One of the joys I have as college pastor is giving input to students while they are making some of the foundational decisions of their lives. One student with whom I have been working these past several months has a choice between four different roads. He has an opportunity to study overseas for a year; he has been offered a job by one of the leading investment-banking firms in San Francisco; he can start his own business; or he can enter the field of medicine. Faced with these four options, his first question was, "I want to know what God's will is for me." I think what he really wanted was the answer to the question, "What makes a life significant?"
That is a burning question for many people, not just college students. Men who find themselves faced with the mid-life crisis wonder if their lives have been significant." As a result, some are changing jobs or even spouses in an effort to find greater significance. The elderly, finding themselves becoming less active and less influential, question their lives and their self-worth. Young mothers who are confined to home with small children ask, "Am I missing out on life? Is my life significant?"
All of us hunger for significance. We want to be part of the mainstream of life, to live lives that count. Today we will look at Psalm 132, which was written for pilgrims who longed to live significant lives. This psalm declares the good news that as pilgrims who are journeying to their heavenly city, Christians have the privilege of being part of the most significant work in the universe.
Psalm 132 was written by Solomon at the dedication of the temple. The king regarded this event as one of the greatest moments in Israel's history, the climax of four centuries of the journeying of the Ark of the Covenant through the wilderness to its final resting place in the Holy of Holies in the temple. Now that the temple was complete, God would descend and fill it, and from Zion establish his rule over all nations. Seeing himself as privileged to be part of the very significant flow of Biblical history, Solomon stops to pray that as king he would live a life worthy of the task set before him.
The psalm divides into three sections. First, Solomon looks back and recalls the history of David that led up to this point; then he prays; and then he looks far into the future, to eternity itself, to see the significance of his work as king. The remembrance of things past; verses 1-7:
Remember, O Lord, on David's behalf, All his affliction;
How he swore to the Lord,
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
"Surely I will not enter my house,
Nor lie on 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."
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it in the field of Jaar.
Let us go into His dwelling place;
Let us worship at His footstool.
The first five verses give us the character of King David, Solomon's father. David's character cannot be described in words better than those used by the Scriptures to describe him: "The servant of Yahweh." That is the highest accolade given anyone in the Old Testament. Unlike his predecessor, Saul, who reigned just so he could satisfy his own desires, David had one passion_to serve the purposes of God and to use his own kingship to that end. From the moment he became king, David's abiding concern was to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. That pictures for us that it was David's desire to take the throne of God (that is what the Ark symbolized), to the center of the people. He would not rest until the Lord was at the center of the nation's life.
During Saul's reign, that Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines and left in a field, where it remained for 20 years. "We did not seek it in the days of Saul," David said. (I Chron. 13:3) The Ark lay neglected. Getting it to Jerusalem became such a top priority to him that David afflicted himself by putting himself under an oath to do so: "I will not enter my house nor lie on my bed"- until the Ark of the Covenant was housed in Jerusalem (verse 3). Nothing would come before that task. And he would undertake it with all speed: "I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids" (verse 4). David would not be distracted by other tasks. He was so consumed with zeal for the house of the Lord that he took off his royal kingly garments and put on the humble clothes of a priest, a linen ephod. When the Ark was finally brought to Jerusalem David was so thrilled that he was leaping and dancing before the Lord.
Psalm 132 declares that David's passion for the Lordship of Yahweh to be central in his people's lives brought blessing to many. In verses 6 and 7, the pronouns change from "I" to "we": "Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it in the field of Jaar. Let us go into His dwelling place; Let us worship at His footstool. ' One man's heart given solely over to the Lordship of his God caused a contagious reaction, so that he alone turned a whole nation around, he changed their attitude from one of leaving the Ark of the Covenant neglected and unsought for to one of zeal, worship and service. David did not bring the Ark into Jerusalem by himself, he had the entire priesthood, choirs, singers, etc., become involved. Some scholars think there were as many as 30,000 people in the procession up to Jerusalem. One man, David, changed the way the nation thought about the Lord. When somebody is sold out to the Lord his enthusiasm becomes contagious. Just last week I received a letter from Bill Teter, who is working with families who have emigrated to our area from Poland. His letter is filled with enthusiasm for what Jesus Christ is doing in this ministry of answering needs for these families. Reading the letter did not make me feel guilty or rebuked- I wanted to be part of that ministry, l wanted a piece of the action. That is the contagious result when people fall in love with Jesus Christ and put their lives fully in his hand. That too is what happened to the people of Israel as a result of David's zeal.
