Ps 131--Pride and the Noisy Soul

Intro

Pride is a dangerous thing. In 1898 a struggling and unaccomplished author named Morgan Robertson wrote a novel about a futuristic Atlantic ocean-liner, far larger and grander than any that had ever been built. Robertson filled this fictional ship with the rich and famous, who, in the book, were delighted to sail on this vessel they proclaimed “man’s greatest work” and “unsinkable.” In Robertson’s story, on her maiden voyage on cold April night the ship struck an iceberg and sunk. Robertson believed his story demonstrated the futility of human pride and arrogance, and in fact, the novel was titled Futility when it appeared in print later that year.

Fourteen years later, a British shipping company named the White Star Line built a steamer remarkably similar to the one of Robertson’s novel. The new liner was 66,000 tons displacement, Robertson’s was 70,000. The real ship was 882 feet long, the fictional ship was 800 feet. Both both ships were triple screw and could travel at the incredible speed of 24-25 knots. Both ships could carry around 3,000 passengers, yet both had enough lifeboats for only a fraction of this number. But then, this hardly seemed a problem—both ships, after all, were considered “unsinkable.”

On April 10, 1912, the real ship left Southhampton on her maiden voyage to New York. But she never made it, for the real ship also struck an iceberg and sank, also on a cold April night.

In his novel, Robertson called his the Titan; the White Star line named its ship Titanic.

Robertson’s fictional Titan was created to demonstrate the futility of human pride and arrogance. The real ship, Titanic in this sense, is a tragic case of life imitating art. It is impossible to read the true story of the Titanic without being impressed that this was an unnecessary tragedy of man’s hubris.

if only the owner had not pressured the crew to push the ship too fast for the oceans conditions in order to impress the wealthy passengers

if only the captain had not charted a course too far north into frigid water for the season

if only the Titanic had headed the warnings of other ships that icebergs had been spotted near her location

if only they did not believe, as had been said “not even God could sink this ship.”

—>It is not merely ships that suffer shipwreck as a result of pride—but worse, and far more often, it is people.

Pride. Arrogance. Presumption.

-Ps 131 soul of humility vs a soul of pride

Prayer

English Standard Version Psalm 131

1  O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;

my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

too great and too marvelous for me.

2  But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3  O Israel, hope in the LORD

from this time forth and forevermore.

A uniquely personal look into the spiritual life of David

-the man after God’s own heart

-how he learned humility

The first three lines introduce three related idea:

Pride

the language of worship and

Arrogance (pride in relation to others)

eyes that are haughty

that regards oneself so highly that one must look down to look upon others

Presumption (pride in relation to God)

presuming to partake in the knowledge, authority, power or position belonging to God alone

-We all struggle with particular sins particularly

—ex: we all struggle with self control-but the areas differ

—But we are all afflicted by a heart of pride.

>pride is the first orientation of the idolatrous human heart

-it is the “factory setting” of our sinful condition

We are born idolators

who worship ourselves

and pride is the foremost manifestation of our spiritual disease.

pride is a cancer that threatens our spiritual life

>THEREFORE—I am not preaching to a particular segment of the gathered congregation this morning, this message is for all of us.

-if you think you do not struggle with pride, then you are far gone indeed

->you need this message more than anyone else—listen well!

Humility was learned-not David’s natural state (see: “I have calmed and quieted my soul”)

-this quiet soul is both the cause and consequence of humility

-in endeavoring calm and quiet his soul, David learned humility, and in learning humility he succeeded in quieting his soul

—>a soul that is at peace with God and with oneself

-that is a soul that is not

anxious or fearful

that is not nervous or afraid

not consumed by the opinions of others

is not clamoring for attention, praise, or acceptance

is not jealous at the success of others

is not fretful over inconsequential worries or cares

is not discontent with life

is not harassed by stress

is not repulsed by self-loathing

is not hurried or worn down by the incessant pace of life

is not feeling broken as the result of suffering

it is not concerned by things outside its control

QUESTION: Is having a quiet soul, at peace with God and with the life he has for you, something you desire?

