Psalm 132
Notes
Transcript
The Lord is Faithful
The Lord is Faithful
A Song of Ascents.
Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured,
how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
“I will not enter my house or get into my bed,
I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”
Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.
For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.”
For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place:
“This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.
Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.
There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”
Introduction
Introduction
The Bible is an amazing book. Being the revelation of God of Himself and His plan for the world to be for His glory, it is necessarily remarkable.
Written over 2000 years by many different authors from many different backgrounds, but all telling one coherent story.
We have had the complete revelation for 2000 years and we are still studying and mining the depths of it.
There are many different ways of looking at it and understanding it.
We can look at it systematically by picking a topic and finding out everything it has to say about that topic.
We can look at it literarily and see how it was put together and the different types of genre were used to get its point across.
But one of the most amazing ways it to see the way that it builds on itself through the books and authors and find the common things that God uses to build His revelation.
Starting at the beginning we see many themes, ideas, and what we call types, that as you grow in understanding in the word form into completeness that really brings to light what an amazing work it is.
For example, the gospel message starts in simplicity in the 3rd chapter of Genesis, and build through the Old Testament, culminating in Christ’s first advent.
The New Testament then builds on this and is able to use the material in the Old Testament to flesh out entire expositions on the gospel, such as Romans explaining Justification and Hebrews explaining The Atonement.
One of the devices God uses through the Old Testament as a clue to understanding His revelation is the mountain.
The places where God interacts with man had been on mountains.
The Garden of Eden was on a mountain
Ezekiel 28:13–14 “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.”
Noah’s Ark was laid on Mt. Ararat.
Abraham was called to sacrifice his only son Isaac on Mt. Moriah.
Moses was given the 10 commandments and saw God’s glory pass by on Mt. Sinai.
Jerusalem and the hope of God’s dwelling with His people is set on Mt. Zion.
Do you see the connection? How God uses a physical thing like a mountain to create a theme and make something He is trying to reveal to man about Himself more understandable to us?
So when we read scripture, and find what is happening to be on a mountain, our ears should perk up. God is highlighting this for us through these pictures.
And so as we look at this Psalm today we need to understand something about its context.
The psalms were collated on purpose. Whoever compiled them, with the help of the Holy Spirit, put them in a specific order.
They are separated into 5 books, and build as you go.
Psalm 132 is in a section of 15 Psalms called the Songs of Ascent. Psalms 120-134 fall into this category.
There are many different thoughts on what there purpose was, but it seems clear that the Hebrew would sing these on the way to worship.
It could be they would sing these and they climbed the 15 steps from the Court of Women to the Court of Israel, or more likely that they would be sung on the way to Jerusalem for the different feasts, as to get to Jerusalem you would ascend from the lower areas around it.
Either way, when you were singing these songs, you would have worship on your mind.
This particular song you would remember that at some point, there was no temple to go to and worship in.
But God promised He would not only dwell with Israel on the temple mount, but dwell with His people forever through the line of David.
As we look at this Psalm today, we can see that God has made promises to us, and we can sing and worship like those who went up to Jerusalem, with even a greater understanding that……
Every believer must rely on God to keep His promises.
Every believer must rely on God to keep His promises.
By remembering David’s Promise v. 1-5
By remembering David’s Promise v. 1-5
Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured,
how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
“I will not enter my house or get into my bed,
I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
We start understanding how this Psalm encourages us to rely on God and worshipping Him for keeping His promises, with remembering the promise David made to God.
David, the great king of Israel, fought the people’s enemies with success and 2 Samuel 7:1 says that there was peace in the land.
He build himself a palace that was great. It was big and made of fine materials. But one day he was considering his house and the tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant was and was convicted.
the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”
This really bothered him. So Nathan the prophet told him to do it.
But that night, God came to Nathan in verse 5:
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in?
I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.
In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’
God told Nathan to remind David that He is the one who took David from the pasture and from sheep herding, to be the king of His people.
God is the One who gave him victory over his enemies and gave David his fame.