How do we apply these verses to our own lives? To begin with, if our lives are to have any significance we must expand our horizons beyond our own time-frame. When he stood ready to dedicate the temple, Solomon recognized that his opportunity to serve as king in any significant way was due to what others had done before him. He perceived that he was merely a part of the flow of spiritual history. Failure to recognize that fact is the greatest weakness of our generation. Ours is a wandering generation, lacking any sense of our historical roots. We are so preoccupied with the pressures, the problems and the pleasures of the moment. This is also true of us in the spiritual sense. We evangelicals love our independence, but many of us have little awareness of our spiritual roots and the sacrifices others have made to bring these blessings to us.
While I am no traditionalist, neither am I ignorant of the fact that I am part of the exciting spiritual flow of history, what Edith Schaeffer calls, "the perpetual relay of truth.'' I was not reborn in a vacuum; I am the product of a tapestry of different traditions. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Bottomley read the Scriptures to the class in the days before that was forbidden by law. Then in 1967, Dainard Paulson, a businessman, opened up his office to high school athletes. There I heard the Scriptures in a real way for the first time. Later I met a couple, Glen and Mary Neff, who were leaders at a Presbyterian church, and they opened up their home to college students. From there I came to this area and was influenced by people like Neil Smith, Dave Roper and Ray Stedman. Others, such as Bruce Waltke and John Stott have deeply influenced me since. I am the product of all of that. And behind these people were others of past generations who faithfully passed down the truth. If we really knew our spiritual roots we would realize that we were all adopted and grafted into the line of Judaism, that at heart we are all Jews by faith, part of that wonderful spiritual flow of life. Thus before we look ahead we have to glance back and learn that if our lives have any sign)ficance today it is due to this ''perpetual relay of truth." We should respond with thankful hearts for all the blessings that have come to us by grace.
Then, secondly, by observing the past we can discover what is our present task, what should be our focus. Having accepted Jesus Christ as Lord we reign with him in the heavenlies and we are engaged in doing kingly tasks. Looking at the past, therefore, we are encouraged to adopt the focus of these kings and their passion for what they did. Does that mean we are to go home and construct an ark in our livingrooms? Of course not. This incident in the Old Testament foreshadows a deeper spiritual reality. Isaiah 66 tells us what it symbolizes:
"Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,"
declares the Lord.
God declares that his dwelling place is not a house, nor is it an ark. Where, then, does God dwell?
"But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit,
and who trembles at My word."
God's desire is to take up permanent residence in the deepest part of the human heart, the spirit. God will dwell in the heart of one who is broken and contrite, one who will listen to his word. As kings, our task is to be part of the great work of taking the throne of God from the periphery, and marching it to the very center of people's lives. Kiriath-jearim, where the Ark lay for 20 years, was not very far from Jerusalem, but that short distance made all the difference in the world because, spiritually speaking, the Ark was on the periphery of the life of the nation. As we go about our tasks in life, we see that God is on the periphery of many lives. Our task as kings is to take the throne of Jesus and place it at the very center of those lives. Thus we have a kingly and a significant task in life.
Solomon sees his place in the spiritual flow of history, and he recognizes his awesome responsibility. Thus as he faces the future he makes three requests. Verses 8 through 10:
Arise, O Lord, to Thy resting place;
Thou and the ark of Thy strength.
Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
And let Thy godly ones sing for joy.
For the sake of David Thy servant,
Do not turn away the face of Thine anointed.
Solomon's first prayer request is, "Arise, O Lord, to thy resting place; thou and the ark of thy strength." He prays that not only will the Ark enter the Holy of Holies, but that God himself will follow. Solomon well knows that ritual means nothing if it is not followed by reality. He learned that by observing the past. In the Book of Samuel we read that the Israelites lost in battle with the Philistines because their hearts were not seeking the Lord. Then somebody came up with the bright idea that they lost because they didn't have the Ark of the Covenant in their midst, so they got the Ark and brought it to the camp. There was such a loud shout of joy to greet its arrival that even the Philistines were scared. But Israel was utterly defeated and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. Ritual means nothing if reality does not follow. Thus as the king faces his task he prays, "Lord, I can go through all the motions but if you don't show up it's for nothing.'' People can go through all the right motions- they can be baptized, dedicated, re-dedicated- but if nothing happens in their hearts it's all for naught. Our prayer as kings should be, ''Lord, may you be in the hearts of the people I'm working with.''
Solomon's second prayer is in verse 9:
Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
and let thy godly ones sing for joy.
Here he recognizes that if there is to be any joy in what we do, we must do things God's way. Again, he learned this by looking at the past. The first time David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem he made one fatal mistake. Everything was set: the place for the Ark was prepared; David was full of zeal and passion; the choir was ready, but David forgot one thing: the priests. David transported the ark in the same way the Philistines did- in a wagon; he treated it like a piece of furniture, and his action cost a man's life. But the Law said that whenever the Ark of the Covenant was moved, the priests were to carry it.
