Anticipating Worship: Finding Rest
Psalms 131
July 3, 2022
I typically like to try and build some framework to introduce a Psalm
To sort of get our minds working in the right direction before we dive in.
But I honestly think the best way to introduce this Psalm
Is simply by reading again verse 2.
(2) “Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.”
I think with just that verse this Psalm really sort of “sells itself”.
Our culture knows a thing or two about chaos and stress.
• We calculate our time and plan our days down to the minute.
• We budget and plan and appropriate our funds.
• We plan for the future.
• We prepare for a rainy day.
• We labor and strive.
• We live in a cutthroat world of deadlines and quotas and expectations and requirements.
In short we live in a stressful environment.
Not only that but we live in uncertain times.
There was a day when we smiled at the future and expected great things from tomorrow, but I’m not sure that’s today.
• We sense spiraling inflation.
• We sense supply chain problems.
• Some talk about food shortages.
• We see rising gas prices.
In short, we know that peace or rest is NOT
A natural consequence of the days in which we live.
People are tired, they are stressed, they are on edge,
They are worried, they are angry.
It seems like we are miles away from
“My soul is like a weaned child within me.”
And yet I would remind you that “Peace and Rest”
Have always been God’s intention for His people.
We quickly remember the promise of Jesus:
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Even in the Upper Room He said:
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
This has always been the expectation, that a believer would live in peace.
In one sense certainly that refers to what we might call POSITIONAL PEACE or “peace with God”.
• That which Jesus purchased for us through His death on the cross.
• That now there is no longer any condemnation.
• That now there is a “cease fire” with God.
• We have peace with Him.
But Christians aren’t just supposed to enjoy positional peace we are also supposed to enjoy PRACTICAL PEACE.
• We are to be at peace and to be at rest.
BUT SO MUCH OF THE TIME THAT IS NOT OUR LIVES.
Well tonight we look at a Psalm that not only EXPLAINS PEACE to us,
But tells us HOW TO FIND IT.
And it ends again with our Psalmist
Crying out to the congregation to obtain it too.
And since this is still a “song of ascents”
We are reminded that one of the reasons we gather together as a body
Is to Help One Another To Obtain The Peace
Which Christ intended for us to enjoy.
So let’s work our way through this 131st Psalm.
3 points tonight.
#1 THE PATH TO PEACE
Psalms 131:1
What we are talking about here is PRACTICAL PEACE.
We are talking about that SOUL REST which Jesus offered.
• It is a rest from labors.
• It is a rest from striving.
As we talked about recently with the youth
It is that which we gain from sitting on the back of the bicycle built for two
While Jesus is doing all the peddling.
It certainly begins with the peace of knowing that God is pleased with me based upon the finished work of Jesus.
But there is also the peace of knowing that God is in control
And I don’t have to fear the chaos of the culture.
It is that which the Psalmist is discussing.
Well the Psalmist here reiterates WHY HE HAS IT.
And he outlines 2 criteria for it.
1) HUMILITY (1a)
“O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;”
So let’s stop right there and make an obvious point.
• If you suffer from a lack of peace.
• If you suffer from a lack of soul rest.
One of the culprits that could be causing that is pride.
In a simple sense this should be obvious since we know
• That “God is opposed to the proud” (James 4:6)
• And “there is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22)
So obviously a person who walks in pride
Is going to suffer a loss of peace.
But we could probably seek to understand it even better than that.
How does pride steal peace?
Both of those words “proud” and “haughty” are synonyms in the Hebrew
And they both speak of “being lifted up” or “rising” or “exalted”.
And the idea is of one who sort of walks around with their nose in the air.
• It speaks of one who has inflated self view.
• It speaks of one who is entitled.
• It speaks of one who lives with great expectation of what life should offer you.
This is a quick way to lose your peace.
• When you live with this sense of entitlement for what is owed you by the world.
• When you live with this sense of entitlement for what is owed you by God.
It is very difficult to be content or to be at rest
When you feel like you’re being cheated by the world.
A positive illustration here would be the apostle Paul.
If you want to see how humility and peace are so easily knit together.
Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
I know that verse is often quoted by athletes who can dunk a basketball or who score a touchdown or some other nonsense like that.
When Paul says I can “do” all things, what he is actually referring to is contentment.
• I can handle all things.
• I can endure all things.
It didn’t matter if he had little.
He was still at peace.
