Psalm 131: A Weaned Child

Three verses, the shortest psalm but one. The writer says he does not occupy himself with things too great for him, and describes his soul as a weaned child with its mother.

The image is precise. A nursing child is with its mother in order to get something. A weaned child is with its mother for no reason except that she is there.

Most of us come to God for the first reason. This psalm describes someone who has learned the second, and calls it quiet.