The Prayer And The Promise

Matt Moran

Ps. 132

A. Ps. 132:1-10 - The Prayer

B. Ps. 132:11-18 - The Promise

Transcript

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Psalm 132. 132, a song of ascents. Go to his dwelling place. Let us worship at
his footstool. Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of
your might. Let your priest be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints
shout for joy. For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the face of
your anointed one. The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not
turn back. For the son of the sons of your body I will set on the throne. If
your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their
sons also forever shall sit on your throne. For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has
desired it for his dwelling place. This is my resting place forever. Here I will
dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provisions. I will
satisfy her poor with bread. Her priest I will clothe with salvation, and her
saints will shout for joy. There I will make a horn to sprout for David. I have
prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on
him his crown will shine. This has been the reading of God's word. Let all God's
people say amen. So we're coming to the end of the summer, and I know that many
of you have taken some time to travel this summer, taken little trips or
vacations, or you might even be trying to squeeze in one last trip while the
weather is still warm. Have you ever noticed that when you come back from your
travels and people ask you how it was, we tend to talk a lot about the logistics
of the trip? And I think that's because when you take a trip there are so many
details that need to be figured out. So when you recap your trip to other people
who weren't there, you might say things like, yeah, we stayed in Airbnb and our
host was great. She had thought of everything. Or you might say, our flights
were really smooth. We love Southwest. Or we had to wait in line for an hour and
a half for a rental car. We're never using Hertz again. Or we might say, our
house was so far from the grocery store. Next time we're just going to stay at a
hotel. Or something like, yeah, the car was great. I just love driving. When you
travel, you tend to learn from experience what works for you or your family or
the people that you're with, and then what doesn't. And we have different needs
and different personalities and different tolerances for planning or for being
spontaneous. But think about this for a second. When you travel or when you've
taken trips in the past, what works for you? Or what would you say you depend
upon? What have you found that works for you? Or what do you depend upon? And
I'll explain the reason that I'm asking that question in a moment. This month of
August, we have been going through a selection of Psalms as a church, and the
Psalms are the songbook of the Bible. This is what Jesus and his disciples would
have sung from. This is still our songbook today as a church. And we've been
seeing that there are a variety of types of Psalms in the Psalter. We have songs
of lament. We have songs of praise and thanksgiving. We have songs of
confession. Today we're looking at what is called a royal Psalm that Colton just
read. A royal Psalm is meant to highlight the reign of the earthly king,
particularly the House of David. But they are also meant to anticipate the
future king, the Messiah. So this is a psalm about God's covenant with the House
of David. And I know on first reading that might not appear to be something that
has a whole lot to do with us today. But this psalm is also part of a group of
psalms called the Psalms of Ascent. That is a group of psalms from 120 to 134.
It's a collection of 15 psalms, chapters 120 all the way through 134. And if you
were a faithful Israelite, every year or perhaps multiple times a year, you
would make a pilgrimage toward Jerusalem for one of the yearly festivals.
Jerusalem was and is an elevated city. It's about 2,500 feet above sea level. So
as the Israelites traveled, they would be making their way upward to Jerusalem.
And on their way to the temple, as pilgrims, they would sing together. So you
might think of if you grew up camping or taking road trips or maybe with a team
on a bus, you might remember lines of songs that you sang on those trips. You
might have been singing country roads or she'll be coming around the mountain or
maybe you're just singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall. But either way, those
are traveling songs. And the people of Israel would sing as they went. The songs
of ascent were the collection of songs that they would sing as they traveled
upward to Jerusalem. They were their traveling songs. We don't do that anymore.
Probably none of you have taken a religious pilgrimage before. We simply gather
each week now on the Lord's Day to celebrate Jesus and his resurrection. But the
Bible still tells us that we are pilgrims. Everyone who follows Jesus has a
heavenly destination and is a stranger and a pilgrim on this earth. So in that
sense, we are on a heavenly pilgrimage through the wilderness of this world,
even though that identity as a pilgrim and that destination is something that we
easily forget. So let me ask you, as we unpack the psalm, as you travel on your
earthly pilgrimage, what do you depend upon? This message is to help you answer
that question. So the structure of the psalm is simple. It has two parts.
