Psalm 131

My PhD class this morning opened with a reflection on Psalm 131, so I thought I would skip ahead with some thoughts on that psalm…

Especially noteworthy in this psalm is that it is a psalm of ascent – that is, it was a song for the journey.  The psalms of ascent are the songs the Israelites would sing on their way to the temple as a means of preparing themselves to enter in the Lord’s presence.  With that perspective, consider the words of this psalm…

My heart is not proud, O Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

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

So often, we (myself especially) become proud because we know great things and have mastered understanding of “great matters.”  As I begin a PhD, I am beginning a journey that should result in me studying and understanding something unique, something that has never been investigated quite the way that I will.  The temptation is to become proud, thinking highly of myself because of the “great matters” I have mastered.

Yet humility and quietness before God is the start both of knowledge and worship.  As Psalm 46:10 commends, “Be still and know that I am God.”  As we put our hope in the Lord, we will find knowledge and wisdom.  We will find strength and courage.  We will find humility and brokenness.  We will find mercy and grace.  We will find YHWH.

The journey toward a doctorate should be a journey that leads to insight and understanding.  But beware to think that insight and understanding are of myself, and not gifts from God, to whom belongs all the glory and honor.