Child of Mother God

Context of the Psalm

Psalm 131 is part of a group of 15 Psalms (from 120 through 134) called Song of Degrees, or Gradual Psalms or Pilgrim Songs. They are commonly associated to ancient Jewish pilgrimage festivals for Passover, Harvest and Tabernacles. The worshipping pilgrims would sing them to remember Israel's return from exile as they would make their way towards Jerusalem. Some also call them Songs of Degrees or Ascents reminding the going upwards and the climax of their walk as they would reach the mount in which Jerusalem stood. Many call them too Psalms of 'Steps' to do with the final steps of that walk, those of the temple as the worshipers would enter it singing these psalms.

The thing to remember about these Psalms of Ascents is that they carry a very strong sense of praise and corporate belonging to God.

The title of this Psalm 131 connects it to David whose attributed authorship gives it power and credibility as we associate the words of Psalm to his life and character, including his Uriah-Betseba sin—that occured before his presumingly writing the Psalm—and which brought upon him punishments from which David learned about humility, rest and hope in the Lord: which is what Psalm 131 is all about.

I am giving this sermon the title of Child of Mother God. Mother God has nothing to do with the Mother of God, of course. The title is Child of Mother God because this Song of Humility hinges on exactly such imagery of a weaned child, and is really speaking of the experience of a mature man of God, in the same way that Jesus associated spiritual ripeness to approaching the kingdom of God as a child (Mat 18:3-5).

Psalm 131, together with another Psalm of Ascents, Psalm 134, are the shortest chapters in the Bible after Psalm 117. So it will not be overwhelming for us to follow it verse-by-verse together this morning. And given that it is a 3-verse Psalm, this Brazilian-Italian will also also be able to deliver his last morning worship in London Seminary following the 3-pointer methodology hoping I wouldn't feel boxed or canned as I do I when I hear so many 3-point English preachers.

But here you go the 3 themes, one per verse, which describe the Child of Mother God:

Humbled (their humbleness)

Rested (where they find rest)

Hopeful (and where their hope lie)

The first attribute of humbleness which we now address is actually the conducting thread leading to and throughout the other two themes of rest and hope.

Ps 131:1—A Child of Mother God is Humble

What's the source of humbleness in a Child of Mother God?

Though sung collectively, this Psalm externalises how each child of God goes about with his/her inward, deep, intimate, one-to-one conversation with God.

You all know that we as most people are able to externalise a dissonant mood of heart to different people at different times, and most us have done this so many times and many times finishing at the end even convincing ourselves of the state of heart we want to reveal. For example, most people carry a higher consideration of themselves.

A poll conducted by American YouGov 7 years ago revealed that only 4 percent of the interviewed think they are less intelligent than the average person.

Well, we all know from Year 6 primary school maths, that just under 50% of people are less intelligent than the average. If only 4% think they are below average, we have that at least 46% too many think more highly of themselves than they really are. And this is just a basic primitive index. If you then elaborate other indexes to reflect more complex nuances of appreciated human traits that we inherently misappropriate, this number reaches not far from 100%.

But while we may manage to appear pious and prayerful towards others, God unmistakably knows each one's heart. We cannot get away with it with God because God knows exactly the state of our hearts as for example Proverbs 21:2 reminds us:

English Standard Version Chapter 21

2  Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,

but the LORD weighs the heart.

Or Psalm 44:20-21:

So, having reminded ourselves of that and as we look to the heartfelt confession of the Psalmist in Ps 131—which most probably succeeded many humbling incidents in his life)—can we, in good conscience, come to the Lord and declare to him that our hearts are not lifted-up, not proud, or haughty, or lofty to use other terms for גָבַ֣הּ used in most English translations of the Bible?

The Bible says that our hearts are deceitful. This means that our hearts deceive not only others but our own selves. You know well the words of Jeremiah 17:9:

English Standard Version Chapter 17

9  The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

Considering that we are not able to transform our hearts into righteous ones, it seems that the only way we have to address this issue of deceitfulness the heart is to not allow it to be lifted up.

Now that we saw the source of humbleness, where it should be tamed, lets now turn to see

Where is humbleness reflected in a Child of Mother God

The saying goes that the eyes is the mirror of the soul and that, from it, mental and moral traits are revealed. Humbleness is reflected not only as to where our eyes gaze but also as to how high they are raised. What the heart desires, the eyes look for. Where desires run, the glances follow. So if the heart is stuck-up so will it raise the eye, and with it push-up the nose too, not only looking and smelling down on neighbours but also wobbling tails at influential people, bosses, or even teachers, or vice-versa, according to one's agenda and preferences.

The humble-hearted child of Mother God look down at her breasts. Verse 1 goes on to imply that such child—even after weaned and grown-up—such child does not have the ambition to occupy him/herself with things too great and too marvelous, because it is near her that the child finds familial rest. He will remain always a child next to her. Even when he grows, he has no ambition to prove or show-off himself in life in terms of self-sufficiency and accomplishment and leave his mother behind. His eyes are always kept humbly low and his heart humbly loving as he is thankfully warmed by the one who bore him, and towards whom he nurtures the relationship bond by restraining from self-straying desires, hypnotic gazes and self-centred toils all of which makes him drift away from her.

In fact, daring and leapfrogging self-seeking ambition takes away rest which is what verse 2 speaks about and verse 2 now fully engages with the imagery of Mother God.

