Our world around us is full of strife and outrage. It is easy to cause offense or be offended. There are so many things that need changed or fixed in our world that we can get so caught up in it all that we become frantic, fearful or irritable. When we only consider all the grievous things happening in our world today among a pandemic and social injustice we can be overwhelmed and/or anxious.

Yesterday while watching our church service on Livestream they opened the service with Psalms 131 as the call to worship. Our pastor went on to say after reading it that we need to be like weaned children with our Savior who are quieted and content.

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. – Psalms 131

Today I did a focused study and meditation on verse two. I first looked up the meaning of “I have calmed” from the Hebrew and it means to agree with, composed, smooth and stilled. Literally to have composed, hushed or rendered silent my soul.

Benson’s Commentary had this to say about it:

Surely I have behaved and quieted myself — Hebrew, שׁויתי ודוממתי נפשׁי, I have composed and hushed, or, rendered silent, my soul. When my mind was provoked to any irregular passion or temper, I restrained and subdued all such sinful motions or dispositions. As a child that is weaned of his mother — As void of all that ambition and malice, wherewith I am charged, as a child newly weaned; or, rather, as wholly depending upon God’s providence, as the poor helpless infant, when it is deprived of its accustomed food, the milk of the breast, takes no care to provide for itself, but wholly relies upon its mother for support. I have levelled my mind to an equality with my condition; and resolved to acquiesce in the present state of things, committing myself wholly to thy care, being content to be disposed of as thou pleasest.”

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers said this:

We thus get: “Surely I made my soul as quiet as a weaned child upon his mother, as a weaned child upon me, my soul.” Instead of fretting after what is too great for him, he quiets his ambition, and his spirit lies calm and gentle, like a child in its mother’s arms, that after the first trouble of weaning is over is soothed and lulled by the maternal caress. Perhaps the opposite idea, expressed by the common phrase, “to nurse ambitious thoughts,” may serve to illustrate this somewhat unwonted image.

So as I pondered this verse and thought about how this applies, it reminded me how instead of fretting about everything I need to run to my Heavenly Father and let Him be the quieting force in my soul to supernaturally enable me to be quiet and content and fully trusting in Him to provide for my every need as my loving Father. As I meditated on this verse, God gave me a poetic response to it.

A Weaned Child Quiet and Content

Father, may I be a weaned child in Your arms;

Quieted, content and free from all alarms.

Help me not to strive to solve society’s ills,

But instead worship You and calmly be still.

All that I need I depend on You to provide

For only You can truly make my soul satisfied.

– Deborah Peabody. June 28,2020