Psalm 132
1 A song of ascents.
O LORD, remember David and all the hardships he endured. 2 He swore an oath to the LORD and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob: 3 “I will not enter my house or go to my bed— 4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, 5 till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard it in Ephrathah, we came upon it in the fields of Jaar: 7 “Let us go to his dwelling-place; let us worship at his footstool— 8 arise, O LORD, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. 9 May your priests be clothed with righteousness; may your saints sing for joy.”
10 For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one. 11 The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne— 12 if your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons shall sit on your throne for ever and ever.”
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: 14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it—15 I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor will I satisfy with food.16 I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall ever sing for joy. 17 “Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one. 18 I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown on his head shall be resplendent.
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Psalm 132 – Kings and priests forever with Jesus
(Verses 1-5) The background to this psalm is rich in content and context from the Bible. It is a fitting ‘song of ascents’ dealing with the desire to worship God, both in Zion’s temple then, and in our lives now. It does not say if David wrote it, but it deals with matters which involve King David and point us to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah King. What do the ‘hardships’ (or ‘afflictions’) that David suffered include? He had many: some came as a result of his own sin. Others were because he did follow the Lord and was strongly opposed by men. He had a great desire to see Israel worship, serve and follow God, and that inspired him to bring back to Jerusalem the Ark of the Covenant, central to the Old Testament worship of God, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, later. Solomon, supported by David, built the temple on Mount Zion, where the Ark was housed, and worship took place. David had vowed to God to work tirelessly night and day so Israel would worship the LORD, with the Ark in its place there. Although God is the ‘Everywhere,’ Zion’s temple focused the worshippers’ attention on God’s presence and the need to worship Him. The tabernacle and the temple are each described as ‘a dwelling for the LORD the Mighty One of Jacob.’ (Jacob was later named ‘Israel’ by God.)
(Verses 6-9) The Ark points to God’s presence. It is now in its proper place. Once it was moved to Jerusalem from Kiriath Jearim, (or Jaar). Finally, it went to Zion’s temple, built by Solomon. He wants priests to be righteous, and worshippers to be joyful in song. (2 Chronicles 6:41-42, 2 Samuel 6:1, Exodus 25:30, 1 Chronicles 13-16, and 1 Samuel 25:6 give the context.)
(Verses 10-12) God promised and swore that David’s descendants will rule after him. (2 Samuel 23:5). He was anointed as king, but His greatest descendant, the Lord Jesus Christ (‘Messiah’, or ‘Anointed One’) will ‘sit on [David’s] throne for ever and ever.’ Jesus is the ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS’ (Revelation 19:16, 1Timothy 6:15.) No failure to obey God, by many covenant-breaking kings, could stop Jesus, the sinless and perfect King, from reigning forever.
(Verses 13-18) Jerusalem’s Mount Zion is God’s physical resting place on earth for worship by the children of Israel. God sits in Heaven and His footstool on earth is pictured here. Perfect praise will be His forever in the new Jerusalem, which pictures Heaven. (Revelation 21: 1-5) The poor are satisfied; the priests are righteous and the saved people are joyful in song. We come from the poverty of our sin, to receive invaluable spiritual riches in Christ. Each ‘born-again’ sinner has been made into a king and a priest by personal faith in Jesus. (Revelation 1:5-6). His sin is washed away by Jesus’ death for him on the cross where He bore the punishment of God’s judgment for the sinner’s sin on Himself. Jesus is my sacrifice, my King, and my great High Priest. He is ‘the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.’ (Galatians 2:20). I have eternal life solely through personal faith in Him. David’s strength, light, victory and reign are mentioned. Christ’s strength is for anyone who turns from sin and trusts Him. He is our Light in a dark world. His victory on the cross and His rising from death give me victory through Him eternally. I shall enjoy the Lord Jesus Christ’s perfect reign of love forever with Him in Heaven. Do you know Jesus? If you repent and receive Him, you will!
