Psalms 132:1–18

David and all his afflictions are the ground of this appeal. These are what the Spirit of God calls, as it were, to the remembrance of Jehovah. He brings to mind David, and all the sorrows and persecutions he passed through when he was the anointed and yet rejected king. So now, how welcome it is to the heart of God when His people remind Him of the rejection and sufferings of His beloved Son... Always remember this: in our service as priests we are not to present ourselves or our blessings, but Christ and His afflictions.

It is one thing to have a right goal, as David had; it is another to be in the right spiritual state to reach it... God certainly allowed the afflictions David endured, and perhaps even designed them and sent them, so that he might gain the spiritual education he needed. The first verse of Psalm 132 names them. Affliction is also named in the first verse of Psalm 129, and Psalms 129, 130 and 131 are taken up with affliction, or with what affliction is designed to produce in the souls of those who come under it.

From the very start of his life, David was a man who seized God's thought and made God's goal his own goal. So his whole life turned on one great overpowering passion, one great desire. Here this psalm takes you behind the scenes and shows you the hidden spring of the things that David did.

Ephratah in that verse apparently stands for Bethlehem. When he was only a boy there, before he ever became famous, he heard of the ark and what had happened to it. He realised that if God was to have His right place in Israel, the ark, which was His throne, must be recovered and set up again in its proper place... David knew that in finding a place for the ark he was in effect finding a place for the Lord.

First of all, David's (that is, Christ's) sufferings are the basis of everything. Next comes sovereign grace. Responsibility, even under the mercy declared through Moses, was closed when the Philistines took the ark captive. There could be no day of atonement, no blood on the mercy seat. Ichabod — "the glory has departed" — was written on everything. God had handed His strength over to captivity, His glory into the enemies' hands. Sovereign grace raised up Samuel the prophet, and then David. David brought the ark not into the tabernacle at all, but to Mount Zion. Zion was therefore the seat of sovereign grace in power, in contrast to Sinai. The psalm calls on God to arise into His rest, for He will rest in His love.

In Psalm 132 Solomon pleads with Jehovah to arise into the rest he had prepared for Him, and to fill it with glory and blessing, on the ground of his father's afflictions... So the afflictions of David were known in the middle of the glories of Solomon, and so the Lamb that was slain shall be in the midst of the throne. Heaven and earth, the true tabernacle or place of meeting, with everything in them, shall have the memorials of the crucified Jesus about them.

The world's history has known other conquerors beside David. Ambition drove every one of them, either personal or national. Their cry has always been either, "A place for myself," or "A place for my nation." David stands quite alone. His cry was, "A place for the Lord." In the middle of his afflictions he swore a solemn oath: he would give himself no rest until he found that place.

The surprising thing is that David did not vow this: "If the good Lord will grant me a decent house to live in, where I can be free from this endless mistreatment from Saul and his men, if He will give me a decent little cottage and a comfortable bed to lie on, then I will serve Him devotedly the rest of my life" — anything for a peaceful and quiet life! … So David, while he is hunted over the mountains, does not think of himself at all: it is the ark of the covenant and the glory of his God. The ark had been lost; where it was, nobody seemed to care. God had lost His place among His people. It is far more important, said David — young man though he was — that God should have His place than that I should have my place.

This may explain the title used twice here of Jehovah, "the mighty One of Jacob." Jacob himself first used it when he blessed his twelve sons before his death. He used it of Joseph. The archers had deeply grieved Joseph, shot at him and hated him, yet the hands of "the mighty One of Jacob" made his arms strong. God exalted him through rejection, as He has exalted the One that Joseph pictured — and will exalt Him yet, even in this world. So David had travelled back to the beginning. He shared God's purposes, and wanted to be the vessel who carried them out in the kingdom.

The ark had been a stranger in the days of Saul. David's earliest desire was to restore it, and this Psalm shows that the desire consumed him. … So Jesus could say, "Zeal for your house will consume me." Two things drove all His energy and lay behind His many sorrows: to give God a dwelling among men, and to bring man back to God.

But some vows are not made in haste by people too weak to keep them. They are made by One who is mighty, One on whom God has laid help. … So if Christ has gone up to His rest, it is because He has fulfilled His vow. He has found a place for Jacob's God, and in Zion God will rest for ever.

In Psalm 132, in verse 5, David seeks a dwelling for God; in verse 13, God answers by choosing Zion. In verse 8, David says, "Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might." In verse 14, God answers, "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it."

Here is David, not yet the powerful and successful warrior-king. He is only the shepherd-lad. God had anointed him, yet Saul hunts and harries him, chasing him like a partridge on the mountains. In such circumstances you could easily understand him praying for a quiet life. He might have vowed almost anything, if only he could get a snug little house and a comfortable bed. There he could safely give sleep to his eyes and slumber to his eyelids.

