Arrival. It is a beautiful word, is it not? Making it to your vacation spot or returning home after a long journey—it is good to arrive when the destination is desirable. And there is no more desirable destination than God’s presence, and that is what we are reminded about in Psalms 132–134. These three psalms make up the final cycle of three in the Psalms of Ascent (120–134). Normally these cycles begin far from God’s presence, then move to express confidence in him on the road, and finally conclude with a song of arrival.1 It makes sense that these would have been the fifteen pilgrim songs of the people of Israel as they made their thrice-yearly journey to Jerusalem for the festivals. This last cycle of three is a little different, however: There is no sense of being far from God’s special dwelling place in any of these three songs. All of them have to do with Zion, all of them are songs of arrival. The close tie to God’s presence is so explicit here that part of Psalm 132 is quoted by Solomon at the dedication of the temple in 2 Chronicles 6:41–42. As we will see, what this psalm tells us most clearly is that God has promised to meet with his people; thus, we can come before him with joy and expectation in Christ.
The Desire of David
Psalm 132:1–10
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 imperative verb translated as “remember” here in verse 1 is a call for God to do something more than simply recollect. Remembrance in Scripture is often more than factual realization and recall—it is a covenantal term, asking the LORD to remember what he has promised.2 Specifically, the psalmist is asking God to remember the desires and performance of Israel’s king and representative. That ought to be the prayer of a Christian. In fact, that is what we pray every time we conclude our address to God with “in Jesus’ name”: We are asking God to remember the performance of our King and representative. It is easy to see the Old Testament patterns: As goes the king, so goes the kingdom. That is great news for those who are trusting in Christ, because our King will preserve us and lead us into glory. Even though David was a man after God’s own heart, he never heard, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). Our King heard that though, and we are in him. When God looks at us, he sees the righteousness of our King.
So David was acting as the king in his oath given in these verses. And this is a previously unknown oath—we have no other scriptural record of him swearing to do these things. David wanted two things: for the ark of God to dwell in Jerusalem, and for a temple to be built there to house the ark. God allowed him to accomplish his first desire, but in 2 Samuel 7, Yahweh told David that his son, Solomon, would be the one to build the temple. That does not mean that David’s desires were wrong. God’s special presence dwelling in the midst of his people in a permanent stone tabernacle, what could be better than that? In David’s day, this was a picture of rest and blessing. The tent life of desert wanderers was over, the permanent life in God’s city was just beginning. In a way, these desires are similar to those that would have been held by the pilgrims on the way. There was nothing they would have wanted more than to come in through the gates of Jerusalem, all the way to the temple, to be in God’s special presence. This is a reminder to us to seek God’s glory and his presence in Christ above everything. And of course, we find those things most clearly in the means of grace.
In verse 6 we see a picture of the ark of the covenant going on its journey to Jerusalem. Ephrathah is the region of Bethlehem where David was born (1 Sam 17:12). Jaar is where the ark was before it came to Mt. Zion (1 Sam 7:1).3 This verse is looking back to a time when things were not as great as they would be, a time of instability. But the combination of David the king and the ark dwelling permanently in Jerusalem gave stability and security to God’s people.4 Of course, that stability pales in comparison to the security believers have in our Savior. So recount the history of God’s presence. Meditate on it. Speak with your brothers and sisters about it. And remember that the whole story is leading to Christ: the God-man, Immanuel.
Verse 8 was said whenever the ark moved: “And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, ‘Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.’ And when it rested, he said, ‘Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel’” (Num 10:35–36). Whereas before it was a call to move to the next temporary stop, now it is a call for God to settle and bring his people along with him. What a thought for pilgrims!
Verse 10 shows the king asking permission to enter into God’s presence. This is reminiscent of the entrance liturgies in Psalms 15 and 24. Who can ascend God’s holy hill? Only a righteous one. The king in ancient Israel was a representative for the people—so this prayer for God not to turn away the anointed one is really a prayer that God would not turn away from the people over whom he has set the king. God justly turned his face away from many of the kings of Israel and Judah. But our King has perfect, complete, never-ending access! Put your hope in your King’s worth! Pray for Jesus’ sake! And remember that the Anointed One gives you access to God.