There's a prayer and there's a promise. There's the prayer of the worshippers as
they ascend to Jerusalem. That's in verses one through 10. Then there's the
promise, the response of the Lord to his people in verses 11 through 18. Let's
read the prayer. This is verses one through 10. Remember, O Lord, in David's
favor, all the hardships he endured, how we swore to the Lord and vowed to the
mighty one of Jacob. I will not enter my house or get into my bed. I will not
give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for the
Lord, a dwelling place for the Lord. Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah. We
found it in the fields of Jahar. Let us go to his dwelling place. Let us worship
at his footstool. Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place. You and the ark
of your might. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness and let your
saints shout for joy. For the sake of your servant David, do not turn away the
face of your anointed one. So David was long gone when the song was written, but
the travelers are singing, Lord, remember David. David had been in some ways the
greatest king of Israel. David had gone great difficulty, both in getting to the
throne and then in fending off attacks and fighting against the king. He was
defending off attacks from the house of Saul while he reigned. And David had a
passion for seeing the house of the Lord built up. The Psalm references David's
vow to the Lord that he would give himself no rest until a dwelling place for
the Lord had been built. And that is not simply about like a building project.
If you think about the broad sweep of the Old Testament, God had promised
Abraham way back in Genesis 12 that he would bless a people and redeem them so
that through Abraham, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And then
hundreds of years later, God does indeed redeem a people out of slavery. He
delivers them and gives them his loss so that he might dwell among them. We see
deliverance and we see dwelling. God delivers so that he might dwell among his
people. In the back half of Exodus, we see very specific instructions for the
tabernacle to be built. That is this intricate and movable tent meant to be a
home for the Ark of the Covenant, which is symbolic for the presence of God.
Now, we know that God is omnipresent. There is no place where God is not. But
the ark was symbolic of maybe what we call like the manifest or the special or
felt presence of God. The ark was also the place where atonement moves made for
the sins of the people. There were daily sacrifices that took place all year
long associated with the tabernacle. But once a year on the day of atonement, a
priest would go into the most holy place where the Ark of the Covenant was, and
their blood would be sprinkled on behalf of the sins of the people. So the tent
and the ark moved around with the people of God. But shortly before David's
reign, you can read about this in 1 Samuel, the Philistines had captured the ark
from the Israelites and placed it in their temple with their statue or little g
god Dagon. When that happened, you can read about this in 1 Samuel 4 and 5, but
when that happened, chaos just broke out among the Philistines because they
could not be near the manifest presence of God. And Dagon fell and was
shattered. The people started to get diseases and the Philistines had to return
the ark to the Israelites. But during this interval after that, it seems like
there was no place where the ark was permanently residing. The Ark of the
Covenant dwelled, and David wanted to make the Lord God a more permanent home.
He had a passion to make that happen. The Psalm tells us he swore to the Lord.