Many a young man with a strong character makes vows once he is launched in life. He will do this or that to gain wealth or fame, and so secure a place for himself in the world. As a youth David made a vow, but it was to "find out a place for the LORD," and not a place for himself. In this he stood in sharpest contrast to the king before him. Samuel had seated Saul in the best place among the guests, after the Lord told him Saul was to be king. Saul clung to that best place, and fought bitterly for it. Saul's motto was "A place for myself." David's was, "A place for the Lord."

This place for the Lord that David swore to find was clearly connected with the ark. Verse 6 refers to it twice with the little word "it." Ephratah in that verse seems to stand for Bethlehem, and "the fields of the wood" for Kiriath-jearim. When he was only a boy at Ephratah, before he ever became famous, he heard of the ark and what it had been through. He realised that if God was to have His right place in Israel, the ark, which was His throne, must be brought back and formally set up again… David knew that in finding a place for the ark he was in effect finding a place for the Lord.

But a man's — that is, a saint's — rest lies only in the vow of this psalm. His rest, his heart's rest, could only be in the rest of God perfectly glorified. Here is the rest of the saint's heart: its desires are identified with God's. So it can have no rest until He has rest and is perfectly glorified. This is a vital principle, the effect of sharing the divine nature.

But there are vows not taken rashly by those too weak to keep them. There is a vow taken by One who is mighty, on whom God has laid help… If Christ has gone up to His rest, it is because His vow is accomplished. He has found a place for the God of Jacob, and in Zion God will rest for ever.

"Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses, while this house lies in ruins?" This was a real challenge to their hearts. It raised an issue no cleverness could dodge… The secret was this: building and decorating their own houses stirred up no opposition. Only testimony for the Lord — in word, work, and life — stirs up the hostility of the world… They had chosen the path of selfish ease and self-interest, minding their own things and not the things of the Lord. They knew nothing of the spirit of the psalmist.

We must see that He has His rightful place in all our thoughts, our heart's affections, our service, our lives.

To find out "a place for the Lord" became the master passion of his life.

But what would have been so natural for him was not at all what he did.

It was Saul who was thinking of a place for himself, and as a result was bent upon destroying David. And David was all the while thinking about the Lord, consumed with desire because the ark of the testimony — which was the throne of the Lord in the midst of Israel — had gone into captivity to the land of the Philistines, and now that it had been returned by its panic-stricken captors, had gone into some obscure resting-place, no one seemed very much to care or know where. But somebody cared. David did.

David knew that in finding a place for the ark he was in effect finding a place for the Lord.

Yes, if the mighty One of Jacob is to dwell in grace among men, Christ alone, at His own personal cost, must find Him a home. The psalm speaks of Israel, and of God's dwelling place on earth, but how fully it is true of the heavenly city! The Son has provided a resting place for the Father's heart, and it is the Father's voice that says, "This is My rest forever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it."

But we do well to remember that while we wait for Him there is a way in which we may give Him His place, for has He not said, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" (Matt. 18:20)... Having done that, we must take care that He has His rightful place in all our thoughts, our heart's affections, our service, our lives.

Between David's first hearing of where the ark was and his finding it at last came the long, testing period of his afflictions under Saul, when he was in rejection, though he was the anointed king. Safety and rest were no doubt as attractive to David as they would be to us, yet they were set under a desire that overpowered them. That other affection held him so strongly that he put it into a solemn vow to the Lord, the mighty One of Jacob. He would set aside his own safety and comfort until he should "find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob" (verse 5). Then, having found a fitting place for the ark, he could say, "Arise, O LORD, into Your rest; You, and the ark of Your strength" (verse 8).

Jacob is so much like ourselves that our hearts keep echoing, "This might be myself!" The failures, the wilfulness, the scheming, the lack of faith, the turning to the world, are, sadly, paths only too well known to some of us. For this reason we rejoice. Our God so often speaks of Himself as "The God of Jacob", and so very rarely as "The God of Abraham"... In the Psalms we find "The God of Jacob" thirteen times, and "The God of Abraham" once. And remember that "Jacob" means "Cheater" or "Deceiver", while "Abraham" means "The Father of Many Nations."

The ark was everything for David. For him it meant the Lord, the Mighty One of Jacob (Ps. 132:5), and worship belonged wherever the ark was. Solomon did not rise to the height of these blessings, and he did not enjoy the closeness of this relationship with God. He went no further than the ordinary religious level of his people.

In Psalm 132 we see the same kind of change. In verse 5, David seeks a dwelling place for God; in verse 13, God answers by choosing Zion. In verse 8, David says, "Arise, O LORD, into Your rest; You, and the ark of Your strength." In verse 14, God answers, "This is My rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it."

When God meets our thoughts, wants, and feelings, He is answering according to the measure of our need. There is something better: He lifts us up to Himself, and there He goes beyond all the desires of our hearts and minds. In Psalm 132 David asks for certain blessings, and God surpasses each desire: compare verse 8 with verse 13, verse 9 with verse 16, and verse 10 with verse 17.