The symbolism of this is that God cannot be brought to the center of anybody's life without the work of the Priest. The second time David transported the Ark, the priests were involved. They offered sacrifices, they were consecrated with their robes of righteousness, and because they carried the Ark correctly there was joy. The same is true for us. We cannot place the throne of God into the center of people's lives if they ignore the work and the need of the Priest, Jesus Christ. To those who do not acknowledge the work and the cross of Jesus Christ and who yet say, "We have joy; God dwells among us," I say, "Your life will not end in joy. It will end in death_like Uzzah's life." Solomon's concern is that the people will do things God's way, that they will not ignore the work of the Priest, so that they may have joy in their lives.
Thirdly, Solomon prays for the Messiah. Verse 10:
For the sake of David thy servant,
Do not turn away the face of shine anointed
David was promised that the Kingdom of God would be built by David's seed. David's descendants, the kings of Israel, would be adopted by God into a Father-son relationship, and through them the Kingdom of God would endure forever, culminating in the King, the Messiah, Jesus. Solomon is praying, "Do not reject me. I need access to your presence, to further your rule and Kingdom. Don't turn away the face of your anointed." Notice that all three of Solomon's prayer requests concerning the resting place for the ark, the priests, and God's Messiah are all based on past revelation. Solomon is asking God to fulfill promises he has already committed himself to. Thus, being aware of the spiritual flow of history gives us focus and direction as to what to pray for as we face the future.
Solomon now turns from the past to face the future. Word comes to him (probably by means of a prophet), that though the past was rich it could not be compared to the coming glory. Past blessings were based on man's responsive heart to God, but future blessings come because of God's commitment to his people. In structure, verses 11 through 18 exactly parallel the first half of the psalm. The psalm began with David's vow, now that is countered with God's vow to David; we saw that the people were looking for the Ark, now we find God looking for a resting place; we found three prayer requests concerning a dwelling, a priest and a Messiah, and they are countered with three answers.
Let us look first, then, at God's vow to David. Verses 11 and 12:
The Lord has sworn to David,
A truth from which He will not turn back;
"Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.
If your sons will keep My covenant,
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also shall situpon your throne forever. "
There is no point in launching out on future endeavors unless you have a hope that these endeavors will last. A man selling storm windows told me last week, "I'm committed to this task." I asked him why, and he said, ''Because storm windows are the way of the future.'' "In California?'' I wondered. If you are going to be committed to a task, I thought to myself, there ought to be a future in it or else your labors are insignificant As kings, you and I have a significant future because our future is based on God's binding oath. Verse 11: ''God has sworn to David a truth from which he will not turn back.'' In other words. God's oath is unconditional and irrevocable. Unconditional means it does not matter how men respond- it will' happen; and irrevocable means no matter how bad things get, God cannot change his mind and operate differently. However, verse 12 declares that God's choice cannot be exploited: ''If your sons will keep my covenant and my testimony which I will teach them, their sons shall also sit upon the throne forever." Derek Kidner comments:
The warmth and wealth of these promises spring from love, and require an answering love for their fulfillment. Instead the human response was all too often cynical, treating God's choice as something to be exploited; a shelter against his judgment or an asset to be commercialized.
Will God establish his rule to his anointed king? Yes. Is that unconditional? Yes. Is that irrevocable? Yes. However, if the king did not give his heart to the Lord he did not enjoy that rule. Look at the history of Israel; the testimony is there. How many kings enjoyed the rule of Yahweh in their lives? Over a period of a thousand years they can be numbered on one hand. But did their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God? No. We have in these two verses this beautiful balance of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God's choice will stand, but do not exploit it. His choice, then, is an impetus for you to give your whole heart to him in love.
The people had been searching for the Ark (verses 6-7) but now in verse 13 we read,
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His habitation.
On the one hand Solomon says, "They all went searching for God," but now verse 13 declares that God has chosen Zion. Have you noticed that when young Christians give their testimony it is put in terms like, "I've been searching for God all my life. I tried this and that and nothing seemed to fit. Then I heard this message about Jesus Christ. I found eternal life, I found the God I had been looking for my whole life." When they grow up a little in the Lord their testimony changes to, "No, I didn't find God. He found me and he put so-and-so in my life. I didn't listen. Then he brought a calamity into my life and I ignored that too. But then He got hold of me and I had to pay attention. I tripped over him. I could not miss him. God found me." That is the way Solomon describes the future.
In verses 14 through 18 come answers to all of Solomon's prayer requests, the first of which concerns the resting place of the Ark and its permanence. Verses 14-15:
"This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her needy with bread."
