Psalms: Songs of Ascent

Our reading for tonight, and that is Psalm a hundred and 31.

And then we're gonna sing 2 songs after this just to warn the band and then Pete will come and preach. For us. So Psalm 131 A song of a sense of David. My heart is not proud, Lord. My eyes are not haughty.

I do not concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself. I am like a wean child with its mother. Like a wean child, I am content, Israel. Put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

Well, good evening. What a lovely little psalm. Just turned to its psalm a hundred and 31. We've been going through these little psalms. They're so high.

They're psalms of ascent. Most people think that they're they're psalms that people used to worship the Lord as they walked up the hill to the temple of God to Jerusalem. And they use these sort of like as memory things and they're they're terrific, and this is a particularly little short 1, which is rather good, isn't it? Because it's so hot. Do you really want a long 1 tonight?

You want a short 1. Yeah. Yeah. You want a long 1? Okay.

Well, let's turn to Psalm a hundred and 19. No. Let's go for this. Let's read it out together. So we'll read a song of a sense of David.

We will read that because that is part of the song, and then we'll read it out together. So let's do that. A song of a sense of David. My heart is not proud lord. My eyes are not haughty.

I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me, but I have calmed and quieted myself I'm like a weaned child with its mother. Like a weaned child, I am content. Israel, put your hope in the lord, both now and forever. It's it's a wonderful psalm And and it really reveals King David because this is the the writer that he's really got the the best attitude of heart. As he ascends the hill of the lord.

As he comes to worship the lord. As he comes to that holy mountain and into the temple. Where the presence of the Lord was that was pictured. And he's really got the best attitude of heart, and I I hope we can get this. He's he's contented.

He's at peace. He's has this stillness and quietness of soul. He's given up fighting. He's given up self, and he's relaxing in God. Big weighty questions.

They can wait, he's saying for the moment. He's in the presence of the Lord. And he doesn't know how long he's in the presence of the lord, maybe an hour or 2, maybe a day. He really doesn't know, but he's in the presence of the lord and pride and worry they just don't have any place there because he's in the presence of the lord. That's that's really what's going on here.

For me, this week has been really busy. You come back from holiday and it's what's the point? And It's been a really, really busy week for me. But I got sort of most of the stuff done that I had to do. And on Saturday afternoon, I'd been to a wedding, and on Saturday afternoon, I was pretty dozy.

I felt really dozy. And I laid on our swing our swing chair, which was in the shade in our garden. The sky was blue. The sun was out. It was warm, and this is a, you know, triple seat swing chair.

I laid down on my back and went, dozed. It's lovely, isn't it? To doze outside in the breeze, slightly swinging, you know? I mean, what what would have been better if Anne was there swinging it and and, you know, but she doesn't do that sort of thing. But there I was.

And then I woke up, and then when I woke up, I really felt I'd had a lovely dose. And I looked up, it was a blue sky, and I was looking at the swifts in the sky, and a few little puffy clouds, and was just completely chilled gazing into god's universe. I don't know whether you do what I do. When I look up a a great blue sky, I sometimes try to reverse it in my head. I I don't know whether I'm the only 1 who does that, and I sort of go like this.

And I pretend that I'm not looking up, but I'm looking down into the ocean. Like, do you do that? Alright. Okay. So you you're looking up in the sky, and then suddenly you're looking down and you see these things and they're like, fish.

But anyway, I was really completely chilled and just gazing into God's universe and feeling no pressure. I'd done most of my work. I didn't really feel any pressure. That's the flavor of this song. That's the flavor of this song.

And and and in a world where there's violence, in a world where there's difficulty, that's the flavor of this psalm. That David here is chilled, if you like, if you can put it in those terms, in the presence of the lord. In fact, it seems to me that David has taken the words of Paul in Philippians 4. Do turn to that. Philippians chapter 4 in the new testament.

