"The Unbreakable Promise to David's Line" Psalm 132

Let's ask the Lord's blessing as we open up his word.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your word.

! Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your word.

We thank you that you have preserved this psalm, Psalm 132, through the ages.

Lord, it is about the building and dedication and the purpose of your temple.

And although your temple does not stand in Jerusalem any longer,

it is still so very pertinent for us this morning.

Help us to understand the reality of your temple,

that you have always desired to dwell amongst your people.

And Lord, we thank you that your son, Jesus Christ, has done just that.

We ask your blessing on this morning.

We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Amen.

If you have a Bible, please turn with me to Psalm 132.

We have a stack of Bibles at the back welcome table.

Grab one at any time.

You'd do me a great favor if you could follow along.

This may be familiar to many of you, maybe all of you.

I will insert my own name and actually the name of Christine as well into this.

These were the vows we said, probably similar to the vows you said if you're married.

And it went something like this for us.

I, Daniel, take thee, Christine, to be my wedded wife,

to have and to hold from this day forward,

for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,

in sickness and in health to love and to cherish,

till death do us part according to God's holy ordinance,

till death do us part according to God's holy ordinance,

and there too I give thee my troth.

I don't think we said that last part.

Christine said something similar.

She said, I, Christine, take Daniel,

take thee, Daniel, to be my wedded husband,

to have and to hold from this day forward,

for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,

till death do us part according to God's holy ordinance,

and there too I give thee my troth.

Sweet words.

These are vows and promises that men make to women

during the wedding ceremony.

And it's, the language is taken from the Book of Common Prayer,

and they will be familiar to you

because most vows in the English language

draw upon the words of the prayer book.

I bring that up just to say that

those vows are beautiful,

but for those of you who are married,

do you remember making those vows

and thinking, what if I can't follow through?

For me, it was, I think, the second day,

not the day after we were married,

but the day after that,

I just thought, I mean, I felt the weight of it,

of what I, the promises I made to Christine,

and I was really scared.

Not that I made the wrong decision, not a bit,

but my goodness, what on earth was I promising?

What on earth was I promising?

I was making vows to her,

to a church full of our friends and family,

and to God himself.

vows that, I mean, I hope,

I would hope to keep in all circumstances,

but there are so many factors

outside of our control

that to make a promise

is a bit of a scary thing.

There's so many things we cannot account for,

so many contingencies that may come up

that we can't necessarily figure out

or get around.

And this might seem like a really down thing to say,

or maybe even an irrational thing,

but for those who are married,

in some ways, it's actually very rational,

because it's rooted in reality.

The factors that are completely outside of our control,

promises turn out to be extremely hard to keep,

even for the most noble and capable of us.

One of the things in the marriage ceremony,

just in case I'm coming across

as if I am already planning on breaking my vows,

not at all,

that's why we ask the Lord for his help.

We ask the Lord's blessing in a marriage ceremony.

Nevertheless, promises in general.

You know,

I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older,

but when people promise me things,

I'm just immediately suspicious

that they can't keep the promises.

And it's not because I have a whole

kind of history of broken promises,

but because life is tough,

and promises are easy to make,

but are extremely hard to keep.

Trusting in the promises of God

found in Holy Scripture

also are,

it's not necessarily an easy thing to do.

I mean, at first it seems like a wonderful thing,

a sure thing.

The promise of salvation,

peace in the storm,

joy that transcends circumstance,

eternal life, and so on.

But then an unforeseen illness happens.

Somebody betrays our trust.

We fail to meet expectations.

We fail to meet expectations.

Maybe we've just come in second place

a few too many times.

All right?

All these different circumstances

that come our way

that are not ideal,

and suddenly the promises of God

begin to show cracks.

We might think God is unjust.

We might think he is aloof.

Or that maybe

we have run out of grace.

The promises of God

are then treated like

the promises of Daniel,

the promises of you,

or you,

the promises of people

that don't keep promises.

We view the promises of God

as riddled with cracks

and rendered seemingly untrustworthy.

So having faith in the promises of God

has,

it requires belief.

It requires faith.

And the difficulty with that

is that keeping faith

can be very difficult.

So as that is a bit of an introduction,

we continue on in our series

on the Psalms of Ascent.

And we get to Psalm 132.

Now the Psalms of Ascent

go to 134,

but really Psalm 132

is kind of the pinnacle

of the Psalms of Ascent.

They express,

all of them,

and especially this one,

expresses a deep longing

for the promise-making,

promise-keeping God

to remain faithful

to his promises,

and especially the promise

of his presence,

that he will be with us

and that we will be with him.

The question is whether

God has kept his promises

in the past.

Has he proven true in the past?

And the answer to that question

will help us to decide

if we can trust God

to keep his promises today

and for the future.

So a lot rides on it,

on if God is a promise-keeping God.

So our Psalm 132 envisions

God blessing the temple

with his presence.

So we will examine

the three main players

and their actions.

Verses 1 to 7,

we're going to look at

David's efforts.

Verses 8 to 10,

we're going to look at

Solomon's prayer.

And then finally,

11 to 18,

we'll look at

the Lord's promise.

So David's efforts,

Solomon's prayer,

the Lord's promise.

Turn with me

to verse 1.

We'll read verses 1 to 5.

A song of ascents.

Remember, O Lord,

in David's favor

all the hardships he endured,

how he 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 mighty one

of Jacob.

David's devotion

to the Lord

was the defining trait

that really distinguished

him from his days

as a lowly shepherd

tending his father

Jesse's flock.

He was a man

after God's own heart.

His desire was

to fulfill the Lord's will

and to bring him honor

and glory.

