Articles
“The Childlike Spirit”
1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
2 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.
Psalm 131
The heading of this psalm attributes it to David. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing exactly when David wrote it. Did he pen these words as an older man, broken from the fallout of his sins but still holding onto his faith? Or perhaps during his middle years, amid the turmoil of his crumbling kingdom? The psalm would certainly have its ironies read in this light. But it could have been written during the early years of David's modest dependance on and pure devotion to the Lord. These were the qualities which helped make him great.
This unassuming little psalm anticipates Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18:1-4, where he called a child to him in answer to the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Here, David models the childlike spirit, the ideal frame of mind before God, with three characteristics.
The childlike spirit is humble (1) — Hearts “lifted up” and eyes “raised too high” are both expressions of arrogance (1a). Presumption issues from pride (1b). While pride undervalues others, presumption overestimates and overreaches oneself. Such people concern themselves with matters far beyond their comprehension, like “the secret things” which belong only to God (Deut. 29:29). They are not content with either the truth which God has revealed or the gifts which God has given. The childlike spirit counters pride with humble service (Phil. 2) and presumption with gratitude and contentment (Phil. 4).
The childlike spirit is calm (2) — His soul is like a “weaned child with its mother.” That is, like a weaned child, he no longer frets over things which he used to find indispensable. He is free from worldly ambitions and destructive self-seeking (1). He is not led away into bondage by the empty promises of the world or crippled by fear because he finds his contentment and security solely in God. The childlike spirit does “nothing from selfishness or conceit” (Phil. 2:3ff) because it has “learned… to be content” in Christ (Phil. 4:11ff).
The childlike spirit is hopeful (3) — The last verse is David’s encouragement to follow his example. If we possess this childlike disposition of humble trust and contentment we can “hope in the Lord” at all times. The childlike spirit does not lapse into despair or bitterness in hard times because it unreservedly trusts in the Lord.
When we learn to “wean” ourselves from the empty aspirations and false hopes of the world and fully “hope in the Lord” we are given solid food for the mature: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (Jn. 4:34) Biblical hope is active. It is not a static, idle waiting but a dynamic striving. Thus, the childlike spirit is at once at rest in the Lord (2) and at work for him. In Colossians 1:29, Paul captures the correct balance of God’s control and human responsibility: “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
Paul is at hard at work, striving for the Lord. Yet, he is aware there is a divine strength within him while he works. Therefore, like a child who trusts his father, he is free to work hard without the stressful motivations of either pride or fear; no pride (because it’s really God at work within him) and no fear (because it’s not all up to him).