He's taken the words of Paul and he's put them into practice. In a sense, Psalm a hundred and 31, is the practical outworking of Paul's words in Philippians chapter 4 verse 4. Let me read them. Let me read them slowly. You'll know these words if you've been a Christian for some time.

If you've not, then these are wonderful words. But just let me just read them. And and as you're swinging backwards and forwards on your swing chair with a little gentle breeze going, as you're looking up in the guy at the fish that are swimming down below, if you can get that in your head. Here this, this is what Paul says. Rejoice.

In the lord always. I'll say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything.

But in every situation by prayer and petition with thanks giving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding. Would guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure. Whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.

If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, Think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen from me, put into practice. And the God of Peace will be with you. I think David is putting that into practice. He's on the swing chair.

He's really understanding. He's putting aside anxiety. He's not now biting. He's not pulling his hair out. He's chilled in the presence of God if we could use that phrase.

Think we can. It's a wonderful little Psalm. CH spurgeon, I use this brilliant on the Psalms. He where's brilliant anyway. He says this.

This is 1 of the shortest songs to read, but 1 of the largest to learn. It speaks of a young child but it contains the spirit, it experience of a man of Christ or a woman of Christ. It is short But I think it's all our Christian life learning this. I think we just gotta keep learning this. In many ways, if you were there this morning with my sermon this morning on on Hebrew 10 and 11, it really it's really the same sermon, but from a different angle.

It's just we've gotta keep learning this. So let's just have a little look at it. We won't be too long. First of all, the picture, the picture that he paints it. It's beautiful.

It's of a weaned child. This is a weaned child, and it's a picture of contentment. An unweaned child is frantically rooting around for a breast. That's all it's thinking of. It craves the breast for its stomach.

That's all it's thinking of. Press. You know, they can't think of anything else. Yeah. But a winged child, the 1 that's come off the milk and is eating food.

The wean child just enjoys being in its mother's lap. The unwilling child is just constant with the breast. West the breast. West the breast. Yeah.

But I'm sure it doesn't say quite like that, but, you know, the winged child is just simply enjoying. Satisfied. Yeah. Not worried about its stomach, but enjoying heart to heart with the mother. That's the picture here.

We don't remember being weaned, I guess, unless I know some countries sort of wean their kids at about 19 or something. That was just slightly odd. But I I I does anybody remember being winged? Yeah. I mean, I doubt it.

We we but it was 1 of our first traumas, wasn't it? It was 1 of the first things that our our mums showed love for us, but it didn't feel like love. And you don't remember that, but it was a trial and a trauma And when you're a baby and you're not weaned and you're gonna be weaned, you think your mother hates you. You are crying out with your desire. And yet we've got over that.

That's an amazing thing. You've got over. And good job you have. If you were your age and not weaned, it would be really weird. And you wouldn't have grown up, and you would have all kinds of issues, I would I would say.

But you see, there's a lesson to learn there. We we don't remember the first trial and it was a good job that that our mother loved us so much. She put us through that trial to help us grow up to weenas, isn't it? First time you tasted a carrot, what the heck is that? Where's the milk?

Yeah. First time you tasted Well, I mean, to be fair, it is pretty horrible. What's that nasty broccoli? Yeah. First time you tasted broccoli.

Bah. Where's the milk? Yeah? Fair enough with broccoli. It's disgusting.

Yeah. But the first time you, you know, you matched up carrot. No. No. No.

No. No. No. Breast. Give me breast.

Yeah. Alright. That's that's how it would. That's a great lesson, isn't it? Because we can't even remember that trial, but thank goodness we went through it.

There are trials now that you're going through perhaps. With God. You don't understand it. You're wondering whether God hates you. But, hey, he's growing you up.

He's weaning you. When we're unwind, we're sort of non thinking screaming monsters for our desire. You want this. You want that. And you quarrel with God.

I want it and I want it now. You kick and you struggle and you cry, and you moan. And you think God hates you because it's so painful, and you're anxious, and you're not at peace, and you're not rejoicing, and you're not trusting, and you're complaining, and you'll blame everybody else for your miserable manners. Thankfully, the lord didn't pamper us. He never wants the pamper us.

