Psalms 132

Psalms 132

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE

The Davidic Dynasty Humbled and Exalted.

ANALYSIS

Stanza, Psalms 132:1-10, Prayer by the Typical Messiah. Anti-Stanza, Psalms 132:11-18, Promise for the Antitypical Messiah.

(Lm.) Song of the Steps.

1

Remember O Jehovah unto David

all his humiliations:

2

What he sware unto Jehovah

vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob:

3

Verily I will not enter into the tent of my house

I will not go up on the couch of my bed,

4

I will not give sleep to mine eyes

nor to mine eyelids slumber:

5

Until I find a place for Jehovah

habitations for the Mighty One of Jacob.

6

Lo! we heard of it in Ephrathah

we found it in the fields[765] of the forest:

[765] Some cod. (w. 3 ear. pr. edns.): field (sing.)Gn.

7

-We would fain enter into his habitations!

we would bow down at his footstool!-'

8

-Arise! Jehovah to thy resting-place

thou and the ark of thy strength:

9

Thy priests let them be clothed with righteousness

thy men of kindness let them ring out their joy.-'

10

For the sake of David thy servant

do not turn away the face of thine Anointed One.[766]

[766] Cp. Intro., Chap. III., Anointed.

11

Jehovah sware to David

in truth will he not turn back from it:
Of the fruit of thy body
will I seat on a throne for thee:

12

If thy sons keep my covenant

and my testimonies which I shall teach them
Even their sons unto futurity
shall sit on a throne for thee.

13

For Jehovah hath chosen Zion

14

This is my resting-place unto futurity

here will I dwell for I have desired it:

15

Her provision will I abundantly bless

her needy ones will I satisfy with bread;

16

Her priests also will I clothe with salvation,

and her men of kindness shall indeed ring out their joy.[767]

[767] Cp. Intro., Chap. III., Kindness.

17

There will I cause to bud a horn unto David,

I have set in order a lamp for mine Anointed One:

18

His enemies will I clothe with shame

but upon himself shall blossom his crown!

(Nm.)

PARAPHRASE

Psalms 132

Lord, do You remember that time when my[768] heart was so filled with turmoil?

[768] Literally, David's soul.

2, 3, 4, 5 I couldn-'t rest, I couldn-'t sleep, thinking how I ought to build a permanent home for the Ark[769] of the Lord, a Temple for the mighty One of Israel. Then I vowed that I would do it; I made a solemn promise to the Lord.

[769] Implied.

6 First the Ark was in[770] Ephrathah, then in the distant countryside of Jaar.

[770] Literally, Lo, we heard of it in Ehprathah.

7 But now it will be settled in the Temple, in God's permanent home here on earth. That is where we will go to worship Him.[771]

[771] Literally, We will go into His tabernacles; we will worship at His footstool.

8 Arise, O Lord, and enter Your Temple with the Ark, the symbol of Your power.
9 We will clothe the priests in white, the symbol of all purity. May our nation shout for joy.

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10 Do not reject Your servant Davidthe king You chose for Your people.
11 For You promised me that my son would sit on my throne and succeed me. And surely You will never go back on a promise!
12 You also promised that if my descendants will obey the terms of Your contract with me, then the dynasty of David shall never end.
13 O Lord, You have chosen Jerusalem[772] as Your home:

[772] Literally, Zion.

14 This is My permanent home where I shall live, You said, for I have always wanted it this way.
15 I will make this city prosperous and satisfy her poor with food.
16 I will clothe her priests with salvation; her saints shall shout for joy.
17 David's power shall grow, for I have decreed for him a mighty Son.[773]

[773] Literally, a progeny.

18 I-'ll clothe His enemies with shame, but He shall be a glorious King.

EXPOSITION

Again are we enabled to realise how truly and helpfully previous psalms lead us forward to what still awaits us. That little snatch of a song, in praise of humility, which we have just dismissed,how truly does it prepare us for the humiliations of David, with a reference to which this psalm opens.

But Jehovah humbles his loyal servants in order to fit them for the greater things to which they may not prematurely aspire; and if the Son of David who pens this psalm has schooled himself successfully into the spirit of the psalm we have just admired for its lessons of humility, he is thereby only the better prepared to lead us forward to the wonderful things to which this psalm conducts us.
Though he now only introduces it into his series of Step Songs, it has probably lain in his repertoire since those early days of his reign when, having cleansed the Temple, he anew dedicated it to the worship of Jehovah; installing priests and Levites in the zealous discharge of their duties, taking care suitably to clothe them with official garments, and bountifully to provide for their temporal needs. We can imagine no more congenial occasion than this, for the origin of this intensely Messianic psalm. Everything in that occasion and in this psalm favours their being thus brought together. Newly come to the throne, after some years of reproach and patient waiting, and godly self-discipline, the author cannot forget that he now stands in covenant line with his revered ancestor David, whose songs he has so often studied with delight. Having found vent for his reforming zeal by cleansing the temple and restoring its inspiring ritual, now to be renewed with accompanying songs,what more natural to a born poet and an anointed prophet-king than to compose a psalm like this: a psalm in every way worthy of such an auspicious occasion? Note, especially, in glancing through the psalm with these incidents in view, how, notwithstanding the unfeigned humility which restrains him from once formally alluding to himself or indulging in so much as a first personal pronoun, the profound consciousness of Messianic heirship is upon him. For to whom but to himself can we suppose him to refer at the close of the first stanza, when, gathering up all that has gone before, he pleads: For the sake of David thy servantdo not turn away the face of thine Anointed One. With the fitting occasion for this prayer in our minds, we instinctively supply the unspoken burden of it: Do not turn away his face, when he thus presents anew to thee thine own holy temple, cleansed, and vocal with thy praise.

