Calmed and Quieted

The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

August 31, 2025

Psalm 131

 “Summer in the Psalms: Calmed and Quieted”

On this Labor Day weekend, on this final Sunday of August, where has the summer gone? When this preaching series started out nearly two months ago in early July, the summer seemed to stretch out before us. What began in early July comes to a close today as “Summer in the Psalms” ends with the appointed psalm for today, Psalm 131. In particular, we focus on those words of David in the psalm: “But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Psalm 131:2). Isn’t that a beautiful and peaceful image? This is a psalm of quiet trust in the Lord. Based on this verse, “Calmed and Quieted” is the theme for today’s sermon. May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

Many of the psalms have an inscription written at their beginning, describing what kind of psalm they are and often who wrote them. As with many of the psalms, it was King David who wrote Psalm 131. Of the 150 psalms in the entire Psalter, David is credited with writing seventy-three of them, so just under one-half. The psalms of this shepherd boy-harp player who became the second king of Israel are incredibly personal, and give us insight into his own experience and relationship with God. Psalm 131 before us today is part of a larger group of psalms called “The Songs of Ascent,” which includes Psalms 120-134. These are called by this name because they served as traveling hymns for pilgrims on their way to worship at the temple in Jerusalem. These “Songs of Ascent” highlight trust and hope in the Lord. For most pilgrims coming to Jerusalem, this meant you were on an upward incline, ascending to its elevation of nearly 2500 feet above sea level. In the midst of this walking pilgrimage, God’s people joined together in calming and quieting their souls by singing these “Songs of Ascent,” Psalm 131 among them. We stand in a long line of fellow believers who have spoken and sung these words over thousands of years.

David, the original worshiper here in Psalm 131, lays his heart open to the eyes of God. Although he is king of Israel and could easily make arrogant boasts about himself and what he has done, that’s not what he does. David begins this brief psalm with a humble confession and a contrite heart: “O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me” (Psalm 131:1). When a person has come from nothing and has built himself or herself up by hard work and determination, that can lead to one of two things: it can make that individual see all they have done in the greater light of God who has brought all of this about. Or it can make that individual very self-satisfied in their accomplishments. The writer of Proverbs reminds us: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). In today’s Gospel lesson (Luke 14:1-14), Jesus reveals the poison of spiritual pride that masks itself under the guise of choosing the best seats at a banquet. In Jesus’ upside-down kingdom, the last are first and the first are last: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). And so David sets the tone for what is acceptable and pleasing to the Lord: humbling, not exalting, yourself before the Lord.

Humbling ourselves before the Lord rather than pretending and playing games with God is the first step to calming and quieting our soul. We just come before the Lord, warts and all, confessing that we don’t have our act together; that we’ve messed things up despite our best efforts. This is why our worship service begins with Confession and Forgiveness. Even the posture for Confession and Forgiveness conveys humility as we kneel. The words spoken with our lips convey what is deep within our hearts: “Most merciful God, we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.” And then comes the good news that not only calms and quiets our soul, but fills our soul with joy and thanksgiving: the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins through the cleansing blood of Jesus shed for us and for our salvation. “Almighty God, in his mercy, has given his Son to die for you and, for his sake, forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” Each week, these blessed words are spoken that point us to Jesus, who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8), that we might be set free from sin and death.

In quiet confidence and strength that comes from sin forgiven and removed from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), we are like that weaned child with their mother. There is peace and contentment. There is security and well-being. From this, a river of blessing flows out from a grateful heart that receives these blessings in Word and Sacrament, as today’s Epistle lesson says (Hebrews 13:1-17): “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:15-16).

When this worship service is over and we leave the house of the Lord, I pray that you are calmed and quieted like a weaned child with its mother. “O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore” (Psalm 131:3). Amen.