He wants us to grow. To grow up to be weaned. And now you're weaned, your soul is quieted. This is the picture. Your resentments and your hurts and your disappointments to God they're gone.

Your anger at what what, you know, why me turns into thank you God. I'll trust you. I'll leave it in your hands. You're not kicking and struggling when you're weaned. This is the picture.

You're not saying my circumstances are not very good. You're in the hands of God. You're in the arms of God. God might choose to change your circumstances, and that may well be good, but he may not, and you're pleased with whatever. Because God wants you to grow, he wants you weaned.

John Piper writes about this Psalm He says, I want to know the peace that passes all understanding. The peace of a weaned child secure in its mother's lap. I want to know contentment of soul that is based not on my circumstances. But on my unspeakable restfulness I'm sorry, unshakable restfulness in God. That's what it is to be weaned.

Unshakable restfulness in God, rejoicing in the Lord always. Not anxious. Piper goes on and he quotes an old puritan Jeremy Burrows. In a in a book called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. A lovely title, isn't it?

It's different imagery. It's completely different imagery to the weaned child. But listen to this. I love this. He's talking he's talking about really Philippians that we read earlier.

He he's saying that when this is in the heart, when you know this piece in the soul, everything's different. Just listen how he does it. I thought this was fantastic. To be content as a result of some external thing, your external circumstances, is like warming a man's clothes by the fire. But to be content through an inward disposition of the soul, is like the warmth that a man's clothes have from the natural heat of his body.

A man who is healthy in body puts on his clothes. And perhaps at first, on a cold morning, they feel cold, but after he has had them on a little while, they're warm. Now, how did they get warm? They were not near the fire. No.

They came from the natural heat of his body. Now when a sickly man When a sickly man, the natural heat of whose body has deteriorated puts on his clothes, They do not get hot for a long time. He must warm them by the fire, and even then they will soon go cold again. And it's a lovely picture of knowing God in your heart. When you really do know God in your heart, there's a warmth that warms the clothes.

It's a very different picture I know to the weaning, but there's a warmth that warms the clothes. And and and and but all the time we're seeking fire, and outward circumstances. And I've got to get warm, and I need comfortable. If only this fire was nearer me. If only I was nearer the fire.

If only but but when God is there? When you rejoice in the lord, when you were in the lord. Whoops. Oh, that's who was that? That's alright.

We can rock to that. Sounded like guns and roses. It was what? Petra. Oh, okay.

No. That's alright. Don't worry. This that's not gonna chid's coolly down. They're not that sort of rock.

That's gonna get you going, ain't it? Yeah. But there, there you are. There's a warmth in in in the heart. So there's this beautiful picture of contentment of warmth, You're in the heart of God.

Yeah. And these words, they're they're painting that picture of of a contented child. The very thing that that Christ wants us to be, this childlike hue humility that we're meant to have if we're in the kingdom of God. We have this child like spirit, this characteristic of trusting this god who's weaned us. Lovely picture in it.

Yeah? Anybody awake? It's a good picture, isn't it? Okay. Go into the second point.

And how do we get to the position of a weaned child? How are we gonna get there? Well, he contrasts what he is with what he's not. Just have a look. He says he is not haughty in heart or he's not haughty in looks.

He's not occupied with great matters, not at this time. And he contrast that with being a weaned child, no longer crying to be fed, nesting in in the mother's mother's arms. And I think this is the first thing that we need if we're gonna be like a winged child. It's just not to be proud. Pride is like the killer of everything.

Pride is always I think I know best. Again, this was my sermon on Sunday morning. Prior pride is I I know best. I I think I think I know how to run my life better than Jesus knows how to run my life. And therefore, I don't like the circumstances are in.

Therefore, I want out. I want to quit. We were talking about quitting. And and that's pride. And if we're gonna be a weaned child, we gotta put our pride away and say, I don't know everything.

