Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 131:1

"Jehovah, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; Neither do I exercise myself in great matters, Or in things too wonderful for me." — Psalms 131:1 (ASV)

Lord, my heart is not haughty—Though this is charged against me; though I may have said things that seem to imply it; though this might appear a just inference from my conduct—yet I am conscious that this is not my real character. What I have said was not the result of ambition.

Nor mine eyes lofty—I am conscious that I am not ambitious and aspiring—as I am accused of being. What I have said is not the result of such a feeling, nor should such a charge be brought against me.

Neither do I exercise myself—the margin notes the Hebrew word is 'walk.' I do not walk about among such things; I do not pry into them; I do not meddle with them. What I have said or done is not, as has been said concerning me, the result of a meddlesome and interfering spirit. It may seem to be so; my own consciousness tells me it is not so. The interpretation made of my conduct may be natural, but I am conscious that it is not the right interpretation.

In great matters, or in things too high for me—the margin notes the Hebrew word is 'wonderful.' The word 'wonderful' would apply to matters suited to excite astonishment by their vastness or their unusual nature—such as prodigies or miracles—and also to great and lofty truths.

It would also apply to things that might be regarded as far above the capacity of a child, or of someone in an obscure station in life with few educational advantages. As suggested above, the accusation brought against him may have been this: that concerning public matters, matters of state—or the more elevated doctrines of religion—he had manifested a spirit unbecoming someone in his early years and of humble rank. It was further alleged that this indicated a desire to meddle with matters he could not understand and which did not pertain to him.

He was conscious, he says, that he was not motivated by that spirit.