Psalms 132:1-18

Psalms 107:150

Gordon Churchyard

Psalms 132

Psalms For Climbing;

Psalms 120:134

Jesus said, "We will go up to Jerusalem" (Luke 18:31).

The Story of Psalms 120:134

These 15 psalms are called "Songs of Ascent" in many Bibles. "Ascent" means "going up". This translation calls it "climbing". But what are we climbing? Bible students give us 4 answers:

• One line in the psalm "climbs" on the line in front of it. This means that it repeats the line. Read the start of Psalms 124 for an example.

• There were 15 steps from where the women stood to where the men stood outside the *temple. The *temple was God's house in Jerusalem. As the men climbed the steps, they sang one psalm on each step. This is why most of the psalms for climbing are short.

• Jerusalem was on the top of a hill called "Zion". The *Jews often went to Jerusalem to worship God at the *temple. "Worship" means "Tell God how *wonderful that he is. And tell him that you love him". The *Jews sang these psalms for climbing as they went up to Jerusalem.

• Hezekiah was a king of the *Jews. He was so ill that he thought he would soon die. He prayed for a longer life. God made the clock "climb" back 10 degrees. This was about an hour. It was a sign that Hezekiah would live another 15 years. Hezekiah made a book of 15 psalms, 10 of them new, the other 5 by David and Solomon. The story is in Isaiah chapter 38.

We do not know which of these is the true answer. It may be something else! Perhaps answers 3 and 4 are the true answers.

Who wrote the psalms for climbing? Some are by David, and one or two are by Solomon. Solomon was David’s son. The other psalms for climbing may be by Hezekiah or one of his friends like Isaiah; or by Ezra or Nehemiah. Ezra and Nehemiah were leaders of the *Jews 500 years after Solomon built the *temple, or 250 years after Hezekiah was king. This was when the *Jews made the Book of Psalms. The psalms for climbing were part of this Book of Psalms.

Psalms 132

(This is) a song for climbing.

v1 *LORD, remember David and all his troubles.

v2 He promised the *LORD.
He made this special promise to the *Mighty One of Jacob.

v3 "I will not go into my house or get into my bed.

v4 I will not shut my eyes or go to sleep
until I find a place for the *LORD.

v5 It will be a place where the *Mighty One of Jacob will live".

v6 We heard that it was at Ephratah.
And we found it in the fields of Jaar.

v7 We will go into the place where he lives.
And we will *worship at his feet.

v8 Get up, *LORD. And go into the place where you can rest.
Go in yourself, with the *ark.
The *ark shows that you are strong.

v9 (I pray that) all your *priests will be *righteous
and all your *saints will shout.
They will shout because they are so happy.

v10 Remember your servant David
and do not turn away the face of your *messiah.

v11 The *LORD promised David what would happen.
He will not turn from it.
"I will put the fruit of your body on your *throne.

v12 Your children should obey my rules.
And they should do what I will teach them.
Then their children will always sit on your *throne".

v13 The *LORD chose Zion.
He wants it for a place to live in.

v14 "This is where I will always rest. This is what I want.
So I will live here", he said.

v15 "I will do a lot of good things for her.
I will give food to the poor people in her.

v16 All her *priests will be safe and her *saints will shout aloud.
They will shout because they are so happy.

v17 There I will make David very strong.
The light of my *messiah will never go out.

v18 His enemies will be ashamed.
But his *crown will shine and be bright!’

What Psalms 132 means

Verses 1 – 5: These verses tell us that David wanted to bring the ark of God into Jerusalem. The ark was a special box that was very important to the *Jews. After a war with the Philistines, who lived near the *Jews, they left the ark in a place called "Kiriath-Jearim". David had a lot of trouble when he brought it into Jerusalem. He also wanted to build a house to put it in. But God would not let him. "The *Mighty One of Jacob" is another name for God. "*LORD" is a special name for God that his people use. The notes in Psalms 120 explain it.

Verses 6 - 10 tell us that the *Jews found "it" (the ark) in the country round Kiriath-Jearim (or Jaar). It was in a place called Ephratah. After they brought the ark into Jerusalem, they said the words in verses 7-10. "The place where you can rest" is the house of God. "Rest" means "not work" and "*priests and *saints" are servants of God. Christians believe that the *Messiah was Jesus. But here it means the King of Israel. "Worship God" means "tell God that you love him".

Verses 11 - 18 tell us about God’s promises. Many Christians believe that they happened when Jesus came to the earth. "*Messiah" is the Hebrew word for "Christ". The *Jews spoke the Hebrew language and wrote the psalms in Hebrew. "*Messiah" means "anointed", or "oil poured on". Look at the notes on Psalms 133 in this set of psalms. In verse 11, "the fruit of your body" means "your children". The "*throne" in verse 12 is a special chair that a king sits on. His "crown" in verse 18 is the "special hat that he wears". The light of the *messiah will never go out because Jesus will always be the Light of the World.

We do not know who wrote this psalm. Maybe it was Solomon when he built God’s house (called the *temple) in Jerusalem. Or maybe Ezra or Nehemiah wrote it when they built the *temple again about 450 years later. Perhaps someone whose name we do not know wrote it!

Something to do

Count God’s promises in psalm 132:11-18.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
wonderful ~ great and surprising.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.'Mighty one of Jacob ~ a name for God; mighty is very powerful.
worship ~ you tell someone that they are very great. And you tell them that you love them.
ark ~ a box with things important to the Jews in it.
priest ~ a servant of God in his temple.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
righteous ~ very good (only God is really righteous). God says that the people who love and obey him are righteous. Sometimes we say they are "the righteous", meaning "righteous people". Look after Psalm 5 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the word "righteous".
saints ~ people that have received God’s love; his people.
Messiah ~ in the Old Testament, the anointed king. In the New Testament, Jesus. The word messiah is Hebrew for anointed.
anointed ~ with (olive) oil poured on.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
olive ~ a fruit.
throne ~ a special seat that a king sits on.
crown ~ a special hat that a king wears.
Messiah ~ in the Old Testament, the anointed king. In the New Testament, Jesus. The word messiah is Hebrew for anointed.
anointed ~ with (olive) oil poured on.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
olive ~ a fruit.