Hope in the Lord

Psalm 131

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.

¹ Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
² Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³ O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
now and always.

Here is a beautiful picture of trust. A child, sitting calmly in its mother’s lap, content and satisfied. David is painting a picture of what it can be like for us when we “put our hope in the Lord”. Today, we think of hope as an expression of desire – “I hope it won’t rain for the party”. But hope in the Biblical sense is much stronger. It is confident expectation and assurance of His goodness.

Hoping in the Lord also implies dependence on Him. A weaned child may not be crying and searching for milk but is still dependent on their mother. Their calmness comes from their past experience and confidence that she will provide what they need.

In the first verse of this psalm, David declares that he is free of pride, haughtiness and arrogance. That seems like a big call until we put it into the context of the last verse. Placing his hope in the Lord means that David submits to God. He doesn’t need to elevate himself above what God gives him to do. He doesn’t need to look down on others. He doesn’t need to worry and fret over matters which are out of his control. He can “be still and know that He is God”. Hoping in the Lord gives us rest and freedom.

Lord, I admit that I don’t always trust you as I should. Please help me put my hope in you completely so that I can be calm and confident, not proud or arrogant.

Written by Megan Cornell