Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
Our Psalm reading for this week, Psalm 131, is a very short psalm, at only three verses. The central question in Psalm 131 is the locus of our hope. Where will we find hope? It’s in the LORD. We will not find hope anywhere else.
Verse 1 gives a number of illustrations of matters which are “too high” for the Psalmist. If we try to analyze and dissect every bit of philosophy, every piece of history, every interpersonal dynamic, we find we are unable to accomplish anything. That process, though important, will eventually lead only to more questions. It is a dangerous place to seek our identity.
As we consider the structure of this Psalm, we find that verses 1 and 3 both point to verse 2, the pivotal idea. Verse 3 shows that, rather than finding our identity in the things which are “too high” we hope in the LORD, the God of Israel.
We are then left with verse two. What does it look like when we are hoping in the Lord? The Psalmist describes calm, quiet, and the overall aspect of a well-nourished child with his mother, a place of comfort and safety.
Where then do we find our identity? Are we looking in all the wrong places? As we read the Psalms we find plenty of opportunity to refocus and set our priorities and desires aright.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Our Psalm reading for this week, Psalm 131, is a very short psalm, at only three verses. The central question in Psalm 131 is the locus of our hope. Where will we find hope? It’s in the LORD. We will not find hope anywhere else.
Verse 1 gives a number of illustrations of matters which are “too high” for the Psalmist. If we try to analyze and dissect every bit of philosophy, every piece of history, every interpersonal dynamic, we find we are unable to accomplish anything. That process, though important, will eventually lead only to more questions. It is a dangerous place to seek our identity.
As we consider the structure of this Psalm, we find that verses 1 and 3 both point to verse 2, the pivotal idea. Verse 3 shows that, rather than finding our identity in the things which are “too high” we hope in the LORD, the God of Israel.
We are then left with verse two. What does it look like when we are hoping in the Lord? The Psalmist describes calm, quiet, and the overall aspect of a well-nourished child with his mother, a place of comfort and safety.
Where then do we find our identity? Are we looking in all the wrong places? As we read the Psalms we find plenty of opportunity to refocus and set our priorities and desires aright.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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