire to great things or matters too lofty for me.

2Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, both now and forevermore.

1LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.

2Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

3Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.

1Jehovah, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; Neither do I exercise myself in great matters, Or in things too wonderful for me.

2Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child with his mother, Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3O Israel, hope in Jehovah From this time forth and for evermore. Psalm 132 A Song of Ascents.

1A song of ascents, by David. 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.

2Indeed, I have calmed and quieted myself like a weaned child with its mother; I am content like a young child.

3O Israel, hope in the Lord now and forevermore!

1Yahweh, my heart isn’t haughty, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me.

2Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3Israel, hope in Yahweh, from this time forward and forever more.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

In this shortest Song of Ascents, David professes that his heart is not proud and his eyes are not haughty — he no longer chases matters too great or wonderful for him (v. 1). Instead he has calmed and quieted his soul like a weaned child resting with its mother (v. 2). He closes by urging Israel to put its hope in the LORD, now and forever (v. 3).

Authorship & Background

Author: Multiple authors — primarily David (73 psalms attributed), plus Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Heman (1), Ethan (1), and anonymous. The Psalter was compiled over approximately 1000 years and served as Israel's hymnal and prayer book. The book is divided into five 'books' (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), paralleling the five books of Moses.
Classification: Song of Ascents / Psalm of Trust
Attributed Author: David (superscription: "A Song of degrees of David")
Key Themes: Humility before God, contentment like a weaned child, quieting the soul, not striving beyond one's place, childlike trust
Historical Context: Psalm 131 is one of the shortest and most tender psalms — only three verses. David, the king of Israel, describes himself as a weaned child on its mother's lap. The weaned child (typically 2-3 years old in ancient Israel) no longer nurses anxiously but rests contentedly with the mother — needing nothing but presence. This is extraordinary from a warrior king: he has deliberately set aside ambition, pride, and striving for things "too high" for him. Spurgeon called this psalm "one of the shortest to read but one of the longest to learn." It is the psalm of spiritual maturity through chosen humility.
My Heart Is Not Haughty (v.1): LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Three verses is the whole psalm, and this one is entirely negative: it lists what the speaker has given up. Coming from David, whose life was nothing but great matters, the claim is about ambition rather than occupation.
As a Child That Is Weaned of His Mother (v.2): Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Everything in the psalm depends on the word weaned. A nursing child at its mother is the picture of wanting, and that is not the image chosen; a weaned child is one that has stopped demanding and can be held for its own sake. The quieting is also said to be something the speaker did to himself, which makes the contentment worked for rather than natural.
Let Israel Hope in the LORD (v.3): Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever. The same turn Psalm 130 makes, and in a psalm of three verses it is a third of the whole. A private settling of the soul is handed to a nation as a program, which is the Ascents' habit: nothing in this collection stays personal for long.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Psalms 130-134 | From the Depths to the Heights | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Psalm 131 - David’s Humble, Learned Contentment in the LORD
David Guzik

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of Psalms -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Refusing to Reach Beyond Yourself (v.1) — David, a warrior king, declares his heart isn't lifted up in pride and he doesn't occupy himself with things too great or wonderful for him. What ambition or worry are you carrying that was never actually yours to carry?
  • Content Like a Weaned Child (v.2) — He describes his soul as calmed and quieted like a weaned child resting on its mother, wanting nothing but her presence. Can you be satisfied with God Himself, apart from what He gives you?
  • Hope Grows Out of Humility (v.3) — Only after describing his own quieted contentment does David call all Israel to hope in the Lord, now and forever. Does your own restlessness ever crowd out genuine hope, or has quieting your heart made hope feel more real?