Psalm 131: my soul is even as a weaned child

A psalm of David for the road

Psalm 131 is headed “A Song of degrees of David”, one of the pilgrim songs sung on the way up to Jerusalem. It begins with a confession of limits: “LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me” (131:1). This is a king speaking, or someone praying in a king's words, and he says he has stopped reaching for what is beyond him.

What does Psalm 131:2 mean?

The full verse reads: “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.” In ancient Israel children were often nursed until two or three years old. A nursing infant in its mother's arms is restless, turning to be fed. A weaned child can sit on the same lap and simply rest. It wants its mother, not what she can give it.

That is the psalm's picture of mature faith. The soul has not stopped needing God. It has stopped demanding, and learned to be quiet in his presence. The phrase “behaved and quieted myself” suggests effort: calm like this is chosen and practiced, not automatic.

Some readers have noticed that the image is a mother's view of her child, and wondered whether a woman first prayed it. The heading names David, and the text does not settle the question.

The last line

Verse 3 widens the circle to the whole people: “Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.” What began as one person's quiet becomes an invitation to everyone.

Why Mary and the child

Our painting shows the Virgin Mary with the child Jesus, because the psalm and the Gospels share a posture. Luke describes Mary keeping things in her heart and pondering them (Luke 2:19), and Jesus told his disciples that whoever would enter the kingdom must become as a little child (Matthew 18:3). Psalm 131 is a fine verse for a nursery, a new mother, a baptism, or anyone who needs permission to stop striving.