Because we live

In a turbulent world

during uncertain times

in the midst of unstable people

—>that is, people who are anxious and fearful, nervous and afraid, consumed by the opinions of others, who clamor for attention, praise, and acceptance and jealous at the success of others. People who are fretful over inconsequential things, who are harassed by stress, who are eaten-up with self-loathing, who are worn down by life, who feel broken by suffering, who concern themselves with things manifestly beyond their control

we not only live among these unstable people—too often we are these unstable people

>SO I ASK AGAIN: Do you desire a quiet soul? If so, we need to be humble.

The Path Forward:

Why we should care (5 things that pride does)

What we must do about it (the path to humility)

Why we should care (5 things that pride does)

1. Pride creates a noisy soul

If we simply flip the Psalm around, it would read something like this:

O Lord,

my heart is proud, my gaze is haughty,

I delight in pondering the mysteries you keep hidden from me

Therefore my soul is restless and noisy,

Like a nursing child desiring its mother,

Like a hungry infant is my soul within me.

The contrast to the quiet and calm soul of humility that David describes is the noisy soul of pride

To illustrate the quiet soul of humility, David uses the example of a weaned child contentedly near its mother

The noisy soul of pride is akin to a hungry, nursing infant when it sees its mother.

Benjamin—it is the frantic, obsessive, all-consuming thought of a hungry nursing infant when it sees its mother that it is time to eat. This the child communicates LOUDLY, fussing and panicking until its hunger is satisfied. In other words, a hungry nursing infant is the opposite of calm and quiet.

What then is noisy soul of pride crying out for? The noisy soul, the restless soul is frantic for attention, praise, worship. The noisy soul is an ego-addict feverishly and fretfully seeking the next hit.

The noisy soul is like having an inner Varuca Salt—the self-obsessed, self-absorbed narcissist child from Willie Wonka

“I want the works, I want the whole works, presents and prizes and sweets and surprises of all shapes and sizes, and now! Don’t care how, I want it now!” -Varuca Salt

>Think about the evidence of a noisy soul in your life?

>do you meticulously manage others perceptions of you or your family? are you zealous about protecting your “perfect” “got it all together” image? do you post pictures to social media that show you at untrue advantage? are you constantly looking for subtle (or not so subtle) ways to slip in comments promote yourself?

—some of the rich and famous would be fortunate to have publicists as adept at managing their public image as we are at ours.

>it is easy for our heart and mind to be dominated by the need to be accepted, loved, or praised by others. do you check social media every five minutes after a new post?

>do you regularly compare yourself to others? their job? their spouse? their kids? their house, car, lifestyle, etc?

—> OUR NOISY SOULS ARE EXHAUSTING!!!

—humility beckons us, to calm our souls, to be still, to find our delight in God, and to lay down our life-consuming pride

“Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise. Thou mine inheritance now and always. Thou and thou only first in my heart. High King of Heaven my treasure thou art.”

2. Pride deceives us about ourselves

The famed ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu said “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

-good advice

-the problem? pride makes us our own worst enemy, and also prevents us from seeing ourselves clearly

David declares that his eyes are not raised too high, nor does he occupy himself with things too great and too marvelous for his station.

humility allows us to view quite clearly our finite limitations, and moral failings

humility gives us a cleared-eyed sense of who we are

but a proud heart, an arrogant heart makes ones eyes haughty , and ones character presumptuous

—>we, in fact, live in a world where we are told one of the greatest dangers in society is “low self esteem.”

-the antidote for which is a constant stream of judgement-free, no questions asked, positive affirmation

-it is hardly surprising that we struggle to see our own weakness and limitations when blinded by pride.

Here is the biblical counterpoint:

Isaiah 40:6–7 ESV

A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass.

Contrast that with Nebuchadnezzar perception of himself(Daniel 4 conceit)

Or that of the rich man who boasted in his storehouses (Lk 12 presumption)

Additional ways pride deceives us about who we are:

(1) Pride repeats the lie of Satan, that we can be like God

(2) Pride tells us we are righteous apart from Jesus Christ

(3) Pride tells us we are humble when we have low self-esteem

low-self esteem is not humility- “it is pride failing, pride intimidated, and pride despairing”

Mephibosheth “dead dog”

is the goal to be Eeyore?

is the mantra of humility “nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll go eat worms?”

true humility is “not to think less of myself, but to think of myself less.”- Tim Keller

How do we diagnose if we are blind to our own pride?