PRIDE AND ENTITLEMENT IS AN ENEMY OF OUR PEACE
And when we don’t get what we think we deserve, then
• Instead of peace we get bitterness.
• Instead of rest we get frustration.
• Instead of contentment we get confusion.
One of the reasons David was able to rest in peace with a contented soul
Was because he was humble.
It is no doubt the lesson that Horatio Spafford learned as he suffered the loss of his children when he wrote, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, Though hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
I certainly wouldn’t speak to any pride in his life, but regardless of what he was before the tragedy he clearly announces what he learned through it.
He learned humility and contentment in whatever lot God had assigned.
He let go of his “rights” and the result of his soul was peace.
IF WE STRUGGLE WITH PEACE
It might very well be that we struggle with humility.
It might be an indicator that we are entitled and not grateful.
David has peace because he is humble.
Another reason David lists here.
2) FAITH (1b)
“Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me.”
This actually runs very closely to pride as well.
• It is the need to be in control.
• It is the need to have understanding.
Remember Job?
• We know he was a righteous and God-fearing man.
• Yet he also walked through a tremendous lack of peace in his life and in the end earned a rebuke from God.
Do you remember why?
Job 42:3 “Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
Job said that one of his sins was that he involved himself in
“things too wonderful for me, which I did not know”
That is to say, “I tried to understand things I was never meant to understand.”
You do realize that life gives us many of those types of things.
Psalms 139:1-6 “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.”
Paul said:
Romans 11:34 “For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?”
Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.”
Which means of course that God has put you on a “need to know” basis.
• He told us what we need to know for obedience and salvation, but He never intended for us to know everything.
I’ve told you before about J.I. Packer’s great book “Knowing God” and how he speaks of the train station at York and how it is all confusing unless you can get into the control room above the platform.
But God doesn’t let you into the control room. He asks you simply to trust that He is in control.
If you’ve read the book “Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom she tells the story of when she is a little girl and she hears someone speak of sex sins. She doesn’t know what that is so she asks her dad.
He tells her to carry his briefcase with heavy watch parts, but she can’t. To which he responds there are some things in life that are too heavy for you and it is my job as your father to carry them for you. She took that wisdom with her through all the prisons and German concentration camps which brought many circumstances beyond understanding.
We were never intended to understand everything in life,
But rather were intended to trust God that He does.
And when we do that, one of the results is peace.
Charles Spurgeon said, “The Sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the Christian rests his head.”
But when we demand to understand
And when we seek to control situations
We were never intended to control
This is when we lose our peace.
Let me give you AN EXAMPLE:
Matthew 6:25-33 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Jesus there speaks of something that you were NOT to concern yourself with and something that you ARE to concern yourself with.
First, what ARE you to concern yourself with?
“His kingdom and His righteousness”
What are you NOT to concern yourself with?
“about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.”
And yet I would venture to guess that if you sit here tonight stressed
It probably has more to do with paying the bills
Than it does living more righteous.
Our culture bombards us with this mentality
• Making a living,
• Earning money,
• Saving money,
• Securing a future, etc.
But there is no peace there,
Namely because that was not a burden we were meant to carry.
That is God’s burden, but when we insist on carrying it,
We lose our peace.
I THINK ABOUT MINISTRY OR EVANGELISM.
What is our responsibility in evangelism or in ministry?
Faithfulness to proclaim the gospel.
But the increase was never up to us.
1 Corinthians 3:5-7 “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”
Many a preacher has experienced frustration or burnout
Or even depression in the ministry
Because they try to carry burdens they were not meant to carry.
Numbers and results were never part of our burden.
• We were never tasked with securing quotas in the kingdom.
• We were simply tasked with faithfulness to preach the gospel.
I don’t remember where I heard the quote or who said it, but it has made a monumental impact on me as a preacher.
“It’s not my job to fill the pews, it’s my job to fill the pulpit”
There is rest in peace there
By letting God handle what only He can handle
And not involving myself in those types of great matters.
Matthew 16:18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
I think about Zerubbabel rebuilding the temple
• And what a failure he must have felt like.
• He was in a hostile country
• He didn’t have an over abundance of skilled labor
• What he had built so far was unimpressive
And yet God reminded him of something.
Zechariah 4:6-7 “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
Zerubbabel was just to be faithful,
God would see to it that the temple was built and filled with glory.
YOU GET THE POINT.
• There are things in this life that you don’t understand and you weren’t meant to.
• There are things in this life that you can’t fix and you weren’t meant to.