Then, in God’s reminding David of whom does and will do what for whom, He makes a promise to David, which we call the Davidic Covenant.
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
David then praises God in gratitude, recognizing that he didn’t build his own name and wealth, but God gave him everything by His grace.
Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods?
And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God.
God later told David that He would not allow him to build His temple, but that Solomon, his son, would build it.
David yields to God’s will and makes sure that Solomon has everything he needs for the great project.
Our psalm today speaks to David’s desire to have a great place for the presence of God to permanently dwell in Israel.
Although his desire wasn’t met in his lifetime, he had faith that it would happen, and as we will see, it happened in a greater way than David could have imagined.
Let’s continue and look at the Ark of the Covenant and how it represented God’s presence with His people.
By recognizing the Ark’s Place v. 6-10
By recognizing the Ark’s Place v. 6-10
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”
Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.
For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
The Ark of the Covenant was a box made out of wood, covered in gold.
It didn’t have any nazi killing powers.
In fact, unlike the idols of the time (or our time) it wasn’t made to be or represent a god.
It was made, according to God’s specific instructions, to represent the presence of God.
Called His footstool here, it symbolized the unique relationship that God had with Israel.
Originally housed in a tent that travelled with the wandering Jews called the tabernacle, it was placed in the innermost part of the temple once it was built.
Only a select priest could enter the chamber to sprinkle blood on the top called the mercy seat, which was covered by two cherubim.
When God had Moses build it, everything had to be according to His instructions, including how it was carried and handled.
There were ringlets which wooden poles went through so it could go along with the Hebrew on their travels and sometimes into battle, which only priests were allowed to carry.
The Philistines battled with Israel and captured the Ark and brought it into the temple of their god Dagon.
One morning, they found their idol had fallen face down in front of the Ark.
God afflicted them with tumors all over their bodies, so they sent the Ark away on a cart.
It made its way back to Israel, and ended up in a place called Kiriath-jearim, otherwise known as Jaar.
It stayed there for 20 years and the place where it stayed was blessed.
I want you to think about that.
For 20 years the Jews went on with their lives. They ate, worked, married, had children, battled, had good times, had bad times, died…… all without a thought that they were missing the presence of the Lord. All without going yearly for the Day of Atonement.
Life continued on without a thought of something missing.
David remembered the Ark after a battle with the Philistines was won, and called for it to be brought to Jerusalem.
David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.
And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim.
And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,
with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.
But this is not how it was supposed to be done. Maybe in the 20 years it was gone, they forgot who they were dealing with.
Remember those ringlets that were made onto the ark? They were for wooden poles the priests would use to carry the ark, as God had instructed.
And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.
And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?”
So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.
God commands how He is to be worshiped and to not worship in the way He has prescribed is sin. God takes this very seriously and requires the life of Uzzah.
This angers and frightens David so he stops short of bringing the ark into Jerusalem.
And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing.
And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.
And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.
So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
The ark is finally brought back into Jerusalem, with proper reverence, bore by priests instead of cattle, there is great rejoicing.
The psalmist remembers this time and worships. The resting place of God, His footstool the ark is back where it belongs.
God is present with His people again.
By the way, in v. 6, it is said they remembered the ark, the symbol of God’s presence in Ephrathah.
David was born in Ephrathah of Bethlehem, as was his most precious grandson, our Lord, Immanuel, God with us.
We recognize the ark’s place, by recognizing that it symbolizes God’s presence. It doesn’t belong in a field somewhere for 20 years, it belongs where God wills it to belong, with the joyous saints.
There are so many people, going through the motions of life, without a thought that something vital is missing.
Then we see in the next 2 verses, that we rely on the promises of God……
By relying on the Lord’s Plan v. 11-12
By relying on the Lord’s Plan v. 11-12
The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.”
David was not the one that God chose to build His temple, but David’s son Solomon was.
And he did, and it was a wonder of the world.
Built to the specifications that God gave, done by the craftsmanship of men empowered by the Holy Spirit, it was a sight to behold.
Now there was a permanent place for the ark. All of Israel could know where the presence of the Lord could be found.
