The Quieted Soul
Psalm 131
Lindsey Vonn is a champion downhill skier who is a celebrity spokeswoman for the insomnia medicine Quviviq. The global insomnia market is expected to reach $6.3 billion by 2030, according to the Allied Market Research. Sleeplessness is costing Americans millions of dollars each year. No one can estimate the thousands of troubled lives in our country.
There are many causes for insomnia and few cures. A millionaire, like Lindsey Vonn – whose net worth is estimated to be around $12 million and 37 years old – wants a cure for her sleeplessness. Some would empty their pockets for only one night of restful sleep.
I can tell you one thing that would help a lot of people. It is faith and hope in God.
In the sixth (and last) psalm we will study this year, Psalm 131, King David gives us the formula for having a peaceful heart, or in his words, a “quiet soul.”
WHO AM I – Verse 1:
Do you think David reminded himself often of his own shortcomings and weaknesses? He was a finite man and he knew it. He was a sinner and often admitted it.
I have been reading a book by Douglas Brinkley called Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race. I did not live during that period of time, but the race to the moon illustrates how human beings think that we can do anything we set our minds to do. But too often, we fail because we did not take God’s will into consideration. We think we can “cure” poverty. We think we can “cure” the damage done to our planet. One presidential hopeful said that with his election, the tides of the oceans will recede! Man refuses to be humbled.
WHAT I DO – Verse 2:
There is no room for God in a heart that is full of self.
God waited until Abraham and Sarah had exhausted all hope in human effort before He gave them Isaac.
God waited until Israel was without hope in any human effort before He led them out of Egypt.
God waited until Gideon was without hope in any human effort before He led him to victory over the Midianites.
Should we go on? Isn’t the story of the Bible a story of humans failing and having to trust in God to find success?
In this psalm, David notes that he was like a weaned child from his mother’s breast. How much more trustful can you get? What is more trusting than that? A child feels rest and a child feels security. He has had his needs met and he is now content. We often quote Philippians 4:13 but do we live by it? The context of Philippians 4 is Paul being well-cared-for versus being in poverty. Regardless of his circumstances, he found contentment in Christ.
How can we quiet our souls in a world of sleeplessness? David tells us in verse 3…
HOPE IN THE LORD – Verse 3:
The book of Psalms uses the word “hope” 19 times. All our spiritual disciplines are intended by God to strengthen our hope in the Lord. Why do we encourage each other in palms, hymns, and spiritual songs? So our hope will get stronger.
Why do we pray together and for each other? So our hope will grow stronger.
Why do we take the Lord’s Supper each Lord’s Day and meditate on the Lord’s sacrifice? So our hope will grow stronger.
Why do we study and meditate on the gospel of Christ? So our hope will grow stronger.
Why do we give cheerfully and generously each Lord’s Day? So our hope will grow stronger.
“In hope you have been saved” Paul writes in Romans 8:24. The NT uses the word “hope” 84 times – that’s an average of three times for each book of the NT! God’s New Covenant is saturated with hope.
With hope, we can quiet our souls, find rest in God, and keep Him on the throne of our heart.
Let me be humble; let my soul be quiet; let my heart hope in God.
Paul Holland