PSALM 132
1Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,
all the hardships he endured,
2how he swore to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3“I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7“Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool!”
8Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let your saints shout for joy.
10For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11The 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.
12If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
shall sit on your throne.”
13For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:
14“This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.
17There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
18His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
TEN POINTS TO PONDER
- Whether you are intentional or not, you are making room for something in your life. Make sure you are making room for God.
- David prioritized God’s presence even over shelter and sleep. How much are you willing to give up to experience the presence of God?
- David wasn’t looking for a building as much as he was longing for God’s presence to occupy the center of Israel’s life.
- The greatest gift God has ever given His people is His presence. Everything else is just the overflow.
- The priests’ clothing and the people’s joy remind us that right worship requires both God’s righteousness and God’s grace.
- The Jewish people knew the promises of God but they hadn’t fully experienced the promises of God. Even so, they worshipped in the waiting.
- Even though the throne of David may appear to be empty, God still reigns over all, and we can still trust His control and submit to His commands.
- God’s promises are always true and trustworthy even when we can’t see their fulfillment in front of us.
- Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises. If we have Him, we have everything.
- God didn’t choose Zion because of what it was. He chose it because of what He intended to make it.
In Jeremiah 22, God removed the Davidic dynasty from the line of Jeconiah. Yet… Jeconiah is mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. How do we reconcile this?
A few years ago, David preached on this issue. You can watch the sermon here: LINK TO SERMON.
Where Do You Look for Help When It Seems God Isn’t Paying Attention?
Psalm 121:4
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep
If you’ve ever had a difficult day, or week, or month, or year; you know that it can be hard to find comfort in words like Psalm 121:1-2. These verses were made famous by the Von Trapp family, “I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
You might read those verses and say, “Great. But I don’t have any hills to look up to, and I don’t feel like anyone is coming to help.” We can’t all be Maria. We don’t all stumble into the perfect family and the perfect solution for our problems.
So, what do you do? How do you find hope, when all you see in front of you is despair?
Recently, when reading this Psalm, I stumbled out of verses 1 and 2, sidestepped verse 3 and then got tackled by verse 4.
Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep
Look! Israel’s protector does not sleep or slumber!
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Get it?
This was written thousands of years ago. It was written during a pretty good time in Israel’s history. They had warrior-kings who were expanding their kingdoms. They were united. They were free.
Then stuff happened.
A civil war divided the kingdom forever.
Evil kings oppressed and enslaved the people.
Conquering hoards from far away lands leveled cities and carried away captives
The holy city and the temple were destroyed
The Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Ptolemies, the Syrians and the Romans ruled Israel. Each, more oppressive than the other.
The Romans wiped the nation from the earth.
For nearly 2000 years, Israel had no home.
The Muslims and the Turks and the Crusaders plundered the land.
The Holocaust.
and still… Israel survives.
Over the course of time, many people groups have been wiped from the earth. No nation, no ethnic group, no people should ever survive what Israel has been through.
But he who is watching over Israel never closes His eyes.
God watches over His people. We may not always get the rescue we expect, when we expect it. We may not always receive the precise solution for which we pray. We may not even feel like looking to the hills for help…
But God is watching. He does not sleep.
He who watches over Israel, who has watched over Israel, is also watching you.
Click on the image to download the DiscipleQuest PDF
The DiscipleQuest PDF includes 7 days of verse study prompts. You can use these seven studies to dig deeper into what the Bible teaches about pursuing the presence of God:
- Psalm 27:4
- Exodus 33:14-15
- Psalm 42:1-2
- Jeremiah 29:13
- James 4:8
- Philippians 3:8
- Psalm 84:10
Use these questions as journal prompts or as conversation starters with a group of friends or a Bible study group:
Read Psalm 132:1-10. Try to summarize these verses in one or two sentences.
David refused to rest until he found a place for the ark (vv. 3–5). What does that reveal about what mattered most to him?
If someone observed your schedule and priorities for a month, what would they conclude is most important to you?
How does regularly spending time with God change the way we experience the rest of life?
How can a church help one another keep God’s presence at the center rather than simply staying busy with church activities?
Verses 8–10 focus on God’s presence. Verses 11–18 focus on God’s promises. Why do you think the psalm holds those two ideas together?
Israel waited centuries for God’s promise to David to be fulfilled. Why is waiting often one of the hardest parts of following God?
What helps you continue trusting God when you can’t yet see what He is doing?
Psalm 132 reminds us that God always keeps His promises, even if not immediately. Which promise of God are you currently clinging to?
Two verses in this Psalm talk about “shouting for joy”. Should Christians shout for joy today? Why or why not?
Lake Bible Notes 
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