Psa 131:1 A Song of degrees of David. 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.

The message of Psalm 131 is: Humility and Contentment. The Psalmist, David, declares his humble heart and contentment in this life: “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” (v.1). What is he saying? 1. He is not proud: “my heart is not haughty.” David is not boasting about his humility. Rather he is confessing his humility to God. Perhaps, some men were charging him with being a prideful and arrogant man. He is declaring his innocence. He has behaved himself with the greatest humility and courteousness to all men: “And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him” (1 Samuel 18:14). 2. He is content: “nor mine eyes lofty.” He is not ambitious. Saul was afraid David would kill him and seize the throne from him. The truth is, David did not covet that position. He wouldn’t kill Saul to take over his position as king. He says: “Neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me” (v.1b). He did not “exercise himself in great matters” means he never did work towards it, did not aspire to have it, and had no intention to secure it. He did not aim high; he was content to be a shepherd boy. David declares his contentment like a weaned child: “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child” (v.2). What is a weaned child? Isaiah 28:9 answers: “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” The weaning may be hard but David has learned to trust in God. He has learned to trust God to supply his needs just as a weaned child trusts his mother to supply other nourishments after he has been weaned from her breasts. Is your soul quiet today or disturbed? Why are you agitated? Is it because of the “goals” you are trying to achieve and they seem to fall apart one by one due to the current global crisis? Why do you set such high “goals”? Is it because of the Pride of life? Have you ever wondered why sometimes we are so discontent in life and so anxious in our souls? One reason is the pride of life. We want success. We want the higher positions in life. Success plus positions equate to wealth. Brethren, we need to meditate on this psalm. Pride causes discontentment. Pride tells us to do better than our neighbours. Pride tells us to aim for higher positions in society. Our lives become full of anxieties as a result of our ambitions. Blame it on PRIDE! Life is joyous when we curb our passions. Paul is right: “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). Contentment is finding joy in what God has given to us. The tendency for men is to want more. Contentment is an attitude learned from life. Paul says “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:12, ESV). Discontentment brings anxieties and unhappiness; contentment results in happiness. Choose contentment. Psalm 131 is a very short psalm but it contains the secret to happiness: 1) Practise humility. 2) Learn contentment. 3) Live in hope.