He vowed to the mighty one of Jacob. I will not enter my house or go into my
bed. I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids until I find a
place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the mighty one of Jacob. So apparently
that yearly sacrifice for sins at the most holy place, that day of atonement,
had not been happening. It seems like this went on from the reign of Saul up
until this time of David. It's interesting to ponder how many Israelites were
just living their lives year after year without any real reference to God. And
it seems like they were okay with that, just going on day after day, year after
year, without that acknowledgement or sense of the nearness of God. And for them
then, and for us now, it was probably just easier and more convenient not to
really think about. But let me give you some background for David's desire. This
reference takes us back to 2 Samuel chapter 7. 2 Samuel 7, verses 1 and 2 says,
So David was enjoying prosperity at this point. It's been a long, hard reign,
both getting to the throne and maintaining it. And finally, he has rest and he
looks and he sees, I'm in a royal dwelling place and the ark of God is still in
a tent. And this is a good impulse. But despite his passion, David does not, in
fact, build the house for the Lord. Instead, surprisingly, the Lord speaks to
Nathan, who gives the Lord's message to David. The Lord does not have David
build him a house. Instead, the Lord makes a promise to David. And this is what
is known as the Davidic Covenant. The Lord comes to Nathan the prophet and he
starts making promises to David. I'm going to read this promise, and as I read
it, notice the repetition of the phrase, I will. It's an echo of when the Lord
makes covenant with Abraham back in Genesis 12. God is making promises and God
is taking responsibility for enacting those promises to make sure that they
happen. This is 2 Samuel 7, 8 through 16, Nathan's word to David. Now,
therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David. Thus says the Lord of hosts,
I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince
over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut
off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like
the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my
people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place and
be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you
rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord
will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your
fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body
and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father and he
shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the
rod of iron, with the stripes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not
depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And
your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me, your throne
shall be established forever. The Lord says to David, there's so much there that
it's almost overwhelming. It's hard to catch all of it in one reading. But the
Lord says to David, I'll make you a great name. I'll appoint a place for Israel.
I will plant them. I'll give you rest from your enemies. I'll make you a house.
I will raise up offspring after you. I will establish your kingdom. I will
establish your throne and I will be to him a father. And you'll notice in all
these promises, it is entirely of grace. This is not a conditional thing.
There's no synergy where David and the Lord are working together, meeting
halfway somewhere in the middle. It is all the Lord's promise. It's completely
the power and grace of God. And at the very heart of these promises is that one
of the sons of David will be on the throne forever. OK, now this promise has a
short term and a long term fulfillment. The short term fulfillment comes through
David's son Solomon, who does build the temple. If you read 1 Kings, there's a
tremendous amount of space given to the details, the finances, the construction
of the temple, because it is very significant. It's part of a new era in God's
redemptive plan to redeem for himself a people and dwell among them. So the ark
finds a home and this magnificent temple is built under Solomon's leadership and
the nation reaches its high point. But then Solomon turns to idolatry. It's
almost as soon as he leaves the throne, his kingdom falls into conflict. The
northern and southern kingdoms are divided. So the near term fulfillment was
Solomon's reign. But very quickly, things turn ugly. The Israelites understood
this promise to also be referring to the Messiah. The Messiah, the anticipated
savior that had long been promised before even the Davidic covenant. You can go
back to Genesis three, where a savior is promised who will crush the head of the
serpent. You could look at Genesis 22, where we see that someone of the
offspring of Abraham will be the means through which all of the earth will be
blessed. You could look at Genesis 49, when Abraham or when Jacob blesses Judah
and says that there will be a lion of Judah coming from his name and people will
bow to him and obey him. So the prayer in Psalm 132 is post-Solomon, but pre-
Messiah. And these people are on their way to worship. They said, we've heard of
it in Ephrathah and in the fields of Ja'ar. Ephrathah is another name for
Bethlehem. Ja'ar is where the ark had been dwelling. It's where the ark was
located at that time. And here's the prayer of the people. Lord, restore. Bring
us back from exile. Bring us back to worship. Let your priests be clothed with
righteousness. In other words, give us spiritual leaders who are actually godly
and who follow you. Let your saints shout for joy. Let us rejoice and worship
you again. They're praying for the restoration of right worship. And they say,
for the sake of your servant David, remember that promise. Don't turn away your
face. So now we hear the Lord's response to the prayers of the worshippers. This
is verses 11 through 18. The 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. If your
sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons
also forever shall sit on your throne. For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has
desired it for his dwelling place. This is my resting place forever. Here I will
dwell for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provisions. I will
satisfy her poor with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation and her
saints will shout for joy. There I will make a horn to sprout for David. I have
prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on
him his crown will shine. So in response to the prayer, the Psalm reminds us
that the Lord has made a sure oath. You and I know there are different levels of
promises and guarantees. If you make plans with your friends to meet up for
coffee and you say I'll be there, but then something comes up and you have to
cancel your plans, then probably everyone will understand. You've made plans and
broken them, but there's an implicit understanding this is not like a life or
death arrangement. On the other hand, if your friend is going into surgery and
you say I will give you a ride to the hospital. I promise you I will be there.
