In Sunday’s sermon, “From Restlessness to Contentment,” Ryan preached from Psalms 130-131. Together, these two psalms that take us from crying to calm, from restlessness to rest, and from pride to trust. These are timely psalms for an age of busyness, noise, and self-promotion.

Here are a few resources on this psalm, the theme of contentment, and preaching God’s Word to ourselves:

• “‘Peace, be still’: Learning Psalm 131 by Heart,” David Powlison
• “Contentment,” Timothy Keller
• “Forgiveness: the Foundation for Fear (Psalm 130:3-4),” Sam Storms
• “How to Really Talk to Yourself,” Ryan Kelly

Ryan quoted part of Powlison’s article that is worth including here. In what he calls an, “anti-Psalm 131,” Powlison clarifies the meaning of Psalm 131:

My heart is proud (I’m absorbed in myself),
and my eyes are haughty (I look down on other people),
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.