Be Still My Soul
Psalm 131
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1Lord, 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 LordFrom this time forth and forever.
“I must do this; I have to get this done; oh, I have so much to do today” - go go go; rush rush rush. I run around like I am the master of my destiny and I must control every detail of my life. Even on my way to church – hurry, hurry, hurry! “I get involved in too many things”; “I am concerned about things I can’t do anything about”. The sky is falling! The economy is crashing! The world is changing! Prices are rising! And on and on it goes. We seem to love to work ourselves into a frenzy, and that’s before we even start to do anything about that which we are so worked up. BREATH! RELAX! QUIET YOUR SOUL!
David did it! God’s great king who was in charge of a whole nation managed to discover the secret to inner peace, and as he pens this song, the first words he writes in Hebrew are “O Yahweh, my heart…”. God Almighty, Master of the universe, possessor of all things, You are God and I am not! You are in control and I am not! I am going to choose to submit myself to Your leading, to Your Power, and Your timing. I am humbling myself under Your mighty hand and You will lift me up in due time (James 4:10). I am choosing not to get consumed with “great matters” out of my control. I am relinquishing control to You! You are Lord; Lord of my heart – literally, my complete inner being is under your control…I surrender!
It is possible friends to get to that place of quiet and peace, as one, like a little baby in its mother’s arms nurses at the breast, secure, warm, peaceful, eventually falling asleep in perfect contentment. That is the picture David paints for us – a state of total release of all fear and anxiety - a place of safety and calm. His soul: his mind, will and emotions have gone to their happy place – they are not leading his life; God is! His tranquil spirit is in the arms of his loving Father. He has cast his cares upon the One who cares for him (1Pet. 5:7). Like the great and driven apostle Paul, David has “learned to be content in all things” and discovered the peace of God (Philippians 4: 4-13). He is walking with his God, in complete trust!
David’s destination of “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” is one he desires to share with all Israel, and all who know Yahweh and read His word. “Put your hope (trust, waiting) in the Lord now and forever”. It is a common theme throughout scripture; that of trusting God with all that life throws at us, for He promises to get us through every storm and fire of life (Isa 43:1-3). We know these scriptures, many off by heart. But the message in this psalm is that we have to take the initiative to “calm and quiet” our soul. Can we get to a place of trusting God no matter what whirlwind is swirling around us? If David can, we can.
I have met people like this – so anchored in the word and the truth of who God is that nothing seems to phase them. Usually, they have been walking with God a long time; they are older saints who have learned by experience that there is no value in getting worked up about stuff, because God has always gotten them through every trial. That is who He is! I praise God for having some of these godly, peace-filled saints as mentors! They knew the word and they knew their God!
It is interesting to me that psalm 131 is part of a section of psalms known as “songs of ascent” (Psalms 120-136). The Israelites would sing these songs regularly as they marched up to Jerusalem and to the temple to celebrate the various feasts held throughout the year. What a sight! Families all marching up together, kids in tow, singing God’s word, God’s truth, God’s promises to one another – a constant reminder of the attributes and character of our faithful God. I believe we, as the church have a responsibility to encourage one another when we gather to remember how faithful our God is, and how we can have peace in and through Him.
I had been meditating on this psalm all weekend and woke up with this song in my spirit:
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;leave to thy God to order and provide;in ev'ry change He faithful will remain.Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav'nly Friendthro' thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertaketo guide the future as He has the past.Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;all now mysterious shall be bright at last.Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still knowHis voice, who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,and all is darkened in the veil of tears,then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repayfrom His own fullness all He takes away.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning onwhen we shall be forever with the Lord,when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
{Kathrina von Schlegel (1750); Translator: Jane Borthwick (1855)}
Have a peaceful week!
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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