Tehillim / Psalms 131, ספר תהילים קלא, Part 1, A discussion on Haughtiness

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In this week’s study from Tehillim / Psalms 131:1-3, the psalm opens saying, א שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת לְדָוִד יְהֹוָה | לֹא-גָבַהּ לִבִּי וְלֹא-רָמוּ עֵינַי וְלֹא-הִלַּכְתִּי | בִּגְדֹלוֹת וּבְנִפְלָאוֹת מִמֶּנִּי: 131:1 O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. (NASB) The psalmist opens with a declaration that his heart is not proud. The lifting of the eyes is a term implying pride as in the proud look. He follows with not having haughty eyes. The haughty eyes is mentioned in Mishley / Proverbs 6:17 and in Mishley / Proverbs 30:10 saying, “There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.” If we think about the generation spoken of here in the text that is proud and lofty in their thoughts, how applicable is this for our generation today? The psalmist states that he does not involve himself in great matters or difficult things. This sounds a lot like what Paul was writing in 2 Corinthians 4:18, to not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. The concept of great matters may be related to the things of the world, as it is connected to pride and the pursuit of great success at work, or in politics, or business, or some other form of worldly activity. Not getting involved in great matters may be related to being humble. Having the ability to solve difficult tasks has the capability of increasing pride in one’s life.  Read more here: Tehillim 131-Part1

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Dr. Duane D. Miller received his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron Ohio. He is currently a Chemical Engineering Researcher. Duane’s research expertise has focused upon functional materials development for the control, conversion, and release of process gases in Energy production technologies. His R&D interests include computational chemistry, developing novel technologies for converting biomass to fuels and studying their fundamental interactions during the chemical conversion process. His past experience includes sorbent development for pre- and post-combustion CO2 and SO2 capture, selective absorption of H2S from methane streams, O2 capture for oxy-fuel combustion, photocatalytic reduction of alcohols, NOx reduction catalysis, the development of oxygen carriers to combust fossil fuels (CH4 and coal) for the chemical looping combustion processes, and the extraction of rare earth elements using patent pending sorbents. His research expertise has focused on operando-characterization using Infrared, Raman, and UV-Vis spectroscopy to observe the nature of the catalytic active sites and reaction intermediates under realistic reaction conditions, allowing direct correlation of molecular/electronic structures with catalyst performance during Gas-Solid / Liquid-Solid Adsorption and Photocatalytic Processes with real time online analysis of reaction products using ICP-MS and mass spectrometry. His current work involves a multi-disciplinary approach to developing, understanding, and improving the catalytic gasification of coal and methane, high temperature chemical looping combustion, and the catalytic decomposition and gasification of biomass and coal using novel microwave reactor.​ He has been studying the Hebrew Scriptures and the Torah for 20+ years and sharing what he has learned. The studies developed for MATSATI.COM are freely to be used by everyone, to God be the Glory!