This is written of Him, the true David, the man of affliction: He swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob that He would not come into His house, nor go up to His bed, nor give sleep to His eyes, until He found a place for the LORD. If, then, Christ has gone up to His rest, it is because His vow is accomplished: He has found a place for Jacob's God, and in Zion God will rest for ever.

How few souls in Israel seem to have grieved over the absence of the ark from the land! Yet it should have been — and to every devout Israelite it was — the most sacred and cherished object in the tabernacle... See with what affection David speaks or sings of this symbol of the Lord's presence among them... Oh, that the One the ark pointed to, our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, might have the same place in our thoughts and affections.

"Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah" (verse 6), and Ephratah was the ancient name of Bethlehem, and David's birthplace. But what was the "it"? Clearly, the ark, which is mentioned in verse 8. We know this because verse 6 adds, "we found it in the fields of the wood." That is how he describes Kirjath-Jearim, the place from which he finally brought the ark up to Jerusalem.

One writer, however, says the Ephratah of this Psalm "seems to be certainly not Bethlehem … but the district where Kirjath-jearim stood, Caleb-ephratah." (1 Chr. 2:24.) But we prefer the interpretation given above.

It seems clear, then, that David loved the ark from his earliest days, when he lived with his father at Bethlehem. His bringing it to Zion was simply the expression of that early affection. The Spirit of God recalls this here to the minds of His people, and endorses it with His approval. At Ephratah they had only heard of the ark. They found it in the fields of the wood — that is, in Kirjath-jearim, "city of the woods" — when David was king and determined to bring it to Zion.

They heard of the ark in the place of its neglect, after it had been in the hands of the enemy. They find it "in the fields of the wood," as something forgotten and worthless in the eyes of the nation (See 1 Chr. 13:3-5). "The fields of the wood," or "the fields of Jair," is probably a poetic allusion to Kirjath-jearim, meaning "the city of woods," where David found the ark.

The ark, pledge of the covenant, the pledge of God's rest, was heard of at Ephratah, and found in the fields of the wood. Possibly there is an allusion here to Christ's birthplace, or to when David was small and despised there, as the Root of David was. His heart was secretly on the ark of the covenant of His God, which the apostasy of His people had thrown aside. (David was the type of grace after apostasy.) He could have no rest until a home for it was found.

At that point in history there was only the ark inside its tent. But for faith this was the pledge that the house would be built (compare Hebrews 12:22-24). So the Spirit of God can lead the hearts of His willing people to say, "We will go into His tabernacles: we will worship at His footstool." … With faith alive and at work — the faith that gives substance to the things hoped for — they are already in spirit inside the sacred courts of the house, bending low before Jehovah in adoration.

We might think, from the 5th verse, that it was merely David's choice. We might say, "Well, can we not find out a place for the Lord? Are we not free to choose any place that seems nice and convenient to us?" No, no! David found the place that was God's place — you will find that very clearly in verse 13. … David found the place God appointed, the place that the Lord had chosen. To that place he brought the Ark of the Covenant for the Lord.

But now comes the call to return: "Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool." The sudden, urgent tone of the words fits exactly. The heart is now awake, and sees its ungrateful neglect of Him who has come down to man in grace.

So the godly remnant make David's thoughts their own, and his desires become their desires. Like David, they long for the ark to have its true place among God's people. They heard of the ark where it lay neglected, after it had been in the hands of the enemy. They find it "in the fields of the wood," treated as something forgotten and worthless in the eyes of the nation. "The fields of the wood," or "the fields of Jair," is probably a poetic reference to Kirjath-jearim, meaning "the city of woods," where David found the ark.

Through all his troubles David gave himself no rest until he had found a resting place for the ark of the covenant of the Lord. It had to be a place where the covenant kept inside the ark could settle at last for God's people, with no more journeys across the desert and no more upheavals in the hands of the Philistines. This rest of God was also the rest of "the footstool of His feet," for the ark was the throne of God, who sat between the cherubim — the throne He had set up among His people.

If the throne speaks of God's government joined to the glory that dwells there, the phrase "the place of the soles of My feet" brings in the thought of worship (Ps. 99:5; Ps. 132:7).

At that point in history there was only the ark inside its tent. But for faith this was the pledge that the house would be built (compare Hebrews 12:22-24). So the Spirit of God can lead the hearts of His willing people to say, "Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool." Their faith is alive and active — the faith that gives substance to the things hoped for — so in spirit they are already inside the house, bowing low before the Lord in worship.

No, no! David found the place that was God's place — you can see it plainly in verse 13. After he brought the ark back, David says, "Arise, O Lord, and go to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might." "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.'" David found the place God appointed, the place the Lord had chosen, and there he brought the ark of the covenant for the Lord.

