As the first verse of this magnificent psalm begins with an extraordinary claim by David—“Lord, my heart is not haughty”—so also verse two begins with another claim no less extraordinary—“Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul.” Notice, David does not say that he is trying to calm and quiet his soul, but that he has done it. Furthermore, his accomplishment is stated most emphatically; he has accomplished it for sure. 

To claim to have calmed and quieted the soul is as extraordinary a claim as to claim to have calmed the stormy sea, or to have stilled the squalling wind, or to have tamed the wildest beast. Still, as incredible as it sounds, it must have been true of David and, if true of David, possible for us.

We must not lose sight of the fact that David’s incredible claim in verse two is predicated by all he says of himself in verse one. He had finally gotten to the place in his life where his heart was not haughty, his eyes were no longer lofty, and he no longer concerned himself with things that were too profound for him to understand. Once we, like David, rid ourselves of a conceited opinion of ourselves, a contemptuous opinion of others, all selfish ambition, and all attempts to wrap our finite minds around infinite things, we too can calm and quiet our souls.

Now, this is not to be misunderstood to mean that the calming and quieting of our soul is something that we can acquire for ourselves. It is a stupendous work of grace! Only the grace of God can strip our hearts of pride, make us content in lowly service, and give us an unshakable faith in the midst of the most bothersome and baffling circumstances. 

If our soul is to ever be calmed and quieted, it will be accomplished by the soul-soothing work of the grace of God. Serenity of the soul is as far beyond human reach as the soul’s salvation. Both require a miraculous work of unmerited favor performed for us by Christ, the soul’s only Savior and Comforter.

The calming of the soul is a stupendous work of God’s grace only exceeded by the soul’s salvation.