Those who have the immutable promises of God for their foundation stand upon a sure rock.
God has given us His promises that our faith might have strong confidence at all times,
and that we might know that His Anointed will sit upon the throne of earth to reign eternally.
Psalm 132
1 LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:
2 How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
3 Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,
5 Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.
6 Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.
7 We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.
9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.
10 For thy servant David’s sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.
11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
12 If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
13 For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
Psalm 132 – J. Vernon McGee
Psalm 132 – The Lord’s Blessing upon Zion
This psalm evidently dates from the dedication of Solomon’s temple. In the glory of completion God never forgets the toils and anxieties of the builders. When the topstone flashes in the sunlight, the trench-diggers, and foundation-makers come in for their need of praise. The singer recapitulates two memorable scenes in the history of the Ark: Ephratah is probably Shiloh, in the tribe of Ephraim, where the Tabernacle was situated in Eli’s time; while the field of the wood is Kirjath-jearim, whence David brought the sacred emblem to Jerusalem, I Chronicles 13:5.
The prayer of Psalm 132:8-10 is similar to that of Solomon, II Chronicles 6:41. For us the ark of God’s strength is our Lord’s nature, in which God and man meet. We are called to be priests, to lift our hands in intercession and to fill the earth with praise. Then in Psalm 132:11-18 God seems to take the clauses of that prayer, one by one and to answer, them. His resting-place is in His people. The staves were drawn out from the Ark when it was deposited in the Temple. In Christ there is finality; He is Omega, the Last. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Psalm 132:1—LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions.
This psalm commemorates the removal of the Ark to the Temple, newly prepared for its reception by Solomon. David had been dead some years; but as they prepared to fulfil the project on which he had set his heart, the men of the new generation could not forget how he aware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob. They remembered David. Throughout this psalm (Psalm 132:10-11, 17) his name often recurs. “For thy servant David’s sake.” “The LORD hath sworn… unto David.” “The horn of David to bud.”
“Shall man remember, and shall God forget?” He would be unrighteous if He were to forget the work of faith and labour of love of his saints. It was in pursuance of his covenant with David that Solomon’s Temple at last stood complete. Thus God still bends over the scenes of the life-work of his children. The chapel where a McCheyne pleaded with his congregation; the South Sea Island, where a Williams poured out his blood; the dark forests in which a Brainerd wrestled for his Indians; the great Continent where a Moffat, a Livingstone, a Hannington wrought, prayed, and suffered. He remembers David and all his afflictions. He recalls the prayers, and tears, and travail of soul; and the time comes when the finished structure stands on the site which to them was waste and void. No effort, nor cry, nor prayer of thine goes unheeded. All that thou hast truly desired, purposed, lived for, prepared for, shall yet take shape, and greet thee. There can never be one lost good. Some day a perfect realization of thy dream, which thou shalt descry from heaven’s standpoint of vision, will satisfy thee. —Our Daily Homily