Do we know His centre — in spirit, His "resting place forever" — where He dwells? There He waits until, in His own time, He sets up temple worship in Israel, a place marked by praise that God orders and accepts, where the blessed One the ark pictured lives — the once-rejected King. "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." What a holy place!

When the Lord has His rightful place in our affections, the soul finds a rest it would never know otherwise.

The point to notice in our Psalm is the contrast. In the wilderness it was, "Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered." Here it is, "Arise, O Lord, into Your rest; You, and the ark of Your strength." To faith the goal was reached as soon as the ark reached Zion, and all the enemies were scattered. This will indeed be the case before Messiah, as the Priest upon His throne, builds His temple and bears the glory (Zechariah 6:12-13).

First of all, David's sufferings are the basis of everything, that is, Christ. Next comes sovereign grace. Even responsibility, under the mercy declared through Moses, came to an end when the Philistines captured the ark. There could be no day of atonement, no blood on the mercy-seat. Ichabod was written on everything — God had "delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the enemy's hands." Sovereign grace raised up Samuel the prophet, and then David. David brought the ark, not into the tabernacle at all, but to Mount Zion. Zion was in this way the seat of sovereign grace in power, in contrast with Sinai. God is called on to "arise into his rest," for He will rest in His love.

Though David could say, "I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God" (1 Chronicles 29:2-3), he was not allowed to build the temple. He did find "a place for the Lord" in Jerusalem and pitched a tent for it there. But that was only temporary, a preparation for the building of the temple. It was the lips of Solomon that spoke the words of Psalm 132:8-9, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 6:41. In the same way we wait for the moment when Jehovah and His Christ — who is the true "ark of His strength" — shall enter into their permanent rest.

The longing of David, "the man after God's heart," is now fulfilled. After all his afflictions, he is given the thing he would "not give sleep to his eyes" for. In the fullness of his joy he looks ahead and says, "Arise, O Lord, into Your rest; You, and the ark of Your strength" (Psalm 132:8). God cannot enter His rest until He brings His people into it too. So everything waits until the conflict with sin is over forever — all settled by God, and settled forever. The carrying poles will be drawn out then, and not before, when our Lord's journey with His blood-bought people through the wilderness is over: "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9). Even then the poles will still be visible. They will keep the past in memory, and stir fresh and endless praise.

In Psalm 132, Solomon pleads with Jehovah to arise into the rest he had prepared for Him, and to fill it with glory and blessing. The ground of his plea is his father's afflictions... So the afflictions of David were remembered amid the glories of Solomon. In the same way the Lamb that was slain shall be in the midst of the throne. As our fallen earth bears everywhere the trail of the serpent, so will the kingdom wear the traces of the blood of the Lamb.

In Psalm 132, David seeks a home for God in verse 5, and in verse 13 God answers by choosing Zion. In verse 8, David says, "Arise, O LORD, into Your rest; You, and the ark of Your strength." In verse 14, God answers, "This is My rest forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it."

David could say, "I have set my affection to the house of my God," and so, "I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God" (1 Chron. 29:2-3). Yet he was not allowed to build the temple. He did find "a place for the Lord" in Jerusalem and pitched a tabernacle for it there. But that was only temporary, a preparation for building the temple. It was the lips of Solomon that spoke the words of Psalm 132:8-9, as recorded in 2 Chr. 6:41. In the same way we wait for the moment when Jehovah and His Christ — who is the true "ark of His strength" — shall enter into their permanent rest.

Verses 8 to 10 present the prayer of the godly to the Lord. First, they pray that the Lord would come among them. He would find His rest in His tabernacle, and His righteous power to bless His people in the ark of His strength. The ark, we know, speaks of Christ. Then they pray that the priests may be clothed with righteousness — that their practical ways may be in accord with their holy office. Third, they pray that the Lord's people may shout for joy. Finally they pray that the King may be established in the favour of the Lord.

We are not now like Adam and Eve. They hid away from God's presence because they knew they were guilty and had no covering before Him. Our guilt has been purged away. We are clothed with righteousness and salvation (Ps. 132:9, 16), just as the sons of Aaron were clothed in linen garments when they were set apart as priests. For we are God's priests.

So the desire (v. 9) is that Jehovah's priests be clothed with righteousness, as John the Baptist's father was. The answer (v. 16) is, "I will also clothe her priests with salvation" — the full and final deliverance of God. The desire is right: righteousness becomes them. The answer is from God, and becomes Him in the power of His grace. The desire again (v. 9) is that His saints may shout for joy. All right: the renewed heart must desire the prosperity and joy of God's chosen. And God will give it abundantly (v. 16): "her saints shall shout aloud for joy."