I know very little, but God knows everything. He knows what's best for me. He's my mother. He's my father. He's the 1 that will wean me and help me grow and he knows exactly what I need in my life at this time to help me grow.

He's the sovereign God that knows best. We are very proud by nature. I mean, more proud than we sort of think. You know? And we often need things to happen in our life to show us how stupidly proud we are.

Don't we? Yeah? And we were walking along thinking we were quite humble. And then something happens and you suddenly realize how stupidly proud you are. It's it's amazing, isn't it?

How proud we are? Spurgeon puts it this way. Pride is a kind of weed that will grow on very poor soil quite as freely as the best cultivated garden. In other words, you know, rich people with big gardens, they're proud and poor people with, you know, poor soil, they're proud. We're all proud.

Alright. Here we are. Let's do something just to keep us going for a few minutes. On your tables, How could Pride get in the way of contentment? How could Pride get in the way of contentment.

Just chat on your table for a couple of minutes. Okay. Any thoughts? The picture of a wean child is a lovely thing. I hope we all want that rather than be anxious and all that stuff.

So how does pride stop us being a winged child? Any thoughts? Sell pity's a form of pride, isn't it? Mhmm. And so if I think, oh, I'm rubbish and terrible, and I'm so insular looking it in with Yeah, because you're looking at yourself.

Yep. Yeah. A good 1. Sorry? Thinking that you're entitled to more.

I need a better life than the 1 that God's given me. How dare he do this? Yep. Trying to be in control of everything is such a big issue, isn't it? We do wanna be in control.

It's very hard for us, not to play God, and we're not God. God is the 1 in control, not us. Yeah. Now he's not calling for us to be irresponsible, obviously. But this psalm is dealing not with that sort of issue.

He's dealing with us, you know, relying on God, God is in control. Yep. Anything else? Without yeah. Yes.

Yes. Yeah. Brilliant. Brilliant. Thank you.

Yeah. So pride for those that are online and didn't hear that. It is is a is a constant self deceit that I'm something special, that I'm good, that I can do this, and you know, we you're constantly living under a a a land of make belief and that's a disaster. That sort of stuff. Yeah.

Very very helpful. Thank you. Anything else? We're always saying to people you gotta do something grand. It can't just be normal.

You know, can't just be a child in the hands of God. We've got to be so special and, you know, I deserve this and I can do it and you know, you can do it and it's all sort of the whole emphasis today is just so ridiculous you know. If everybody's special, no one's special. Yeah? So it's just sort of a madness really.

Yeah. I mean, this listen to it again. I'm just what I wanna do is sort of keep rubbing this in. My heart is not proud lord. My eyes are not haughty.

I do not concern myself with great matters or things to wonderful me. So the message is is look, look, renounce self reliance. You know, we shouldn't have a day called pride day. What a disaster to that is. It's such a disaster, isn't it?

On every level. Yeah? Renown self reliance the Bible says. We'll have a have a renouncing self reliance day. That's a better thing.

That's what we should say, isn't it? That I'm renouncing self reliance day. Yeah. Let's let's campaign for that and have a rainbow flag on it and everything. And, you know, self exhalation.

Stop it. Self rule. Right at the heart level. And if you stop this whole idea that you think you're in control, then you'll know a calm, quiet, deep soul contentment in God. My heart is not proud lord.

My eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful, for for for me. And that's the second thing. What 1 is to get rid of pride, but the the second thing is if we're gonna be like a weaned child, we need to sometimes just leave the big questions to God. Yeah.

We don't know the answer. We have to believe in the God of Providence and the sovereign God, and sometimes we'll never know the answer. The why? Why this? Why that?

Why did God allow 5 people to die in a submarine? Why did, you know, why is God allowing Putin to do this? What I don't know. But I do know that God knows, and 1 day it will probably be explained, And we don't know. And when we say, why am I married to this man?

Why am I married to this woman? Why is this going wrong here? I actually don't know, except I do know. God wants to wean you from your desires and your moans. And use this to grow you up.

