"...I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul,...." Psalm 131:1 - 2
The Psalms of Ascents, 120 - 134, is a psalmist, including David at times, describing the pilgrimage to the temple and entering the temple to worship. In 131, as the psalmist has drawn near in previous psalms, David writes that he is lowering himself as he approaches God, and that he has "calmed and quieted" his soul.
We had an incident near our house on Friday that brought out SWAT from Lubbock Police. I know the people who live at the house, so naturally my curiosity went to a higher level (like SWAT coming into the community is a normal, daily event - that alone made my curiosity high). However, having taken the Lubbock Law Enforcements' Citizen's Academy (no, I didn't get a badge), I noted a person there from a small unit that works with people who have mental disabilities or psychological disorders. I saw her in a squad car, so I thought she was brought in to disarm the person (figuratively) while SWAT disarmed the person (literally). LPD was successful as they brought the young man out that was at the center of the issue, and he was placed in a squad car. "He's had a bad day," one of the policemen said to me.
LPD had successfully "calmed his soul." I don't know what caused his distress, but I learned from the news the family had a restraining order on him. With the presence of the special unit I mentioned who deal with people who have mental or psychological disorders, I felt like he had something that posed a threat to his family in some way. I may never know, but my thought was with his family immediately. Now their souls were not quiet or calm.
What upsets our souls? David lays it out in the other psalms. He has enemies. He has people he doesn't trust, including his own sons who will try to take the throne from him in a coup attempt. He has himself in that he inflates his ego and thinks highly of himself, to the point he's willing to steal the wife of a general who is faithful to him and Israel (not laid out in a psalm but his prayer for forgiveness is - 51). What upsets our souls? What distracts us from God? What causes us to think about anything but worship when we enter church?
Psalm 131 gives us the words to help us focus on God, lowering our heads, not thinking of things too high, and seek to calm and quiet our souls. We pray for God's guidance to help us calm and quiet our souls in the midst of the storms we have in our lives.
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