Faith had said "Your priests" and "Your saints," and they truly were Jehovah's. But in His reply He says "her" (Zion's) priests and "her" saints. So Jehovah identifies Himself with Zion, and credits to her what belonged to Him. It is the blessed association of Zion and the priests and saints with Himself. The Christian will understand this, knowing how completely he is associated with Christ in every aspect and relationship, and how the Lord shares with His own all that He Himself has acquired in virtue of redemption, so that they can be described as "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."

"And her pious ones" — not holy ones, in the sense of separate from evil, but godly, with a heart for God.

It is founded on David bringing the ark of the covenant up to Zion. That was grace acting by power. Israel had failed so completely that the bond between the people and God was wholly broken, and the ark had gone into captivity. But now a home was found for the mighty God of Jacob. The fruit of David's body, the Messiah of Jehovah, was to sit on His throne for evermore.

The psalm speaks of David's trouble, not of the nation's affliction. To him God had made promises. As God's anointed he had suffered much. But this language, so suited to him, will suit the faithful remnant of Israel in the same way. They with their fathers have failed, but God had made promises to David. Where they could not speak of themselves, they could tell of the promises. David had died, but the promises held good: his children had failed, but God's words could not.

These words are taken from Psalm 132. In this song, the object of David's afflictions was to find a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob. This habitation had now been found, but in the imperfection which Solomon's request reveals. God in that Psalm then responds to the king's desire expressed in Chronicles. He shows him Zion, His house, His priesthood, His Anointed, as He sees them in their eternal perfection in answer to sufferings of Christ, the true David.

Of course, in this David is a type of Christ, for whose sake God cannot in the least turn away His face from His Anointed, who is clearly Christ also.

I think the plea here is a double one, complete in its two parts. Christ in His Person and work is represented in "David" and in Jehovah's "Anointed." But the prayer does not name the work itself. What it asks Jehovah to remember is Christ's own appointment to that work, and the testimony given of His delight in that appointment. He had made no mistake.

Notice again that the ground of the plea is still David: "For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one." The believer will enter into this, because he knows that God hears all his prayers only as they come in and through the One whom David pictures. What power and what perseverance in prayer this should give to the Lord's people, as they remember that they can plead all the infinite acceptability of Christ Himself before God!

Verse 13 shows God's sovereign choice. Then notice this: each time, God's promise in answer goes beyond what was asked (compare verses 14-15 with 8, 16 with 9, and 17-18 with 10). This is of the highest interest, because it shows the grace of the Lord, and how His love goes beyond all the hopes of His people.

In verse 17 the horn of David stands for power, and that power will grow in a wonderful way, for it speaks of the power of the Messiah, the Son of David. God's Anointed, the Lord Jesus, will show a lamp of renewed light in Israel, while His enemies will be clothed with shame. On the Messiah the crown of glory will flourish.

The promise had seemed to fail; instead of prosperity there had come affliction. Zion was a place of ruins rather than a city of holy feasts. Still the covenant remained; Jehovah had sworn in truth to David (verse 11). Nor would He turn from the word that He had spoken, for He is not a man that He should change His mind. The faith of Israel's believing remnant will hold fast this word. They will hold to the testimonies of the One who cannot lie. In the last days their appeals to Jehovah will rest on nothing else.

This is God carrying out His truth to David — "The Lord has sworn… He will not turn from it. Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne"; that is a settled point. Then comes a conditional promise of righteousness, true only in Christ the Lord — "If your children keep My covenant, then," and so on. … This was the answer to David's affliction — in Christ, the fruit of his body was set upon his throne.

Verse 12 puts a condition on David's sons: they had to keep God's covenant. If they did, those sons would continue to sit on David's throne. Of course, we know that David's sons soon abandoned God's covenant. For centuries no one has continued on the throne of David. But God has overcome this great difficulty. The Lord Jesus, "Great David's Greater Son," will yet sit on the throne of David.

Compare 2 Samuel 7:14 with Hebrews 1:5, Psalm 132:11 with Acts 2:30, and Isaiah 55:3 with Acts 13:34. These pairs at once assure us that Christ, and not Solomon, is the real and substantial Son of David — both in the message of Nathan and in the Psalm I have referred to.

A conditional pledge about his children follows. But there is One Seed, one special Anointed, or Messiah, who shines through it all. He is the true David and his Seed alike. He is the one who, by His sufferings and His heart for God, secures the abiding presence of Jehovah with His people. The shadows pass, because they are but shadows; but the kingship abides for the sake of the Man after God's heart.

The reality of the Lord's manhood lay in His being born of Mary, who was "the Virgin" of David's house. If He had not been Son of God really on the other side, the truth of His Godhead would have been overthrown. If He had not held Solomon's legal rights through Joseph, His supposed father, He was not the true Messiah of Jehovah's oath to David.

But Israel rejected and killed their Messiah. Humanly speaking, at this point, all was lost. But what did God do? He "raised Him from among the dead, no more to return to corruption," and said, "I will give to you the faithful mercies of David." God had promised David a descendant to sit on his throne. That promise is certain, sure and unchangeable. To fulfil it, God raised up Christ from among the dead.

