The humble and tranquil mind

Psalm 131
In this brief psalm there are three different states of mind described. The first is humility: the psalmist disclaims for himself all pride and ambition (verse 1) The second is tranquillity. The psalmist claimed for himself that he had attained to complete spiritual quiet, to perfect rest of heart (verse 2). And the last state of mind is that of immortal hopefulness, sustained in vigour by the thought of the wisdom and goodness of the Lord (verse 3). The psalmist claims for himself that he has attained that which in other psalms he longed for, and prayed for, and chided himself because he could not get. In another psalm he exhorts himself: “Rest in the Lord,” etc. In another he chides his wandering spirit for restlessness, and says, “Return unto thy rest,” etc. And what in other psalms he strives after and prays for, in this psalm he has attained. Here is the fulfilment of the promise, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee.” Let us now confine ourselves to his spiritual quietude; for, as we need the example of his lowliness to rebuke our pride, so we need his quiet to rebuke our disquiet and unrest. We have to do with three portions of time--the past, the present, and the future; with three sources of disquiets--the retrospect of sins past, the sins of the present, and the gloomy anticipations of the future. There is in every man’s heart a silent fountain of disquiet and unrest. Sometimes the hand of remorse, sometimes the hand of dissatisfaction, and sometimes the hand of foreboding comes, and the fountain is opened and fills the spirit with its bitter waters. Nor is there any guarantee for our spiritual quiet, till we have found something to master remorse for the past, dissatisfaction with the present, and foreboding of evil for the future. First, we must get peace of conscience, an assurance of God’s forgiving love. I believe that Christ bare my sins on the tree; when I rest on that fact my assurance of perfect and everlasting forgiveness, it is then that I am sprinkled with the blood of Christ and washed in the fountain. It is only this that we can rest on, only this that will smooth and silence our spirits. For the dissatisfaction that arises from the present, there is one remedy--to cultivate such a faith in the wisdom and goodness of God’s providence as will make our submission to Him in affliction cheerful and comparatively easy. Meet all the calamities that come upon you in a right spirit, and say, “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight”; thus the troubled spirit is smoothed and silenced. Those fears that come from the anticipation of the future--how are they to be lulled? By cultivating the same faith in God. God is love to-day. God will be love to-morrow, and for evermore. God is wisdom to-day. He will be wisdom to-morrow, and the next day, and for evermore. God is king to-day, and God will be king to-morrow, and for ever. (C. Vince.)

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