David wasn’t allowed to build it, but was given something else instead.
A covenant. A promise made by God to him that his descendants would always be on the throne.
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
This was the final part of the promises that God made with David.
And so David went to his grave with this knowledge and his son Solomon took the throne.
And then Solomon’s son, Rehoboam ascended to the throne, and the kingdom spits in two.
After years of disobedience to God, and idol worship, the kingdoms fall, starting with the North.
Jerusalem is sacked and destroyed, including the temple, and there is no one to sit on the throne anymore.
What of God’s covenant with David?
God’s word will not be questioned, but as is the case many times, we don’t understand the whole picture.
He answers through the words of His prophets.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
This boy born sometime in the future will be the answer.
He will be the one anointed to be king over God’s people, also anointed as priest and prophet.
He will be the anointed one, or messiah of Israel, and will rule forever on the throne of David and over his kingdom.
He will keep the covenant where David’s other sons could not.
The word of the Lord in His sure oath will not come back void.
His promise can be relied on.
Believer take heart, because we serve a God who makes promises and keeps them.
He works out the tapestry of time and circumstance like a master weaver.
Every word written in His revelation will come to pass.
And we stake everything we have on this truth.
David’s line fell short of keeping their end of the covenant, but God didn’t and will never fall short.
Let this be an example to your heart. When you fall short, rest in this. When your heart fails, ascend the steps of worship knowing that He never fails.
Rely on God’s plan and He will not let you down.
We can rely on the promises of God, finally……
By resting in Zion’s Provision v. 13-18
By resting in Zion’s Provision v. 13-18
For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place:
“This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.
Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.
There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”
In the last part of this psalm of worship, we see how God provides for His people in Zion.
Mt. Zion was a hill on the east of Jerusalem, but it became a name for the place where God was and ruled.
Sometimes the temple mount is called Mt. Zion, sometimes all of Jerusalem was called Mt. Zion.
All the time it is where God’s presence was in charge.
As we said earlier, the ark represented the presence of God in a place, but there would be a time when the Ark would be no more.
No one knows what happened to the ark of the covenant, it most certainly wasn’t hidden away in a snake pit in Egypt.
But we do know that it was a temporary thing used by God, and one day would no longer be needed.
Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
“ ‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again.
At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.
The ark rested in Jerusalem, and God stayed even without it.
We do not look to the ceremony and ritual of the Jews, they were given for a time and for a purpose, but to look to what they are pointing to, who God is and what He has done.
From the very beginning, God has been working out His plan to dwell with His people.
Adam and Eve seemed to have messed that up with sin, but God’s plan was not thwarted.
Through the centuries of Old Testament times, He worked through figures and prophecies and promises.
He wrote them down in a book to be studied and cross referenced against the life of His anointed one, that would bring His plan to fruition.
And finally, at the end of it all He will dwell with His people, in person, forever.
Look at the promises of the end of our psalm.
I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.
Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.
There will be no want, when God dwells with His people.
Verse 9 asks that
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.
God answers that the priests will be clothed with salvation, completely clothed with perfect righteousness.
And the saints will shout for joy in that day, like David worshipped when the Ark was brought into Jerusalem.
There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”
A horn is the symbol for strength and power, in battle and ruling, and the throne of David will have it.
The anointed one will not be in darkness.
Every proud enemy of God will bow the knee before the Lord of all.
By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’
God will provide in Zion, for every believer, everything that He has promised, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Conclusion
Conclusion
And in this provision everyone who bends the knee in saving faith and biblical repentance, will rejoice and sing as we ascend the mountain of the Lord.
Just like the Jews did when they went to Mt. Zion to worship God in His presence at the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies of the temple.
Singing the songs of ascent.
We too sing songs of praise and worship, because we have been offered promises by a faithful God, a God who keeps His promises, even when sinful men can’t hold up their end.
Sending a Son of David to rule on the throne of Zion forever.
Keeping His promises like the one in Isaiah 55.
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
He keeps them through His Son, Jesus.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
His enemies will be clothed in shame, and His crown will shine…… forever. Amen.