Peace occurs when you humbly trust that God is in control.
Peace occurs when you surrender your right to understand.
Peace occurs when you surrender your right to control.
Get on the back of the bicycle, not the front.
Get under Jesus’ yoke, don’t force Him under yours.
Let Him do the peddling, let Him do the pulling, let Him do the steering.
The result for you is peace.
And the Bible is continually trying to point this out to us.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Might I remind you that that verse was written
• While Babylon was slaughtering Jews.
• The city would soon be destroyed.
• The temple would soon be burned.
• The survivors would soon be exiled.
• And it would be 70 years before they would return.
In the meantime they’d face political hostility in Babylon.
• Things like bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue or be burned in the furnace.
• Things like don’t pray to anyone but Darius or be thrown to the lions.
It must’ve been hard to make sense of such horrific circumstances.
Indeed you wouldn’t have been able to.
All you need to know is that “I know the plans that I have for you”
You just need to know that God knows what He is doing.
That is always true for the church.
Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
• Why is the world being allowed to run into such wickedness?
• Why are we subjected to things like drought or heat or COVID?
• Why was that shooter allowed to murder those kids in Uvalde?
And what is the answer?
I don’t know, but peace comes from believing that God does and what He does is always good.
THAT IS THE PATH TO PEACE.
Let go of your pride and entitlement; trade it in for gratitude.
Let go of your need to understand; instead walk in faith.
Get on the back of the bicycle…
Let God carry the heavy baggage…
Trust that God doesn’t need you in the control room…
And you just enjoy the peace of not being in charge.
That is the path to peace
#2 A PICTURE OF PEACE
Psalms 131:2
It really is quite a comforting picture.
And make sure you see it correctly.
This is NOT a nursing babe on his mother’s lap eating or getting nourishment.
The child sitting here is “weaned”
• He’s not eating, he’s resting.
• This is not necessity for the sustaining of life, this is luxury.
This child is simply enjoying the absolute peace and rest
Of being held by his mother and being comforted in her arms.
• Everything there is ok
• Worries disappear…
• Pains fade away…
• Fears dissolve…
Because I am in the arms of the one who can take care of it.
I think back to my childhood or I think about my kids even up until today.
When we have gone on a journey they never ask:
• Do you know where you are going?
• Do you have enough gas?
• Do you think the car will make it?
• Do we have lodging?
They just crawl into the backseat and go directly to sleep.
They have complete confidence that we know what we’re doing.
We are most certainly called to enjoy this type of peace in our daily lives.
Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The simple application of that passage?
• Don’t worry, rejoice that God is near to you.
• And if you have concerns, lay them on God
• And you enjoy the peace of knowing that He is in control.
That’s a great way to live.
I think of Paul on the boat in the middle of the storm saying, “I believe God” and He has said no one is going to die.
Or Paul in prison able sing hymns of praise even while locked in the stockade.
It is a contrast to the disciples on the boat in the storm.
Jesus was sleeping but they were in total chaos.
Why? They were trying to handle things that were beyond them.
Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith and for their fear and immediately remedied the situation.
It is a strange reality, and one that I think we would have all failed at.
But the point was that when they should have been resting in Jesus,
They were striving to fix the problem themselves.
That is not peace, that is anxiety.
Peace comes when you crawl into His lap,
Let Him have your problems and you go on to bed.
• And if you have the humility to accept what He is doing…
• And if you have the faith to believe He will do good for you…
Then you will also be able to rest in His peace.
I always remember my dad’s testimony shortly after he was saved.
God was teaching my dad about financial provision.
He was having to walk by faith daily.
The oil field was struggling so his machinest job was laying off.
Horse trading is not on the list of secure occupations.
He tells the story of one day working cows for a neighboring rancher and it came upon lunch time. Someone asked, “What do you want us to do with these cows we’ve gathered?” The rancher said, “Just leave them, they’ll walk over there under those trees and rest.”
Dad watched those cows do that very thing.
Sit down under the shade tree and go to chewing their cud without a care in the world.
His prayer was, “I wish I was a cow”
He wanted that kind of peace and security.
God was teaching him that; and he finally learned it.
By the way, this is MORE than just a financial or physical application here.
Perhaps what you want is spiritual peace?
You want to know that there is peace between you and God.
Well, it is obtained the same way.
HOW?
By trusting that Jesus is taking care of it.
Legalism robs peace.
