The Meaning of Psalms 131:3 Explained

Psalms 131:3

KJV: Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.

YLT: Israel doth wait on Jehovah, From henceforth, and unto the age!

Darby: Let Israel hope in Jehovah, from henceforth and for evermore.

ASV: O Israel, hope in Jehovah From this time forth and for evermore.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Let Israel  hope  in the LORD  from henceforth and for  ever. 

What does Psalms 131:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

David called on the nation to follow his example and rest in confidence that the Lord would provide what His people needed. This dependent trust is a need God"s people never outgrow.
"The piety reflected in this psalm is directly opposed to modernity with its drive toward independence, self-sufficiency, and autonomy. It is worth noting that the Psalm deny the Oedipal inclination that there can be freedom only if the controlling, authoritarian father-god be slain or denied. The myth of modernity believes that real maturity is to be free of every relationship of dependence. But when the metaphor is changed from a harsh controlling father to a gently feeding mother, it is evident that the human goal need not be breaking away, but happy trust." [1]
This psalm is an excellent exposition of what it means to have faith as a child. We can trust God because He is who He is. We must trust Him because we are who we are.

Context Summary

Psalms 131:1-3 - "out Of The Depths"
The cry, Psalms 130:1-2. The word Lord occurs as often as there are verses. The soul in trouble repeats again and again that precious Name, in which comfort and help are summed up. The chief cause of anguish, Psalms 130:3-4, is the memory of our sins. But our iniquities are not marked save by the jewels of forgiveness, like the pearls of an oyster that are set in the place where it was wounded. The soul's attitude, Psalms 130:5-6. It waits! He will surely come though He seems to tarry. Plenteous redemption, Psalms 130:7. It is not enough for God to forgive. He will abundantly pardon.
Psalms 131:1-3
The cry of the child-heart. The psalmist said this in all simplicity. He did not exercise himself (literally "walk to and fro") in things beyond his powers, but left God to reveal them to him, as he was able to receive them. We are reminded of Matthew 11:25. Clearly he had not reached this position without effort. He had found it necessary to still and quiet himself, as a nurse quiets a fretful babe. There had been a time when he was fed at the breast of the world's consolations. The weaning had been hard, but he had learned to get all from God and to draw on His sustaining grace. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 131

1  David professing his humility
3  Exhorts Israel to trust in God

What do the individual words in Psalms 131:3 mean?

Hope Israel in Yahweh from this time forth and forever
יַחֵ֣ל יִ֭שְׂרָאֵל אֶל־ יְהוָ֑ה מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־ עוֹלָֽם

יַחֵ֣ל  Hope 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָחַל  
Sense: to wait, hope, expect.
יִ֭שְׂרָאֵל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מֵֽ֝עַתָּ֗ה  from  this  time  forth 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
עוֹלָֽם  forever 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.