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Passage Research

Psalm 131 — Sermon Preparation

Below is a research summary for Psalm 131, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

3
verses
33 / 26
Hebrew words / lemmas
4
classic sermon excerpts
4
preachers & commentators

Psalm 131 in the Hebrew

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

Hebrew Transliteration Strong's Count Glosses
גָּמַל gâmal H1580 2 treat, benefit
נֶפֶשׁ nephesh H5315 2 breathing creature, animal
שָׁוָה shâvâh H7737 1 level, equalize
דָּמַם dâmam H1826 1 be dumb, be astonished
גָּבַהּ gâbahh H1361 1 soar, be lofty
יָחַל yâchal H3176 1 wait, be patient
מַעֲלָה maʻălâh H4609 1 elevation, journey

How preachers through history handled this text

4 public-domain excerpts on Psalm 131, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Matthew Henry 1 Alexander MacLaren 1 Spurgeon 1 John Wesley 1

“This psalm is David's profession of humility, humbly made, with thankfulness to God for his grace, and not in vain-glory. It is probable enough that (as most interpreters suggest) David made this protestation in answer to the calumnies of Saul and his courtiers, who represented David as an ambitious aspiring man, who, under pretence of a divine appointment, sought the kingdom, in the pride of his heart. But he appeals to God, that, on the contrary, I. He aimed at nothing high nor great, ver. 1. II. …”

— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 3 (Job to Song of Solomon), on Psalm 131:1–30 (Public Domain)

Places in the text

Based on ancient-geography data

  • Jerusalem — Ps 131:1

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