So we saw the humbleness of a child of Mother God now we will see that he/she enjoys rest in Her.

Ps 131:2—A Child of Mother God has Rest

The second verse starts with a אִם־לֹ֤א which is a Hebrew negating conjunction which gives a special emphasis to the thought that the verse is initiating with a but as if indeed, surely .

The child's soul quiets and composes itself, calms-down, smoothes-down from its unrest of weaning, when comfy self-will struggles against losing the lazy sucking. The growing infant of verse 2 has found contentment subdued as a fully weaned child. The figure is beautifully expressive of the humility of a soul chastened by disappointment.

Some of us have been comfortably numbed sucking such milk of complacency for too long. Everything works amazingly well in life and you drift away from God. But when the Lord nudges us to spiritual maturity and service, than we start to find unrest. Not only, we are confronted with challenges of other dimensions tempting us to go back to back to that cosy life. And as you even ponder that thought, the Lord strips off those nipples from you and forces you to move on with solid food for His glory.

When his first fretfulness and uneasiness are past the weaned child no longer cries and frets and longs for the breast. But he lies still and is content because he is with his mother. And so should be the soul weaned from all discontented thoughts, from all fretful desires for earthly good, waiting in stillness upon God, finding its satisfaction in the presence of Mother God, resting peacefully in Her arms. (Baker's old Preachers Homiletic Commentary Vol.12, p.344).

Verse 2 is emphatically connecting the humility of verse 1 with with rest, not only applied to when we're cruising through life with a stable direction, speed and weekly rhythm. But with its big but, surely or indeed as we said, verse2 connects humility with finding rest not only when everything is stable but also at points of inflection of changes in life whence challenges inherent to growth with the lazy temptations of the flesh marks our spiritual growth as our lives enter a different phase.

Verse 2 starts with an emphatic but, sure, indeed and closes with an emphatic repetition of the imagery it wants to make sure we hold on to: that of the Child of Mother God. We are all seminarians here, so you are able to note with me that verse 2 closes with a comparative appositional clause followed by a restating phrase that equates the soul to a weaned, peaceful child.

The child have stilled his soul from the pride and passions which are like swelling waves of an angry sea, remembering that peace is only possible with the gentle humility declared in the previous verse. Self-drive have been tamed. Self-pride has been expelled. Submissive, peaceful love then abides.

The child has finally stopped to flaunt and flounce to be crucified to the world and the world to him as Gal 6:14 says.

Now that we saw humility connecting to contentment and rest, let us see how they grow into Hope, which is our third point.

Ps 131:3—A Child of Mother God is Hopeful

The first thing that strikes us in verse 3 is that an individual, intimate declaration to God now becomes an altruistic collective imperative, but still loving, supplication directed to all brethren to find hope in the Lord.

Such hope is divine,

because its hope is in the Lord. For David, the Lord was the Messiah to come which for us is the Messiah that came, Jesus Christ. Our hope does not rest in something transient, changeable or limited, but it is on the unchangeable, infinite and holy God of eternity past in which arms we find rest.

Such hope is collective,

its for the entire people of God, the church and body of Christ. It was not of exclusive privilege or access to the King, (nor for prophets or priests for that matter), but for the church of God. It's a hope we all share together through the cross of Christ, so long-ago announced and which then happened with the same Word who spoke the world into existence coming to the world to redeemed us from our sins. Oh what a privilege to be partaker in that hope!

Such hope is present, its here, right now.

Such hope is present "from this time forth" says verse 3. It is present at once for you who didn't grasp it yet with a bowed heart, low eyes and restfully in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Such hope is for evermore

The weaned child now looks beyond the breasts onto things that were unseen, not looking at what is transient but towards the eternal, as Paul puts in 2 Co 4:18.

English Standard Version Chapter 4

18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Nothing will exhaust the hope of us Christians. Our beings will eternally rest in God. Our expectations will be forever directed to Him. Even when in glory, when in heaven itself, I believe the child of God will have much to hope for as we will forever further discoveries of the perfection and glory of God.

On closing,

When should we most remember this Psalm?

The obvious answer is always. But there are moments when people, events, opportunities which in a sense or another will bring discomfort if not outright suffering, invading our lives un-announced, as far as we are concerned, as a Child of Mother God.

These weaning moments, seem particularly good ones to turn to this Psalm 131 in self-declaratory prayer to God, self-examining our state of humbleness and rest and hope in the Lord.

Every now and then it is good to pass by for a Psalm 131 humility-check. How many times, and we have see it over and over in our lives, after we have our problem solved—even after inquiring the Lord and searching for peace and wisdom in Him—but then turn back to our own two feet with hearts lift up, eyes raised high, avenging to occupy ourselves with those great things that bring us marvelous sense of accomplishment, even if in the realm of a life of service for the Lord, even after a well preached sermon, but in which we are really not humbled to a calling but indulged to a job-role and rights?

To apply these verses we must keep in mind that:

Humility is a grace of the Spirit

And that it pleases God. listen to Isaiah 57:15:

English Standard Version Chapter 57

15  For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly,

and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Humility will regulate a good devotional life to God

to the extent in which we do not occupy ourselves with things too great and too marvelous after our own eyes (as says verse 1) as we keep a heartfelt sense of our sinfulness leading us to the cross of Christ and keeping us there in the arms of Mother God from who we were born. Yes

John 1:13 ESV

who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.