If we are so humble, we should have no trouble asking someone who knows us well and cares for us where they see pride in our lives, and teachably accepting their response

If we are unable/unwilling to do this, then I think we already have our answer

3. Pride damages relationships

David says “my eyes are not haughty”

arrogance/haughtiness is pride that comes at the expense of others

it prevents us from keeping the law of God—of loving our neighbor as ourselves

instead our neighbor becomes our enemy, or competitor for glory we want

our pride gives us a sense of superiority that we use to abuse others

diagnosing question: this is true even in close relationships! how many arguments with your close friends or even your spouse were really two warring egos desperate for preeminence?

in our words and actions we often communicate that the other person exists to serve my desires, needs, or opinions , and when we get angry, upset, hurt, sad or resentful, is it not because we have encountered another pride that will not bend before our own?

Self-righteous snobbery is an excellent example

Like the Pharisee and the publican

Diagnosing questions to help us identify our arrogance—our haughty eyes— toward others:

Do we feel superior to others made in God’s image because of our religious status?

Do we regularly compare ourselves favorably against others?

Are you teachable?

Would other say about you that generally it is “your way or the highway?”

Do you have a competitive ego that sometimes gets the best of you? Are you dominated by the need to excel at the cost of others or in comparison to others?

Are you quick to notice other people sins or shortcomings?

4. Pride is a thief (of worship & joy)

(1) Pride steals glory that belongs to God.

Psalm 10:4 ESV

In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

(2) Pride steals the joy that we receive from pure worship.

Psalm 16:11 ESV

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

blessed self-forgetfulness

5. Pride alienates us from grace

Ephesians 2:8–10 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

A warning:

James 4:6 ESV

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Summary:

We should care about pride because pride:

creates a noisy soul

deceives us about ourselvs

damages our relationships

steals God’s glory and our joy

alienates us from grace

This is the problem of pride. you and I have it—here’s what we should do about it

What we must do—a path to humility

1. We Must Regain our Vision of God

David concludes the Psalm with a seemingly out of place statement

“O Israel, hope in the LORD, from this time forth and forevermore.”

Yet it is not out of place at all.

A heart of humility only comes when we capture a glimpse of who God is, and consequently who we are

When our hopes and desires and worth are not directed inward, but upward

Ex: Moses—captures a glimpse of the passing glory of God, subsequently the meekest man alive

Ex: Isaiah—seeing God showed him who he was quite clearly

“It is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.” -John Calvin

The more we see of God, the more convinced we are of this: that He alone is worthy!

How?

1) Read Scripture more often

2) Read Scripture to see and savor the glory of God

3) Read Scripture expecting and willing to be changed

4) Pray through Scripture and meditate upon it

5) Apply particular Scripture as the Spirit calls it to our mind

2. We Must be Captivated by Christ

Philippians 2:4–11 ESV

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Whereas Adam viewed equality with God something he should grasp at...

“you will be like God, knowing good from evil...”

Adam desired to occupy himself with things “too great and wonderful” for him

Christ who possessed fully the divine nature was not willing to exploit it...

but he emptied and humbled himself (reflexive verbs, the subject acts upon themselves), even unto death

an active verb (subjects act upon someone else) passive verb (subject is acted upon)

“What gift of grace, is Jesus my redeemer,

There is no more for heaven now to give.

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus

For my life is wholly bound to His.

Oh how strange and divine, I can sing, all is mine,

Yet not I but through Christ in me.”

therefore—HAVE THIS MIND WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST!

“Be thou my vision, O LORD of my heart, Naught be all else to me, save that thou art! Thou my best thought by day and by night, waking or sleeping Thy presence my light.”

May strive to be able in purity and truth to affirm with David...

that our hearts are not proud

our eyes are not haughty

that we do not occupy ourselves with the secret mysteries that belong to God

but that we are a people of calm and quiet souls.

O Christian,

Hope in the LORD, from this day and forevermore!