Do you see? So that where you are right now, he's using to grow you up, to wean you, so that you'll be a man and a woman of God. We don't know the answers sometimes to these big things. People say, you know, why did why me? Well, why not you?

What do you want? What it should be him? You know? Why are you? Well, the only answer is because God's weaning you.

From your desires. I'm strengthening you. I'm giving you solids. So that leads me to my third my third point. Are you weaned?

I bet you've never been asked that, have you? Yeah? Are you weaned or are you unweaned? Yeah? Are you just, you know Sorry.

I can't No. I can't say what was No. But are you weaned? Okay. Are you weaned or you unweaned?

Being weaned is a mark of spiritual growth. A spiritual growth from spiritual infant infant isn't it? So we we move on to know the joys of the lord in a deeper way. And the lord takes away the milk sometimes to help us grow. The very thing we think we need, he sometimes removes to weenus.

This morning, we had a a quick look at Hebrews 5. Just turned to Hebrews 5. Hebrews chapter 5 verse 11 and then also just to 1 Corinthians 3 2. So Hebrews 5 11 and then 1 Corinthians 3 2. Because it's asking the question, are we weaned or unweaned?

So Hebrew is 5, and verse 11, And the writer of the book of Hebrews is talking about all kinds of things, and he says in verse 11, we have much to say about this, so he's got some stuff he wants to say. But look but look at this line here, and we were looking at it this this morning. But it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. Now I've been a pastor enough and try to talk to people enough and to lead people on and help them in their belief in the sovereignty of God. And you come to a point with some people where they just will not understand.

They do not they're not trying to understand. And then he goes on and says, in fact, Though by this time, you ought to be teachers. You need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk. You haven't grown up.

You'll never go on to understand God in a deeper way. You'll never go on to understand God unless you put into practice the elementary things you know. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teachings about righteousness, but solid food is for the mature. Who by constant use are train have trained themselves to distinguish good from from evil.

You you know stuff about the Christian faith, but you don't put it into practice. And because you don't put it into practice, you're a baby. You're a baby. And you're deliberately not understanding. That's what you say to babies, isn't it?

You deliberately are not understanding. And and the writer to Hebrews is is a wonderful pastor. But he's he's showing the frustration of saying, If only you would come be weaned, if only you would come onto solid food, you would have more of a joy and understand the Christian life. But you're in your context, you're in your circumstance that you don't like, and all you do is moan and want to back slide. When you learn the basics, learn love, learn to love someone that's unlovable in your life.

Then you'll make that step, and then you'll grow, and then you'll be weaned. See, that's so important. I so are you weaned or unweaned? Or look at 2 at 1 Corinthians 3 verse 2. Paul says, I gave you milk, not solid food.

For you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You're just a baby crying for the breast. This is corinth. They had all of the gifts of the spirit.

Yeah? They thought they were super duper powerful apostles. They thought they were really spiritual people. And he said, you're babies. You're not even weaned.

You're not serving God. You're not loving your neighbor. You're all on about how good your good your your gift is. Yeah. You're just drinking milk.

You haven't grown up. You're not weaned. So brothers and sisters, we'll always have discontentment, grumpiness, Unhappiness, blaming of others in our lives, until we're weaned. Until we understand the sovereignty of God. Until we understand that our circumstances are in his hands.

Until we rely on him, until we look to him, until we understand the beauty of the savior who loved us and gave his life for us, until we're taken up with him. And when we understand who he is and what he's done for us, We can chill out in a world of complication and difficult relationships. My heart is not proud lord. My eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me but I have calmed and quieted myself.

I'm like a winged child with its mother. Like a winged child I'm content. Israel. That's us, the church now. Put your hope in the lord, both now and forevermore.

Father the God, help us to hear this wonderful little psalm and help us to look to you to put it into practice. As spurgeon said, it's a very short song but it takes a lifetime to learn it and help us to start now. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.