Reflections on Psalms 132

 Psalms 132(Contemporary English Version)

1. (A song for worship.) Our LORD, don't forget David and how he suffered.
   
2. Mighty God of Jacob, remember how he promised:
   
3. "I won't go home or crawl into bed
   
4. or close my eyelids,
   
5. until I find a home for you, the mighty LORD God of Jacob."
   
6. When we were in Ephrath, we heard that the sacred chest was somewhere near Jaar.
   
7. Then we said, "Let's go to the throne of the LORD and worship at his feet."
   
8. Come to your new home, LORD, you and the sacred chest with all of its power.
   
9. Let victory be like robes for the priests; let your faithful people celebrate and shout.
   
10. David is your chosen one, so don't reject him.
    
11. You made a solemn promise to David, when you said, "I, the LORD, promise that someone in your family will always be king.
    
12. If they keep our agreement and follow my teachings, then someone in your family will rule forever."
    
13. You have gladly chosen Zion as your home, our LORD.
    
14. You said, "This is my home! I will live here forever.
    
15. I will bless Zion with food, and even the poor will eat until they are full.
    
16. Victory will be like robes for the priests, and its faithful people will celebrate and shout.
    
17. I will give mighty power to the kingdom of David. Each one of my chosen kings will shine like a lamp
    
18. and wear a sparkling crown. But I will disgrace their enemies."

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There is no clear idea of when this psalm was written or what the occasion might have been. Whatever the setting, the people sought God's favor in their worship by reminding Him of His covenant with David. "LORD, remember David and all the hardships he endured," they said. (132:1) Though David had a number of hardships in his lifetime, the ones to which the psalm refers were those he endured to established the temple as God's dwelling place. He vowed not to rest or attend to his own comforts until "I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob." (132:5)

As the psalm continues, it reminds God that they had recovered the ark of the covenant that had been abandoned in the field of Jaar and took it to Jerusalem as His resting place. Then they began to worship the Lord there. And again the Lord is asked, in 132:10, to remember His covenant with David. Through the remainder of the psalm the blessings of that covenant are spelled out:

• The LORD swore an oath to David, a promise He will not abandon: "I will set one of your descendants on your throne.
  
• For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home
  
• I will abundantly bless its food; I will satisfy its needy with bread.
  
• I will clothe its priests with salvation, and its godly people will shout for joy.
  
• There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
  
• I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown he wears will be glorious."
  

Our worship of God always has a historical context. Regardless of who we are or of our understanding of the context, we are aware of what God has done for people before us. This provides us enough faith to approach God in worship hoping He will do for us what He has done for others. As we continue to worship Him, we build our own historical context which adds our own experiences with God to those that came before us. History is important in our worship whether we acknowledge it or not. This psalm was establishing a context for worship on the foundation of God's historical relationship with David and with Israel.