The promise to David that flows out of verse 10 is twofold — absolute and conditional. In verse 11 it is the expression of the divine purpose: "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.'" As a matter of history, we might say this was fulfilled when Solomon came to the throne. But the whole Psalm is prophetic, so Christ as the Son of David is doubtless included here. Verse 12 adds the condition of keeping the LORD's covenant and testimony, and there it is David's natural heirs who are in view. So when Christ, as the Son of David, is before the mind of the Spirit, the promise is unconditional. It is the announcement of God's purpose in grace. But when David's children, his immediate descendants, are in view, their staying on his throne depends on their responsibility — on their keeping God's law, and walking according to His commandments.

Verse 12 refers to the covenant and the testimony, that is, the law.

We would be standing on the ground of pure grace here, if only there were not an if. "There shall not fail you a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me." How this "if only" condemns us all! It absolutely condemned wise Solomon, and how much more ourselves, a worthless lot. Where getting anything from the Lord depends on our own responsibility, we are condemned from the start.

In contrast with this we then have the conditional promise of verse 12. Here is what explains the long history of failure. Like the promise about Abraham's seed, this one has two different applications, and in some sense they stand in contrast. The fulfilment seems unsteady and uncertain until the eye rests on Christ. Then, through Him at last, even the promise on the lower plane is secured.

In grace God chose and exalted David. He sustained him and gave him victory after victory, until there was no evil or enemy left. He set his throne in peaceful glory, in the person of his son Solomon. But then the family of David had to keep the throne of David on terms of obedience. We know they lost the throne, as the tribes of Israel lost the land, and Adam the Garden.

The two principles of law and grace each have their illustration in this Psalm. There is the building of David and the building of God. So verse 12 gives an account of conditional promise to the natural seed. But the LORD's own choosing will, which picks Zion for a lasting habitation (verses 13, 14), is the declared security that God will fulfil the condition as surely as He fulfils the promises of the covenant, in the Person of the Lord Christ.

It was not merely David's choice. Verse 5 might make us think it was. We might say, "Well, can we not find a place for the Lord ourselves? Are we not free to choose any place that seems nice and convenient to us?" No, no! David found the place that was God's place — you will see that clearly in verse 13.

In Psalm 132, there is a similar change; in verse 5, David seeks a habitation for God; in verse 13, God answers by choosing Zion. In verse 8, David says, "Arise, O LORD, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength"; in verse 14, God answers, "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it."

The psalm rests on David bringing the ark up to Zion... This was grace acting in power. Israel had failed so completely that the tie between the people and God — so far as it rested on the people's responsibility — was wholly broken, and the ark had gone into captivity... But now, in a fuller and more lasting way, a dwelling place was found for the mighty God of Jacob, where the godly would bow low in worship before His footstool.

"For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place." Here we see how God rests in His love — because His heart is satisfied.

He will dwell in Zion, the mountain of glory. The glory from above will find a resting place on that holy hill. There He will sit enthroned as King... It is the literal Zion and not something spiritual. Even good expositors of the Bible have missed the mark.

There is a place of blessing, and in this case it is Zion. The reason lies in what we saw in the psalm before... So we learn again that God's blessing is found where He dwells, in His own home... In a future day Zion will be Jehovah's dwelling place, and for that reason it will be the place of blessing; but now the Church is the house of God. In both cases alike it is God's presence in His dwelling that secures the blessing.

The same principle holds for the believer today. When the Lord has His rightful place in the affections, the soul reaches a rest it would otherwise never know.

In Psalm 132, there is a similar change; in verse 5, David seeks a habitation for God; in verse 13, God answers by choosing Zion. In verse 8, David says, "Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might." In verse 14, God answers, "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it."

The desire is right according to man; the answer is according to God. The desire is right according to the divine nature and ways, but the blessing is according to the riches of grace... It is more than asked, clearly more. The heart led by God has been brought to desire what is God's desire and the object of His election.

In Numbers 10 Moses said, "Arise, O LORD." He did not add, "and go to your resting place." The tabernacle in the wilderness could not be the rest of God. But Zion is the place that the LORD chose for His rest. He desired it for His habitation (v. 13). And David enters into the mind of God.

David's heart could have no rest till the LORD found His own rest... It is God's desire too. He has chosen Zion, so His counsel is secure. But He has also desired it for His habitation. His delight, as well as His counsel, is in it. This is immense blessing... Then God reveals that His desire is there, not only His counsel that glorifies Him in this way, but His delight too. He desires Zion for His habitation. So His habitation and His rest become one (v. 14).

Here we see, indeed, how God rests in His love — because His heart is satisfied.

