The Proof of Humility

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.  (Psalm 131:2)

Instead of pride, we see David calming himself down from whatever has “worked him up.” “Calmed” means “to make something smooth.”  You might say David bulldozed all the pride of his heart; he got rid of it all to calm and quiet himself.

The idea of quieting himself is getting rid of all his fears of anxieties and or irritabilities. He now possessed a calm soul. This type of soul is the opposite of one in despondency. It is a lack of friction with anyone or anything else. Then he gives this illustration of how he has calmed his soul – how he bulldozed his spirit: weaning.

Let’s talk of weaning. The Hebrew word is gamal, and literally means “to achieve” or “to ripen.” Weaning is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “to cause a child or young animal to lose the need to suckle and to accustom themselves to food rather than their mother’s milk.” In ancient times children were weaned at the age of 2 or 3; today it seems most physicians recommend it take place earlier. The reason it wasn’t done till later has some spiritual significance.

We read in I Samuel 1 that “the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and his vow” (vs. 21). With the birth of his son Samuel, Elkanah went to the Temple to make a sacrifice of praise.

Now look at how Samuel’s wife responds. “But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the LORD and remain there forever. And Elkanah her husband said to her, ‘Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the LORD establish His word.’ So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him” (I Sam 1:22-23). Here we have a glimpse into the length of the weaning process.  Hannah was not ready to present her son to the Lord and dedicate him for God’s service until he had been weaned. Why? Well, as you know when a child is still breast feeding, he is completely dependent upon the mother for food. He cannot survive without that. Only after he has been weaned can he do otherwise. And in the context of him being offered to God for His service, he couldn’t be dedicated to God until his dependence was no longer on his mother so it could be completely upon the Lord Himself.

That is the symbolism of weaning. It is a picture of dependence. When a child is being breast fed, his complete dependence is upon his mother; when he has been weaned, it can be completely on the Lord. In other words, serving the Lord for Samuel could begin after the process of weaning since that concludes the time of a child when they are dependent upon their mothers; now they can be dependent upon God.

Now, back to Psalm 131.

David says, “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother.” Just like a weaned child puts his trust in his mother, so David is saying our trust in God to supply our needs is the same way.

This is a genuine sign of humility for David. He is preaching the significance of finding contentment, trust and provision in God and God alone. Only the prideful man sees himself as worthy to provide these things.

Charles Spurgeon writes in his commentary, “Blessed are those afflictions which subdue our affections, which wean us from self-sufficiency, which educate us into Christian manliness, which teach us to love God not merely when he comfort us, but when he tries us.”

We cannot remain babes forever trusting upon others for spiritual strength and provisions; we have to come to the place where we realize only God will provide all we need and it is only there and then we will learn genuine humility.

When we are no longer casting our cares upon our mothers and fathers and find ourselves truly placing our trust in Him, then we will learn genuine contentment and dependence and be free from all pride.