Read Psalm 130-131 at Bible Gateway.
The paragraph divisions:
Psa 130:1 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;
Psa 130:2a Lord, hear my voice! {n}
Psa 130:2b Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
Psa 130:3 If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
Psa 130:4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.
Psa 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.
Psa 130:6 My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning— Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
Psa 130:7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption.
Psa 130:8 And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. {p}
Psa 131:1a Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. {n}
Psa 131:1b Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.
Psa 131:2a Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, {n}
Psa 131:2b Like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Psa 131:3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever. {p}
The chiastic structure:
introduction) Psa 130:1-2, I have cried to You, O Lord + hear my voice!
1a) Psa 130:3-8 chiastic structure, My soul waits for the Lord / O Israel, hope in the Lord:
1) Psa 130:5, I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope;
2) Psa 130:7a, O Israel, hope in the Lord;
central axis) Psa 131:1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. {n} Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me;
2a) Psa 131:2-3, I have calmed my soul / O Israel, hope in the Lord:
1) Psa 131:2, Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, {n} Like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me;
2) Psa 131:3, O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever. {p}
When things don’t go as planned, or when afflictions strike, our first tendency is for panic to set in. Fear, worry, and doubt. But the psalmist calms and quiets his soul as a child is quieted with his mother. The psalmist does not expect God to twang him with His fairy godmother wand, for calm and peace to descend on his soul. No, he calms and quiets his own soul, by realizing he is not alone (just a child with his mother), his Parent is here who will take care of things (just as a child with his mother), and he can wait for Him to do just that, hoping in Him and His word. God’s timing isn’t always our timing, but His timing is perfect. When people assert that God hasn’t done this or that, or kept His promise or prophecy, what they really mean is that God didn’t do as they expected within the time frame they gave Him to accomplish it. He has His own perfect time frame, and part of quieting our soul is waiting on His perfect timing. Trust is the key to peace! ♥
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