The Design of God
Psalm 132:11–18
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.”
We had not heard about David’s oath to God before Psalm 132, but God’s oath to David is a different story. This oath was the LORD’s covenant with David that led to the King of kings. We read about it in 2 Samuel 7:11–16:
Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 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.
We always need to remember that God’s faithfulness to us is greater than our faithfulness to him. His desire to dwell in the midst of his people is greater than our desire to have him in our midst. You can rest in that. This desire of God is the sort of thing we read about in Ephesians 1:3–6:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
We did not choose him; he chose us. And this same God who chooses us also chooses his dwelling place. This is not us putting him in a box—God himself has chosen how, where, and when he comes to us in blessing. In the old covenant administration of the covenant of grace it was normally in the wilderness tabernacle or Mt. Zion’s temple that God lived with his people. Then Immanuel came, and he is still bringing us God’s presence by the Holy Spirit whom he has poured out on us (Acts 2:33; 10:45). When you gather with God’s people at his call on his day, he meets with you. When you come to church, expect God to be there to meet with you. Make it a priority. Come to both services if your church offers them. What else could be better? Where else would you rather be?
Notice how the poor and priest alike are blessed by God’s presence in verses 15–16. This is in answer to verse 9: “Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.” God blesses abundantly—think of the words used here: provision, bread, salvation, and joy. The Bible presents God’s blessings as multifaceted. He is so good that the benefits he gives to his people cannot be contained under one analogy. That is what we have in Christ—multifaceted blessings beyond our wildest imagination: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:20–21).
Verses 17–18 draws attention to three things: a horn, a lamp, and a crown. Christ fulfills all of this imagery. He has the strength of the king—and not just any king, but the King of kings. That is his horn. He brings light to the world through his revelation of God and his defeat of sin and death. That is his lamp. He has been given all glory and dominion at God’s right hand, ruling over all creation. That is his crown.
But not everyone is in his mediatorial kingdom—God clothes two groups in verses 16 and 18, but he clothes them very differently. In verse 16 we saw that the priests are clothed with salvation (leading to the joy of the saints), but in verse 18 Christ’s enemies are clothed with shame. Those are the only two outcomes available: salvation and joy or shame and judgment. And there are only two groups: those in Christ and those outside of him, or the righteous and the wicked as many other psalms put it. So are you shouting for joy over salvation or are you covered with shame? Are you a saint or an enemy? No matter your answer to that question, the solution is the same: Look to Christ! Throw yourself upon the mercy and grace of the Savior, the king of all the earth. And remember, God’s presence is here with his people. His design has come to pass. Those looking to him by faith are heading toward him. What better reason could we have to rejoice?
Conclusion
While there are many things going on in Psalm 132, one thing stands out above everything else: God has promised to meet with us in his dwelling place through the anointed King. Christ is both. We are on the way to the new heavens and earth, but the destination is secure because of our Savior. And through him, we enjoy God’s presence and grace even now. There is no better news for pilgrims on the way.
Notes
- Christopher Smith, “The LORD Is With His Pilgrims (Psalms 120–122): In My Distress—Psalm 120,” Heidelblog, January 20, 2024.
- Willem A. VanGemeren, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 5: Psalms, Revised Edition, eds. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland (Zondervan, 2008), 925.
- Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary (IVP Academic, reprinted 2008), 449–50; Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary (IVP Academic, 2014), 435.
- VanGemeren, Expositor’s, 929.
©Chris Smith. All Rights Reserved.
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Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith is originally from Bellevue, Nebraska. A graduate of Westminster Seminary California (M.Div 2019; MA (Historical Theology) 2020). He is associate pastor of Phoenix URC in the United Reformed Churches of North America. He is currently pursuing a ThM in systematic theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.
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