Psalm 132:1-18 NKJV
A Song of Ascents.
132 Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the Lord,
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it in the fields of the woods.
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed.
11 The Lord has sworn in truth to David;
He will not turn from it:
“I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them,
Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
14 “This is My resting place forever;
Here I will 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 I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”
As the Israelite pilgrims remembered King David in the context of the temple, they prayed that the Lord would do so too: “Lord, remember David And all his afflictions; How he swore to the Lord, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob.” (vs 1) What were those terms of David’s oath? The psalm reveals “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of 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.” (vss. 3-5)
We are well advised not to interpret literally every detail the psalm’s description of David’s oath — otherwise we might conclude that David never again went to bed. See 1 Kings 1:1-4 to have that notion put to sleep (so to speak). The Lord pledges His truth to David, which He will never nullify: “I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.” (vs. 11)
In this perspective, the proper place for the temple is Jerusalem precisely because it is David’s city. That is to say, the place of God’s covenant is the House of David, so the temple is designated as God’s house because of His covenant with David. After saying that David’s “sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore” the psalm goes on immediately to speak of the the temple: “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.”
The Church reads all such texts as prophesies, of course, finding their fulfillment solely in Christ our Lord. He is at once the new Temple and that very son of David who gives defining substance to God’s covenant sworn to the son of Jesse. When we pray this psalm, it is entirely with reference to its fulfillment in Jesus, the Anointed One, the Temple! And He is ever abundantly blessing her (the Church’s) provision and feeding her poor with bread!
Let us pray: Keep us ever mindful of Your covenant with us, clothing us with the righteousness and fully merited salvation of Your Anointed One. Amen.