The Psalmist asks God to show His favor upon the reigning son of David and on the legacy David founded guided by God. David wanted so desperately to build God a place of worship to God in Zion. If fact, David swore an oath of promise to God that he would secure a dwelling place for the Lord and is remembered in this psalm. The Lord promised that he would secure David’s dynasty, most closely associated with his throne. In this way, the Lord’s oath responds to David’s oath.
Theologically, as most psalms do, we read and remember God’s promises given to David. God’s promises were given to David with the ultimate purpose to save the world. God guided, protected, and provided for any descendant of David who kept the law of God. The “anointed one” includes any of David’s children, but it ultimately looks to the great Messiah, who would come from David’s line. The Anointed Messiah is Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, the King of kings and Lord of lords!
Hold that thought as we read…
Psalm 132, The Message
A song of ascents.
1-5 O God, remember David,
remember all his troubles!
And remember how he promised God,
made a vow to the Strong God of Jacob,
“I’m not going home,
and I’m not going to bed,
I’m not going to sleep,
not even take time to rest,
Until I find a home for God,
a house for the Strong God of Jacob.”
6-7 Remember how we got the news in Ephrathah,
learned all about it at Jaar Meadows?
We shouted, “Let’s go to the shrine dedication!
Let’s worship at God’s own footstool!”
8-10 Up, God, enjoy your new place of quiet repose,
you and your mighty covenant ark;
Get your priests all dressed up in justice;
prompt your worshipers to sing this prayer:
“Honor your servant David;
don’t disdain your anointed one.”
11-18 God gave David his word,
he won’t back out on this promise:
“One of your sons
I will set on your throne;
If your sons stay true to my Covenant
and learn to live the way I teach them,
Their sons will continue the line—
always a son to sit on your throne.
Yes—I, God, chose Zion,
the place I wanted for my shrine;
This will always be my home;
this is what I want, and I’m here for good.
I’ll shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here,
and give supper to those who arrive hungry;
I’ll dress my priests in salvation clothes;
the holy people will sing their hearts out!
Oh, I’ll make the place radiant for David!
I’ll fill it with light for my anointed!
I’ll dress his enemies in dirty rags,
but I’ll make his crown sparkle with splendor.”
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
When we read and study God’s Word, we must always remember that most importantly this is God’s Story of Redemption describing His Legacy through His created to demonstrate his traits of unconditional love, mercy, and grace. God’s Word to us is His legacy of who He is with how He faithfully He helps those who call on His Name. In fact, God is faithful even when we are not faithful to Him. David is one of many examples. God will keep His promises.
God’s Word is not a self-help book like the world places on book store shelves, gathering dust with the latest and greatest ways to correct the behaviors that are not working for us in our current environments and situations of life! God’s Word is written by God to tell His story of Truth so that we might believe, repent of our sins, and live Truth. God’s Holy Spirit guides to all Truth when we ask God for wisdom, insight and understand as we read His Word. He is the One with the power to transform us by cleansing our hearts, renewing our minds, refreshing our souls, while restoring the joy of our relationship with Him through Jesus! God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, all God in Three Persons all speak truth to us. Trust in the One who never fails to speak Truth and always keeps His promises to be with us always.
The Word of God is written (as promised) on the hearts of those who believe and trust with surrender to God’s will and purpose. God’s Word is written to be understood by hearts committed to God. We “take to heart” all God says because He cannot lie; He only speaks Truth! God used his prophets, disciples, apostles and other followers to tell who He is with what He desires to do in us because He loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with us! It’s all about God in us, working through us, to be all He created us to be with the bonus of eternal life filled with inexplicable joy and a perfect peace that only He can give to us as gifts of His character and being. God is Spirit who desires to live in us. Invite Him in!
God wants us to be more like Him in all His ways and His ways are perfect, righteous, and holy. We cannot be holy on our own. To be holy we must seek Him for only He is holy. It is God who has the desire to make us holy as we humbly walk with Him. That does not mean we are perfect but all who believe have full access to God who is perfect. We discover that the more we walk and talk with God in a humbled, honest, and growing relationship with Him, the more we see ourselves becoming more like Him in His character. We are transformed day by day by being in His Presence.
From the beginning, even before the Fall of Adam and Eve, God had a Plan to save us. His Legacy of Salvation and Redemption was placed on the shoulders of His Son, Jesus. Jesus willingly obeyed because of His love for all of us.
God desired to demonstrate His character of unconditional love, compassionate mercy, with unending grace to the world and inhabitants He created in person! God’s Plan was to send the Messiah, meaning “one who saves”, as foretold by God’s prophets, into the world to seek the lost to show the Way back to God, the Truth about God, with the extreme gift of Eternal Life with God. This Person was Jesus, God’s One and Only Son, who was sent from glory to earth to represent God as part of Himself, as “God in flesh”. This is how John was inspired to describe this incarnation of God in Jesus, the Person of Truth;
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” we hear so often from librarians, or media specialists. We also hear it said when are tempted to judge each other by how we look physically or behave emotionally without getting to know the real person from the inside out. Everyone is created by God with purpose. Read that again. Read it again until we believe it. Look at others with God’s eyes, wondering what God will do in and through them! Be aware, this might change our current way of thinking with assumptions and presumptions!
The Psalmist invites us to think more deliberately about how we cultivate memory of all God has done that leads us to nurture our hope in Jesus who is the Way, Truth, and Life. Both remembering and hope are necessary for those who seek to walk in the way of the Lord.
Lord,
Thank you for these words of truth that nurture our souls for it brings back all the memories of how you work diligently in our lives to make us whole and holy before you. Thank you for convicting us without condemning us, correcting us with your new fresh mercies, comforting us with your compassions that fail not, while compelling us to seek to love and live more like you in every way.
In Jesus Name, Amen
