1 {A Song of degrees.} Jehovah, remember for David all his affliction;
2 How he swore unto Jehovah, vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 I will not come into the tent of my house, I will not go up to the couch of my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes, slumber to mine eyelids,
5 Until I find out a place for Jehovah, habitations for the Mighty One of Jacob. ...
6 Behold, we heard of it at Ephratah, we found it in the fields of the wood.
7 Let us go into his habitations, let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, Jehovah, into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength.
9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy.
10 For thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face of thine anointed.
11 Jehovah hath sworn [in] truth unto David; he will not turn from it: Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne;
12 If thy children keep my covenant, and my testimonies which I will teach them, their children also for evermore shall sit upon thy throne.
13 For Jehovah hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his dwelling:
14 This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her needy ones with bread;
16 And I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There will I cause the horn of David to bud forth; I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 132
Commentary on Psalms 132 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 132
Ps 132:1-18. The writer, perhaps Solomon (compare Ps 132:8, 9), after relating David's pious zeal for God's service, pleads for the fulfilment of the promise (2Sa 7:16), which, providing for a perpetuation of David's kingdom, involved that of God's right worship and the establishment of the greater and spiritual kingdom of David's greater Son. Of Him and His kingdom both the temple and its worship, and the kings and kingdom of Judah, were types. The congruity of such a topic with the tenor of this series of Psalms is obvious.
1-5. This vow is not elsewhere recorded. It expresses, in strong language, David's intense desire to see the establishment of God's worship as well as of His kingdom.
remember David—literally, "remember for David," that is, all his troubles and anxieties on the matter.
5. habitation—literally, "dwellings," generally used to denote the sanctuary.
6. These may be the "words of David" and his pious friends, who,
at Ephratah—or Beth-lehem (Ge 48:7), where he once lived, may have heard of the ark, which he found for the first time
in the fields of the wood—or, Jair, or Kirjath-jearim ("City of woods") (1Sa 7:1; 2Sa 6:3, 4), whence it was brought to Zion.
7. The purpose of engaging in God's worship is avowed.
8, 9. The solemn entry of the ark, symbolical of God's presence and power, with the attending priests, into the sanctuary, is proclaimed in the words used by Solomon (2Ch 6:41).
10-12. For thy servant David's sake—that is, On account of the promise made to him.
turn … anointed—Repulse not him who, as David's descendant, pleads the promise to perpetuate his royal line. After reciting the promise, substantially from 2Sa 7:12-16 (compare Ac 2:30, &c.), an additional plea,
13. is made on the ground of God's choice of Zion (here used for Jerusalem) as His dwelling, inasmuch as the prosperity of the kingdom was connected with that of the Church (Ps 122:8, 9).
14-18. That choice is expressed in God's words, "I will sit" or "dwell," or sit enthroned. The joy of the people springs from the blessings of His grace, conferred through the medium of the priesthood.
17. make the horn … to bud—enlarge his power.
a lamp—the figure of prosperity (Ps 18:10, 28; 89:17). With the confounding of his enemies is united his prosperity and the unceasing splendor of his crown.