They were taken up from the depth of ruin, and Zion was won only after that state of ruin... it is not only great activity of goodness; it is perfect goodness shown after everything had been lost. This is grace... not only was David an object of divine choice, but Zion as well! Nor need we wonder, because God in this too was thinking of Christ as King. There had He anointed His Son.

In the desire they are the LORD's priests and the LORD's saints — "your priests," "your saints." The same holds for "the rest": the answer repeats it (compare verses 8 and 14). But as to Zion, This is my resting place. And this is what we want: nothing else will do or would be rest. But as to the priests and saints the answer does not say "your," but "her," that is, Zion's... so perfectly does God own the complete association of His people with Him in rest and blessing.

All the blessing promised in answer to the prayer in verses 8-10 flows from, or is tied to, God carrying out His purpose about Zion, finding His rest, and dwelling there... whatever the age, it is still true that all blessing depends on God's rest and His dwelling among His people.

Zion is the election of God's sovereign grace; and... there, when Christ is King, will be His full earthly rest. Believers today know that there is another and a higher rest... Whether in Zion or in heaven, that rest is connected with Christ. In Him God has found His infinite satisfaction and delight. In Him He will rest for ever, and we also, through His grace, shall share in His rest.

The Psalmist prays, "Let your priests be clothed with righteousness." The answer is, "I will also clothe her priests with salvation." He prays again, "Let your saints shout for joy." The answer goes out, "Her saints shall shout aloud for joy." Then God adds more: "I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread." That recalls the apostle's words, "far more abundantly than all that we ask or think."

As soon as the ark is set on Zion, the blessing flows out to the people: "I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread." Here again we have the thought of sovereign choice connected with Zion. This time the choice is also connected with the ark. The ark, with its mercy seat, speaks of Christ. So we learn that the full meaning of Mount Zion is the power of God's sovereign grace, working for the blessing of man through Christ. When everything has been lost through man's failure, all blessing is secured by the sovereign grace of God, flowing to us righteously on the ground of all that Christ is and has done.

With God living among them, His people could not lack, for it is in His heart to bless them at all times beyond their greatest desires. So the Lord, when He was on earth, challenged His disciples: "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing." His presence secured everything for them, as it always does when we grasp it and count on it. We can understand, then, this generous promise of Jehovah's grace. At the same time we confess with sorrow that we, like Israel of old, often limit our God by our unbelief. Think much, then, on the words: "I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread." And remember that it is the poor who are so satisfied.

He shows Himself as the Jehovah of Psalm 132: "I will satisfy her poor with bread." He shows that here, and they own Him as a prophet. Then they are going to take Him by force and make Him a king. That gives two of Christ's titles. But He will not be king in this worldly way. He goes up into the mountain and takes the place of priest. Here is Christ, who would not be king, was a prophet, and intercedes on high, while His people toil below.

Then the feeding time will come. No longer will there be famine in the land; never again will there be "death in the pot." Of Zion it is written: "I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread" (Ps. 132:15). The Lord Jesus gave a foretaste of this when He fed the five thousand.

The characteristic note of the latter part of Psalm 132 is blessing. "I will abundantly bless her provisions… her saints shall shout aloud for joy." There is no blessing, no satisfaction, like that known by the soul in which Christ has His proper place of supremacy.

Zechariah 14 shows that the kingdom will be established after the deliverance of Jerusalem. It will not begin at the same moment, but when the glory of the Lord appears on the Mount of Olives. Then all the hindrances that kept Him from taking up His reign will have vanished... Zechariah's prophetic vision agrees with what we read in Psalm 132:13-18.

Nothing can be more striking than the goodness of God throughout this Psalm. God goes beyond all that is asked of Him. The prayer is, "Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness; and let Your saints shout for joy" (v. 9). But the answer is, "I will also clothe her priests with salvation; and her saints shall shout aloud for joy" (v. 16)... In every case the answer largely surpasses the request.

Then they pray that the priests may be clothed with righteousness — that their daily ways may match their holy office. Thirdly, they pray that the Lord's people may shout for joy.

In verse 9 the desire is that Jehovah's priests be clothed with righteousness, as John the Baptist's father was. The answer in verse 16 is, "I will also clothe her priests with salvation" — the full, final deliverance of God. The desire is right: righteousness suits them. The answer is from God, and it suits Him in the power of His grace. The desire again is that His saints may shout for joy. That is right too: the renewed heart must desire the prosperity and joy of God's chosen. And God will give it abundantly: "her saints shall shout aloud for joy."

Grace more than answers the desire for its tender care: "I will also clothe her priests with salvation." That is a security greater than any personal righteousness of man. "And her pious ones" — not holy ones, in the sense of set apart from evil, but godly, with a heart for God — "shall shout." Yes, they shall shout aloud for joy.

Faith had said "Your priests" and "Your saints," and they really were Jehovah's. But in His answer He says "her" (Zion's) priests and "her" saints. So Jehovah identifies Himself with Zion, and counts as hers what belonged to Him... The Christian will understand this. He knows how closely he is joined to Christ in every way and relationship. He knows that the Lord shares with His own all that He Himself has gained through redemption.

