Remembering the Promise to David
Book of Psalms: Psalm 132
This is another Psalm that was sung as the Israelites traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast’s days as commanded by God.
They had begun to remember the promises of God and it brought joy to them just as it does to each of us.
If we take a look into David's past, we will see all the pains, the trouble, and anxiety he underwent in his lifetime for the cause of God, especially in the establishing a sanctuary in Jerusalem and making preparation for the building of the Temple.
David was building God's special dwelling place on this Earth, a place where God would meet with His people.
If you do not have a longing to meet with God, then you cannot be a Christian!
You cannot be a Christian because the Holy Spirit will not come to live within you!
Every Christian is a sanctuary for God to dwell in!
If we look at the very first word of this Psalm, we see the word LORD, this is the Almighty God Himself, Jehovah.
David had accomplished what no lowly shepherd could accomplish.
David rose from a lowly shepherd to become King of Israel.
Except we do know of another man who was a shepherd who came to save His people, and His name is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah.
We know that special days are set aside to honor special people and some of the heroes of our nation.
In fact, almost every nation has set days to remember their national heroes.
For the Israelites, David was a hero and in fact, David is still honored as one of the Jews greatest heroes.
The Star of David is the national flag of Israel today.
The "Sling of David" is the name of one of the air defense systems of Israel.
This Psalm was probably written for the dedication of the Temple built by Solomon.
We know that David had spent many years gathering the wealth to build a magnificent Home for God, when He would come to visit this planet, but we know that God is everywhere, and He even abides in every "Born Again" child of God.
He lives in every person who has their name written down in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
David was now dead and gone, we know He is with the Lord, but the Jews had a great fondness for King David.
By remembering the hardships David faced before he was made king, it inspired the Jews to face their own hardships!
It has never been easy to live in this world since the sin of Adam, and it is not always easy to be a Christian.
We do still live in a cursed world!
The word cursed is used seventy-two times in the Bible.
We know that the Serpent who was Satan is cursed:
Gen_3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen_3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
If you look up the word cursed in the Bible, you will see that many of our leaders of today are cursed by their actions.
Deu_27:25 Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
We know we have been sold out by our leaders for riches, they will never spend.
We know that every doctor who is paid to end the life of an innocent baby is also cursed.
God has also placed a curse on all those who reject any part of the Scriptures:
Deu_27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
And to all those so-called churches that have left the truth of the Bible, God says:
Jer_11:3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
Jer_17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
God is very serious about the words He has given us to live by.
Let's begin.
*****Psa 132:1 A Song of degrees. LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:
Psa 132:2 How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
Psa 132:3 Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;
Psa 132:4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,
Psa 132:5 Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.
The Psalmist who wrote this Psalm reminded the Lord how David was devoted to Him.
We all say these things such as, “Lord remember me”.
The truth is that God only forgets when He decides to forget.
His memory is perfect!
He has forgotten our sins, and it is He that said we are covered by the blood of Jesus that has washed away our sins.
Rev_1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
We know that King David had made a vow to find a place for the Almighty God to dwell in Jerusalem.
David was determined that He was going to build a House for God for God to dwell in Jerusalem.
This was David's vow.
David had endured much suffering at the hands of Saul.
David had endured much suffering in finding a neutral place to worship God.
David had not yet taken Jerusalem from the Jebusites so, this too had to be done.
David had to transport the "Ark of the Congregation “ to this new House of God, but it was not in his hands at this time.
David had to also defend Jerusalem from the attacks of the Philistines two times, while all these other things were going on.
These things may have hindered David in completing his vow to God, but it did not stop Him.
In fact, David said; I'm not going to rest until I build a House for the Lord.
David said it was not right that he was living in a beautiful palace and worshiping God in a tent.
We can see that David's devotion to God provides a worthy example for us to follow.
Many missionaries today have this same vision as David, to build a house for the worship of our God.
I believe Nathan had this vision and I believe Scott David had this vision.
These were church planters as David wanted to be.
*****Psa 132:6 Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.
Psa 132:7 We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.
Psa 132:8 Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.
Psa 132:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.
Psa 132:10 For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.
Though this Scripture is hard to understand, what we do know is that David found the Ark of the Covenant and moved it to Jerusalem where it would remain until 70 AD when Titus destroyed Jerusalem.
At this time nobody really knows the whereabouts of the Ark!
These people recalled the passion of David to obtain the Ark and bring it to Jerusalem where he intended to build a House for God.
The Ark had been gone so long that many people had forgotten about it.
It was David who had to remind the people:
1Ch 13:2 And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:
1Ch 13:3 And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul.
1Ch 13:4 And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
The people thought the Ark was in Ephratah, but Bethlehem and Kirjath-Jearim were both known as Bethlehem at this time.
