The Right Stuff
- Joshua Goodin
- Jan 28
- 2 min read
“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; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.[a] 3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.”
Psalms 131(NRSV)
This past Saturday I attended the installation for the Baptist Pastors and Ministers in Philadelphia. Scheduled within the program, like any formal installation was the charge to the candidate or cabinet. Pastor James S. Hall of Triumph Baptist Church provided the charge, and he read from a psalm that I don’t think I really paid attention to, it’s one of the shortest. Pastor Hall read psalm 131 and shared some reflections, as I listened my mind began to wonder and immediately, I said this is the right stuff he’s giving them. Not only was it the right stuff for them but the right stuff for humanity at large.
David in this psalm speaks three things about his present spiritual condition: my heart is not lifted (proud), eyes are not raised high (haughty), and I do not occupy myself with too great of matters (what I can’t handle, I leave alone). VanGemeren summarizes pride powerfully: “The proud person looks, compares, competes, and is never content” (Merida & Akin, 2021), we must avoid becoming proudful because it leads to a fall. Developing an arrogant eye will cause you to lose empathy for others and see yourself too high, and minding matters that are too difficult is not your job but rather God's. David says they may not have always been my posture, but I got the right stuff now. Here’s how David changed his position, silenced himself in the presence of the Lord and through hoping in the Lord. Richard Foster writes, “In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds” (Merida & Akin, 2021), learning how to be silent and find calmness like a weaned baby. Finally trusting in the God who is able, faith that is childlike will easily find hope in God.
References
Merida, T., & Akin, D. L. (2021). Exalting Jesus in Psalms 101-150: Volume 2. B&H Publishing Group.
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