Solomon's first prayer, "Arise, O Lord...thou and the ark of thy strength,'' a request for real life, is answered in verse 14, "This is my resting place forever. Here I dwell for I have desired it.'' The words "resting" and ''dwell'' both have connotations of permanence, and so the answer comes to the request, ''You wanted life? Let me tell you something, not only are you going to get life, but you are going to have life permanently.'' This word "dwell'' is translated in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) by a word that is used by Paul in his prayer in Ephesians 3: "May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith being rooted and grounded in love." The idea is that when Jesus Christ places his throne at the center of somebody's life he does not come as a guest for the night, he comes to dwell permanently. To the question, "Will real life come to us?" the answer is, "Yes! Life will come on a permanent basis; and, secondly, it will be abundant life; life will go forth in such a way that even the neediest person will be sated with bread (a symbol for life).
Then the answer to the third prayer request, "Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness," is, "Thy godly ones will sing with joy." Verse 16:
"Her priests also I will clothe with salvation;
And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy."
Will there be constant joy in your life as you do this significant work? Yes, there will, because God clothes his priests with righteousness. As High Priest, the work of Jesus Christ was so perfect there is nothing that can be added to it. In our priestly work we are clothed with his righteousness, so it is not up to us to figure out how to do that work properly in order to have joy.
It is always a joy-filled experience to lead someone to Christ or to further the Lordship of Christ in someone's life. In counseling, when someone expresses an interest in Jesus Christ, my initial thought is, "I'd better be careful in what I say and how I say it because I don't want to blow an opportunity to have an impact in this life." It is often the case that after I share the gospel that person receives the Lord right then and there. Then I realize that I could have said the gospel backwards but that person would still have come to know the Lord because Jesus was drawing him. God was working, so whether I said everything correctly did not matter. As priests, we are clothed with his righteousness, therefore we will have joy.
Now the third prayer request, "Do not reject the face of your anointed," is answered in verses 17-18:
"There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth;
I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame;
But upon himself his crown shall shine."
How significant will be the reign of God's Messiah? Solomon gives three symbols to describe what it will be like: a horn, a lamp, and a crown. A horn is a symbol of strength, and this strength will spring forth suddenly. On Passover eve, Jesus Christ lay dead in the grave. But overnight his strength sprang forth. He went from the grave to the ascension, where he sat at the right hand of God, with all power and authority in the universe.
The second symbol is a lamp: ''I have prepared a lamp for mine Anointed, my Messiah." This lamp was what held the oil in the tabernacle, and from that oil came light that illuminated the entire holy place. Zechariah 4 says that the measure of oil available to that lamp is without end. In Scripture, oil is a symbol of God's spirit; thus the Messiah will bring illumination (i.e., understanding of reality) to all because he has an unending supply of the Spirit.
Finally, the third symbol, a crown that shines. The Hebrew word for "shine" also means "flourish," or "blossom." It is used of plants which sprout up and blossom, as did Aaron's rod, which budded overnight. This symbol declares that the reign of the King will be so radiant it will depict the fresh vitality of the Living God in contrast to the shallow Las Vegas-like glitter that men tack on to life. This will be vibrant, living vitality that will cause him to rule, so that "his enemies will be clothed with shame." You ask, "Will this work of Messiah be significant?" Yes, it will be eternally significant. Thus our work as kings bringing the Lord into the center of people's livesis the most significant work we can embark upon. On that final day you will find the souls for whom you have labored strengthened and deeply rooted illumined by God's Spirit, reigning in life, with radiant glory, sharing the crown of Jesus Christ.
So the psalm, which began with hardships and grim determination, ends with glory which is their proper aim and outcome: the victory and radiance of the promised King. (Derek Kidner)
Do you find your life mundane, boring, insignificant? Are you forever complaining over life's little afflictions worries and troubles? Our problem is we cannot see beyond our noses. Perhaps our horizons are not broad enough. Let us forsake our near-sighted attitudes that deal only with today and open ourselves up to our glorious past. May God grant us the grace to see that we have the significant task of walking in the footsteps of kings, doing kingly tasks. May the examples of Abraham, Moses, David, Paul, and Jesus Christ give us the same focus and the same passion to place the Lord at the center of people's lives. Having looked at the past, let us open up our gaze to the future, as far away as eternity, and know that our hope is a glorious one. All our longing for permanence, depth, insight and strength will be realized because of God's commitment to us. Do you desire significance? What greater significance could there be than walking in the footsteps of kings?
Catalog No. 3907
Psalm 132
Eighth message
Brian Morgan
July 31, 1983
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