When you place the burden for pleasing God on your back that is enormously heavy.
That is what the Pharisees did.
Matthew 23:4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”
But Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden was light.
If you want peace before God, then trust Jesus.
• He is handling it.
• He fulfilled your righteousness.
• He paid your debt.
• He is interceding on your behalf.
Either you believe He can handle it or you don’t.
Peace is obtained when you trust Him to do it.
And the rest there is sweet.
“Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like weaned child within me.”
That is a picture of peace
#3 THE PLEA FOR PEACE
Psalms 131:3
And here comes our cheerleader again.
He’s marching up and down throughout that caravan.
• He sees people in anxiety about the journey…
• He sees people anxious to leave their farms behind…
• He sees people anxious about approaching God…
And so he does what every believer ought to do for each other.
He encourages faith that we might all enjoy peace.
“O Israel, hope in the LORD form this time forth and forever.”
Just trust God, for peace is found there!
Psalms 42:5 “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence.”
Psalms 42:11 “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”
Psalms 43:5 “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”
• Put down your burdens and let God have them.
• Humble yourselves that He may exalt you.
• Quit trying to handle things you weren’t meant to handle and entrust those things to God.
He does the work, you get the peace.
And this is one of the reasons we gather together.
We gather to encourage one another to this end.
We meet for encouragement.
But also we meet to worship God and exalt Him.
• And when we contemplate together the greatness of God, the bi-product is peace.
In every worship service
You should be confronted with the greatness of God
And His greatness should persuade your soul
To let go and trust Him.
I love the Sovereign Grace song that we sing from time to time.
“I Lay It All”
“When troubles come, when darkness crowds When fortunes fail and loss surrounds My soul is weak, but Christ is strong And so to Him I leave it all. For He Who holds all things Can bear each care I bring.
So, I lay it all on Jesus. Steadfast is the love of Jesus. He hears my cry, He’s faithful I lay it all on Jesus
When questions rise, when faith wears thin, When fears come fast, and truth grows dim. The One Who saved will not forsake I’ll trust His word and trust His way. For He Who bore my blame Can bear each care I name”
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/i-lay-it-all/
That is a great reminder.
I do want to leave tonight with a GOOD ILLUSTRATION of how the WORSHIP SERVICE is meant to glorify God and thus produce peace.
TURN TO: ISAIAH 40
FIRST let’s look at the backdrop of the chapter.
Let’s look at the condition of the congregation.
(27) “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God?”
Do you see there the problem?
They have anxiety.
Do you see why?
Do you see their pride? “the justice due me…”
Do you see their lack of faith? “My way is hidden from the LORD…”
They have no peace and now it is obvious to us why.
So the chapter is meant to restore their peace
By restoring their view of God.
In fact verse 1 makes it clear, “Comfort, O comfort My people…”
Now this comfort is going to come based on the people’s understanding of God’s greatness and that He is working on their behalf.
(1-11) – you recognize that is a reference to John the Baptist and the coming of Jesus.
It is a reminder that you can’t solve your problems,
God must come and solve your problems. And He will!
Israel had ADOPTED A DISTANT VIEW of God.
• They thought He didn’t care and that they were on their own.
• It’s no wonder they had anxiety.
Isaiah had to remind them that
• God had not abandoned them,
• But that He was certainly for them and would come and save them.
But also we see that Israel had ADOPTED A WEAK VIEW of God.
• That is that their idolatry had caused them to demote God to nothing more than the graven images they worshipped.
Isaiah also sought to correct that.
(12-26) – see how Isaiah elevates their view of God.
• You do not have a small God.
• You have an omnipotent God.
• You have a God who controls all things!
So in two major points Isaiah has
Elevated their view of God and reminded them that
God is intimately concerned with their struggles.
What great reminders!
And then the conclusion.
(27-31) – and there is that peace and rest we wanted.
Do you see how focusing on the greatness of God and the glory of God’s saving work restores peace in the hearts of the people?
The worship service ought to do that!
And that is a benefit you receive when you come and participate.
I don’t think there’s any doubt that a rise in anxiety in our culture
Is also proportional to a decrease in church attendance.
Some of this you can place on the church as well for failing to worship God in His glory and study His word where His greatness is proclaimed.
But at the same time do you expect to be encouraged by the greatness of God when you don’t go to church to worship Him?
Peace is a biproduct of corporate worship.
It will encourage you and it should encourage you.
And God most certainly intends for you to have this peace.