By connecting this first climax, in Psalms 132:10, with the opening words of the psalm, we grasp the indisputable fact that this first stanza is a prayer: Remember. do not turn away. All that comes between is pleading. As much as to say: By all the devotion and enthusiasm and energetic service and consecrating forethought of my revered ancestor David, whose words and deeds I this day recall, and humbly mention as my pleading before thee,O Jehovah, do not turn away my face.

Once we grasp the firm logic of this intercession, we can easily allow for the poetic freedom with which the details are filled in. Whether we are to accept the allusion to Ephrathah as to the name of a district large enough to include Kirjathjearim where the ark was, or to understand David to refer to tidings of the whereabouts of the ark with which they were familiar in his youth in Bethlehem-ephrathah, becomes a matter of small importance. With a like sense of freedom as to details, we can, without disturbance to the general sense, understand the we of Psalms 132:6-7 as proceeding originally from David, in recognition of the people who accompanied him when he went to fetch up the ark to Jerusalem; and, then, again we can hear David's own voice of invocation in Psalms 132:8-9 even though the terms of the invocation were taken from the story of the original journeying of the ark through the wilderness, and again employed by Solomon on an intermediate occasion. All this poetic and highly picturesque filling in of the argument drawn from David and his times by no means robs this part of the psalm of its force as a mighty plea urged by King Hezekiah.

In like manner, the general sense of promise granted in answer to prayer, becomes evident as dominating the second half of the psalm (Psalms 132:11-18), notwithstanding the sweep of its contents and the loftiness of its closing aspiration. The first half of the psalm led off with what David sware to Jehovah; the second half begins, its response, with what Jehovah sware to David. And thereinin that covenant-oath to Davidlay promises yet unexhausted and which guarantee to Hezekiah, as being in the line of the covenant, all the favour he might need for himself and for the temple he this day hallows to Jehovah.

It is worthy of note how the interests of the throne and of the temple here again intertwine. The covenant, through Nathan, points to the throne (Psalms 132:11-12); and then immediately the temple is introduced as in some way supporting the throne: For Jehovah hath chosen Zionhath desired it as a habitation for himself. Such intertwining of the two interests has characterised the Davidic Covenant from the first; for was it not just when David proposed to build a temple that Jehovah promised him an abiding throne? Possibly there is in this more than meets the eye. Be that as it may, the blending of interests goes on quite to the end of the psalm: Psalms 132:14place; Psalms 132:15place; Psalms 132:16place; Psalms 132:17throne; Psalms 132:18throne and crown! That is the climaxcrown the final word.

In these last 5 verses of 10 lines, the whole passion of the psalm is expressed; and the expression is in every way most beautiful and impressive. As to form, it is all direct divine speech: Jehovah's voice alone is heard throughout; and if the speech as a whole was never uttered before, then it may be taken as a new and complete revelation of things never before so connectedly divulged.
The original petitions of David are hereby represented as grantedreaffirmedamplified. The resting-place reappears as desired, found, perpetual. The priests and Levites are heralded by provision in abundance and satisfied needy ones. The very clothing of the priests is enhanced from righteousness to salvation. The official men of kindness, the Levites, do INDEED ring out their joy, with reduplicated emphasis. Not only is what was asked in David's petitions now abundantly given; but more than was asked, at least so far as this psalm is concerned. For again, as already observed, the temple gives place to the throne: There (in that place) will I cause to bud a horn unto Davida living symbol of power. His enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon himself shall blossom his crowna living symbol of royalty. Bold metaphors truly; but for that very reason fitting the ultimate climax of the psalm and causing us to feel instinctively that a greater than Hezekiah is here. They are, indeed, things too wonderful for him; and, therefore, here he leaves them unexplained. The THRONE in its PLACE, and the final HEIR on the throne, would all in due time be revealed.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.

How does Psalms 131 prepare us for Psalms 132?

2.

When was the psalm written? When was it used?

3.

How is the term Ephrathah used in Psalms 132:6?

4.

What is the gist or theme of the prayer in verse one through ten?

5.

What is the response or answer to the prayer as in verse eleven through eighteen?

6.

In what sense or meaning is this psalm Messianic?