We had said that the word is the same as in the last clause of verse 9, so we thought the addition "aloud" was hardly justified. The word is the same, but its repetition was overlooked. In Hebrew, repeating a word intensifies its meaning. For example, Psalm 40:1 says, "I waited patiently for the Lord." Translated exactly, it would read, "In waiting I waited for the Lord." The repeated word gives a deeper and more lasting sense... It is beautiful to see how very far beyond the desires of His people God's heart answers their prayers.

The prayer is, "Let your priests be clothed with righteousness; and let your saints shout for joy." But the answer is, "I will also clothe her priests with salvation; and her saints will shout aloud for joy." Again the prayer is, "For your servant David's sake, do not turn away the face of your anointed." God answers, "There I will make the horn of David sprout." In every case God's answer goes far beyond the request.

Zion is God's rest for ever. This is what He has chosen, and there He will make the horn of David sprout. The person of David's Son, royal grace in Zion, marks out the blessing. Whatever house is built, God remembers David and his trouble, not Solomon — a picture of David's son — and his house.

In Scripture, horns stand for power. Zacharias, speaking as a prophet by the Holy Spirit, praised the Lord God of Israel for raising up a horn of deliverance, or salvation, in the house of David His servant. No doubt Psalm 132:17-18 was in his mind as he said this. Zacharias expected that this prophecy, and many more like it, were about to be fulfilled in the baby soon to be born in David's house. That was not to be. The envy of Israel's leaders and the blindness of the unrepentant nation refused to acknowledge the rightful claims of the Messiah, and in the end they crucified Him. Israel's deliverance, so vividly described in the prophetic Scriptures, was put on hold. It waits for the great day when its all-powerful Deliverer will come from Zion. He will deal with their ungodliness and set them free from their enemies.

In the Old Testament, anointing and the lamp appear together: "There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed" (Ps. 132:17); "that David My servant may always have a lamp before Me" (1 Kings 11:36). Scripture calls David himself "the lamp of Israel" (2 Sam. 21:17), and in a far higher sense our Lord Jesus declares Himself "the light of the world" (John 8:12). So we see that oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit, that the anointing was by Him, and that the power for light or testimony comes from Him too.

Where does this lamp shine now? Not on earth. Jerusalem, the place of its display on earth, is "trampled underfoot by the Gentiles." But faith can see it shining with undimmed brightness "in the true tabernacle," where it will keep shining "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."

Even the simplest reader will see at once that these words can only come true when God's King is set up on His holy hill of Zion. Then all God's purposes for His Anointed, for His chosen people, and for the nations of the earth will reach their full accomplishment.

The "lamp" promised here will shine in the kingdom of the Son of David in a coming day. Abraham saw it from far off (Gen. 15:17), and so he saw Christ's "day" and "was glad." Both Christ and His people have longed for it all through the night-time of this present world (Isa. 62:1). In answer to that longing, the Lord Himself will light it up at the right time.

It is interesting to see how God deals with us. His explanations, His answers to prayer, all His replies to us, go beyond the occasion of the request. So in Psalm 132, the reply in each case goes beyond what is asked. Compare verses 13-15 with verse 8, verse 16 with verse 9, and verses 17, 18 with verse 10.

The prayer in verse 10 was that God would not turn away "the face of Your anointed." In answer, God makes the horn of David bud; He appoints a lamp for His anointed, and upon Himself shall His crown flourish. A lamp is a picture of something that bears witness to a thing and shows that it is true and real. Here it refers, no doubt, to 2 Chronicles 21:7; 1 Kings 11:36, 15:4. The horn is, of course, a symbol of power, and a crown the sign of rule.

The half-open flowers are the emblem of a new season, of the beginning of spring. Thus these emblems are not only those of the kingdom, but also emblems of those who belong there. There will be perfect harmony between the glories of the kingdom and those who will have part in it... He is the true Son of David, and upon Himself shall His crown flourish.

Then the horn of David is "to bud," and God appoints "a lamp" for His Anointed — "On himself shall his crown flourish." It is not merely "their children." This shows us who David is in the prophets.

And here, in the everlasting city, the horn of David's power will bud at last, with nothing to check or interrupt it. "I will set in order a lamp for My Anointed." Now there is final triumph: "His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon Himself shall His crown flourish."

And in the Psalm, there are no more enemies left; they are all clothed with shame.

The answer in verses 17, 18 is also more: the horn of David is to bud; God appoints a lamp there for Him, and His crown shall flourish on Him. That is, He goes beyond the wish. But note it is "there" — in Zion. Christ literally is King there, as in Psalm 2.

For do we not "love Him because He first loved us"? Then, truly, we shall desire earnestly that "upon Himself shall His crown flourish."