Then you don't show up. That's a much bigger broken promise. And then if you
enter into a contractual agreement with someone and papers are signed and money
changes hands and lawyers get involved, essentially if you break that you have
essentially broken an oath. That is about the highest level of promise and if
that gets broken there are going to be serious consequences. The Lord swore to
David a sure oath from which he will not turn back. Now the Lord does not need
to swear an oath. If he says that he is going to do something, we can be sure
it's going to happen. But he does it for us anyway. The oath is sure. He will
not be turned back or dissuaded and the promise to David is that one of your
sons will sit on my throne. The Lord promised a Messiah, a future Savior. But I
want us to think about this. Can you imagine what the travels to Jerusalem were
like? Or the reading or singing of the Psalm was like for the Israelites who
lived after Solomon, after the first temple had fallen and who had gone through
exile and captivity. What was that like? Think about how hard it would have been
to believe in the validity of this promise that a Savior was coming. The temple
had been torn down. There were periods of time when the people were not even
living in Israel. In a literal sense they would have known, hey I can go to
Jerusalem right now. One of David's sons is not sitting on the throne. So what
am I supposed to do with that? How are they to believe that there would be a
throne that would last forever? The only answer could be the promise of the
Messiah. And it must have been very easy for faithful Orthodox Israelites to
believe in the coming of the Messiah on paper, but to doubt that it would ever
actually happen in reality. But God had promised that the Messiah would come and
in the fullness of time He did. And that is why it is so incredibly significant
when we open the Gospel of Matthew and He begins by saying He introduces Jesus
like this. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son
of Abraham. Jesus' coming is the fulfillment of God's promise to His people, a
son of David who would sit on the throne forever. And the people had prayed for
righteous priests like spiritual leaders who actually had integrity and
godliness. And there is fulfillment of that in the coming of Christ and in His
atoning death. He is the once for all sacrifice who will make atonement for the
sins of the people. Hebrews says it like this. Hebrews 8 says, Christ is the
everlasting King and His kingdom is forever. And He is our great high priest.
And we live today in light of this amazing biblical fulfillment. And I want to
remind you and encourage you today that you can believe God's promises. Because
just as it would have been kind of very abstract, I think, for even faithful
Israelites to think one day the Messiah will come, as they think about the
everyday realities of their lives. It can be just as challenging for us to think
one day the Lord will return and He will set up His kingdom forever. He will
return to reign and to judge and will set up His kingdom forever. That can seem
like a very abstract reality. So let me ask you, what do you trust in on your
earthly pilgrimage? In your travels on this earth, be they 70 or 80 years or a
little longer or a little less, what will you trust in? Or what will your
functional authority be? What are you depending on to get you from here to
there? What do you really believe works for you and what do you depend upon? As
we look at this passage, we see the great faithfulness of God to His people
through the ages. God always keeps His promises. And in response, we must trust
the Lord who always keeps His promises. We have to ask ourselves, do we believe
in the promises of God, not just on paper, but in the day-to-day grind of our
earthly pilgrimage? We have these great promises of God on this side of the
cross that we will be with Him, that we will be forever with the Lord, that He
will come back and consummate His kingdom. We have His presence with us. And the
promises that we cling to, there's so many, but we can trust that He will direct
the paths of everyone who trusts and acknowledges Him. He promises us that He
will never leave us or forsake us. He promises that He will come again in power
and glory. He promises that He will give eternal life to all who call on Him,
that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. These are the
promises of God, and God always keeps His promises. So as we travel through this
world, we sing the Psalms with a different perspective because we see them in
the light of Christ. And God has fulfilled His promise to send a Messiah. He's
given us a Savior, and we trust His promises. Let's pray.