This week, in the course I am taking with CCEF, I read David Powlison’s reflections on Psalm 131. And as he teaches the Psalm, he re-writes it as the exact opposite–rather an interesting teaching technique. But rather an effective one, I’d say.
So here is Psalm 131, words I’m sure you know well.
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.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
And here is Powlison’s anti-psalm:
Self,
My heart is proud
and my eyes are haughty
and I chase after things too great and too difficult for me.
So of course I’m noisy and restless inside; it comes naturally,
like a hungry infant fussing on his mother’s lap,
like a hungry infant, I’m restless with my demands and worries.I scatter my hopes onto anything and everybody all the time.