There is the city of Bethlehem but there is also the region which was called Bethlehem.
It was Bethlehem Ephratah that provided the sheep for the Temple.
Rth 4:11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Kirjath-Jearim would be the place that was in the woods!
We know that David failed the in his first attempt to retrieve the Ark, but he succeeded when He retrieved it according to the Word of God.
We will always fail if we do not do things according to the proven ways of God!
It is easy to see how this Scripture can be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ.
If King David did not have the zeal for the Lord that he had, we do not know if anyone would have remembered the Ark of God.
David challenged the people to get back to the worship of Jehovah God.
David referred to the Ark as the Lord's footstool.
1Ch 28:2 Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:
1Ch 28:3 But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.
Psa 99:5 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
The world knows nothing about the Holiness of God and many in the Church have also.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
David built a tent for the Ark of the Covenant, but he must have also built a place where the people could gather to worship though many of them and the priests still went to the Tabernacle that was in Gibeon, but did not have the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy Place.
The reality of these things is that God will sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem.
1) The Ark is not only a symbol of God's presence, but it is also a symbol of God's power!
2) The priests that serve the Lord will be godly servants and agents of righteousness!
3) The saints of God will be a happy people.
4) God would not reject David's anointed successor. Solomon would be the next king, but these things also make reference to God's truly anointed which is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we worship together in a building set up for worship.
It is the people that are the Church.
The building or the place that we worship is just that, a building or a place.
We should never defile our bodies with the sins of the flesh.
We must obey the commands of God which say we are to separate ourselves from all unrighteousness and ungodliness.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Today, God is still searching for people like David who love to worship Him.
Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
We must be wholly devoted to the Lord!
Next we will see some of the promises made to David.
*****Psa 132:11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
Psa 132:12 If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
There is no greater promise of the Lord Jesus Christ than this.
This verse points to the Messiah and His Kingdom!
Psa 89:3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
Psa 89:4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.
Psa 89:35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
2Sa 7:28 And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
2Sa 7:29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
The thing we know is true is, that a descendant of David will occupy the throne in Jerusalem.
That throne is the government, and that government will be located in Jerusalem and the Messiah will rule the world from Jerusalem.
There were some conditions to be met for each descendant of David.
We should clearly understand that our unfaithfulness cannot defeat God's purpose and neither could those sons of David who rejected the truth of God.
We know that God will keep His oaths, and He expects us to keep ours!
It is Jehovah God who chose Jerusalem when He could have chosen anywhere.
King Jesus will rule from Jerusalem.
*****Psa 132:13 For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
Psa 132:14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
We know that some of the descendants of David turned from God and He had to discipline them.
The Israelites would be singing this Psalm as they traveled toward Jerusalem.
We know for a time there was no son of David sitting on the throne in Jerusalem, the fulfillment of the promises had been interrupted and it will stay that way until King Jesus takes control of the governments that remain in this world from Jerusalem.
God's promise will be fulfilled, and the world is moving toward that moment when the Messiah will return.
The promise will be fulfilled in two stages:
1) Jesus Christ returns and rules the entire earth from Jerusalem for one thousand years.
Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
2) When Christ Jesus takes us to New Jerusalem and reigns from there forever and ever.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
God promises to provide abundantly for those who are now His people.
*****Psa 132:15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
Psa 132:16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
I believe this speaks of the point when the Jews will join the Church.
God will provide any and all needs to His children.
The poor will not lack food and necessities as they had on Earth. These are material needs.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Then God will supply their Spiritual needs.
In verse nine we see that it was a prayer that asked the Lord for the priests be clothed in righteousness.
Psa 132:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.
We see in verse sixteen that God has answered that prayer.
I still believe that this is the Jews as they have now joined the Church, and all the saints will shout with joy for the Church is now complete and the Bride of Christ can join with the Bridegroom.
*****Psa 132:17 There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
Psa 132:18 His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
The Lord promised to make the horn of David to sprout.
To sprout means to bud to spring forth and grow.
The “horn” is a symbol of power.
This phrase means that a powerful ruler will come forth from the line of David and this ruler will fulfill all the promises made to David.
He will be a lamp or a light to all the world!
The “lamp” and that “horn” mean the Messiah.
1) Zec 6:13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
2) Jer 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
3) Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Zacharias the father of John the Baptist said:
Luk 1:69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.
Luk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
We know what is going on in Israel today is turbulent times for them.
We need to remember these promises of God to David, and they will be fulfilled.
As far as the Church, we need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem which will take place at the return of Jesus Christ.
We know that the conclusion of God's plan may be nearing its end, and we will live forever in the presence of the Mighty God!
All evilness and wickedness will be gone, and we will finally be at peace on New Earth and the New Jerusalem.
Amen
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