A song of ascents
132:Title See Ps 120. This psalm was probably written by Solomon or by some poet or prophet in Solomon’s day. It was probably written for the bringing of the ark of God into the temple Solomon built (1 Kings 6:37-38; 8:1-6, 62, 63).⚜
132
📚LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions,
132:1 Wanting God to hear his prayer, he pleads David’s name and afflictions. Believers now have a much higher name to plead in prayer – David’s Son and David’s Lord, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We cannot approach God in our own merit, but we can pray, “O God, remember Jesus and all His afflictions”.⚜
2 📚And how he swore to the LORD,
and made a vow to the
mighty God of Jacob:
3 📚“Surely I will not go into
a room of my house,
or get into my bed,
4 📚And I will not give sleep
to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 📚Until I find a place
for the LORD,
a dwelling for the mighty
God of Jacob”.
132:2-5 2 Sam 7:1-2; 1 Chron 28:2. David, living in his palace, thought it not right that the ark, which was the symbol of God’s presence with Israel, should remain in a tent. This vow is not recorded in the historical record of David. Here it is recorded to show how David loved God, and was zealous for God’s dwelling place among His people. How many sleepless nights have we experienced for the sake of God’s work?⚜
6 📚Look, we heard of it 📖
at Ephratah;
we found it in the fields
of the woods 📖.
7 📚We will go into his tabernacle 📖.
We will worship at his footstool 📖.
8 📚Arise, O LORD, into your
resting place,
you, and the ark of your strength.
132:8 Num 10:35-36. This suggests the taking of the ark into the Most Holy Place in the temple in Solomon’s time – 1 Kings 8:6.⚜
9 📚Let your priests be clothed
with righteousness,
and let your saints shout for joy.
10 📚For the sake of your servant
David do not turn away the face
of your anointed.
132:10 Verse 1. The anointed one here is probably Solomon anointed to be king in David’s place, but the words could also refer to all the kings who came after him.⚜
11 📚The LORD has sworn in truth
to David,
and he will not turn
from it:
“I will set on your throne one of the
fruit of your body.
12 📚If your children keep my covenant
and my testimony,
which I will teach them,
their children will also sit
on your throne forevermore”.
132:11-12 David, loving God, made vows to Him. God, loving David, made promises to him. The spiritual life is mutual love between God and His children. Notes on God’s covenant with David at Ps 89:3-4, 19-37; 2 Sam 7:11-16. The Lord Jesus was born on earth in David’s royal line and is the heir to the throne of David – Luke 1:32-33.⚜
13 📚For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling.
132:13 It was not buildings or hills that caused the Lord God to choose Zion. It is people about whom God is most concerned, not places.⚜
14 📚“This is my resting
place forever; here I will dwell,
for I have desired it.
132:14 God’s resting place forever is with His people. The whole Bible is the story of His desire to dwell with them. See note at Ex 25:8. God actually forsook the literal Jerusalem and gave it up to the enemy (Ezekiel chapter 10 describes God’s glory departing, and Jeremiah chapter 52 records the fall of Jerusalem). But God has never forsaken His people. And judging from this verse, and others like it, the literal Jerusalem still figures in God’s plans for the future (Ezek 48:35; Zech 14:16-21).⚜
15 📚I will abundantly bless
her provisions.
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 📚I will also clothe her priests
with salvation,
and her saints will shout aloud
for joy.
132:16 Verse 9. In this New Testament era all believers are priests. Note at Ex 28:1.⚜
17 📚There I will cause the horn 📖
of David to grow.
I have appointed a lamp 📖
for my anointed.
18 📚I will clothe his enemies
with shame 📖;
but his crown 📖 will gleam
on himself”.