Psalm 131 explained: Quiet Like a Weaned Child

Letting go of pride (v. 1)

The singer tells the LORD they are not puffed up, not looking down on others or reaching for a bigger place in the world. They have also stopped straining after matters too big for them, which probably means questions or events beyond human knowing or control.

Like a weaned child (v. 2)

A nursing baby fusses and cries for milk, but a child who no longer nurses can sit calmly with its mother without demanding anything. The singer says they have quieted their own restless wanting in the same way, and many readers take the picture as describing how the singer now rests in God.

Hope for the whole people (v. 3)

The personal calm turns outward into an invitation for all Israel to put their hope in the LORD, now and always. In its traditional heading, this psalm belongs to a group called songs of ascents, which many scholars think pilgrims sang on the way up to Jerusalem, though how they were actually used is not certain.

Key verse: Psalm 131:2

Something to think about

What would it take for you to feel settled even without understanding or controlling everything in your life?