And this is what

is described

in these opening

five verses.

David,

for all of

his mistakes,

all of his sins,

all of his warring,

he,

with patience

and sacrifice,

made preparations

to build a temple

for the Lord.

We can read about this

in 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22,

the amount of preparation

he made.

David desired

to honor the Lord,

both he

and the nation

of Israel

that he led.

The temple

was to be

the house

of the Lord

and specifically

it was to be

the place

where the Ark

of the Covenant

would be kept.

If you're new

to the faith

or if you need

a bit of a refresher,

the Ark

of the Covenant

was a chest-like

object that the Israelites

carried through the desert

after the Lord

delivered them

from Egyptian slavery.

It held within it

the two tablets

with the Ten Commandments

on it

that Moses brought down

from the Mount of Sinai.

It also had

Aaron's staff

which had budded,

Aaron being

the brother

of Moses

and the priest

of the Lord.

But more importantly

and for us specifically

this morning

it symbolized,

the Ark symbolized

the very presence

of the Lord

amongst his people.

What happened

was that

the Ark

was neglected

and forgotten.

During King Saul's rule,

so King Saul

was the first king

of Israel

after the people

rejected God

as their king.

They wanted a king

like the other nations

so the prophet Samuel

with God's instruction

anointed King Saul

but King Saul

he failed

in his duty

as the king

and the Ark

was neglected.

For some 20 years

it was forgotten about.

We read about this

actually in verse 6.

It says this,

Behold,

we heard of it

in Ephrathah,

that is Bethlehem.

We found it

in the fields

of Jear.

But those places

as good as they may be,

Bethlehem being

the city of David,

they weren't Zion,

they weren't Jerusalem,

they weren't the city,

the holy city of God.

God chose Zion

as his home,

as the place

where he would rest.

Not Bethlehem

or the fields of Jear.

The Lord was to have prominence,

not to be forgotten

in obscurity.

That is why David

was so zealous

to bring the Ark

of the Covenant

to Jerusalem

and he noticed

that the Ark

was in a tent

while he lived

in a home

and for David

this wasn't okay.

So he desired

to build a temple

for the Lord

so that the Lord

would be honored

above all people,

that the people

would worship him properly

and David wants

to do right by the Lord

and he did indeed

do right

for he leads the people

into God's presence.

He's a good

and faithful king

and that's reflected

actually in verse 7.

If you read with me

verse 7,

let us go to the,

this is the people

speaking here,

let us go

to his dwelling place.

Let us worship

at his footstool.

You see how

this divine

selfless leadership

aiming to honor

and glorify the Lord

on his terms,

what it does

is it mediates

God's presence

to his people.

What David

isn't doing

is treating God

as a talisman.

He's not treating

God like

the Pharisees

and the Sadducees

and the money lenders

that we read about

in Luke 19

in the gospel reading.

God is not

a means

to our own glory

but rather

David is glorifying

the Lord

at the cost

of himself.

I mean,

we see this

in verse 1

David enduring

hardships

and sacrifices

so that

he could make

provisions

for the temple

to be built

and what's the result?

The people

worship the Lord

with righteousness

and joy

and gladness

that his obedience

is a blessing

to more than just him

but it extends

out to the nation.

This is what

godly leadership

looks like.

David has acted

in faith

that God's promise

to dwell amongst

his people

still holds true

and what he does

is he acts

upon the promise.

God's people respond

and God blesses them

with his presence.

It's actually

a very beautiful

opening few verses.

However,

it is not David

who builds the temple.

If you know

any of the story,

David,

I mean,

he is doing something

that is,

that God

is quite pleased with

but because David

has warred

so much,

he has too much

blood on his hands

it says in

1 Chronicles 22

that God

would not allow him

to build the temple.

Even though David

swore that he

would build the temple,

he swore to God

and again,

we start to see

a human promise

not be fulfilled.

It would be his son

that would build

the temple.

So does this mean

that the promise

of God's presence

would be negated?

I mean,

David was the one

who was supposed

to make it happen

and it didn't happen.

So,

is God's will

contingent on

man's promises?

Put differently

for us to consider,

are God's promises

of love and faithfulness

dependent on

our promises

of the same to him?

David's efforts

come up short.

Let's look at

Solomon's prayer,

verses 8 to 10.

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.

Although David

did not have

the privilege

of building

the temple,

his son Solomon

was the one

to carry out

the work

until the temple

was completed.

Verses 8 to 10

is a near verbatim

quote

from King Solomon

at the temple

dedication

once it's completed

in 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

Solomon dedicates

the completed temple

to the Lord

and the ark

of the covenant

was brought

into the temple

itself.

It's the completion

of David's vision,

the Lord's will

for the ark,

for the people

of Israel.

The temple

properly built

for the rightful

worship of God

was a blessing

for the people

and therefore

the next chapter

in 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

God comes down

with a show

of his presence

that would be

unmistakable.

He is pleased.

God is dwelling

amongst his people

once again.

It would make sense

then that this

is the pinnacle

of the Psalms of Ascent.

Again,

the Psalms of Ascent

were and are

these collection

of psalms

that the Israelites

as they went

on their pilgrim

pilgrimages

to Jerusalem

three times a year

they would sing

as they ascended

the roads

up to Jerusalem.

The high point

would be

worshipping in the temple

and this is

what it envisions

that God

dwelling amongst

his people

and they

worshipping him

in righteousness

and with joy.

It seems that

David's efforts

to keep the covenant

even though he

did not

keep his promise

would be enough

for the Lord

to show favor

to the Davidic line

especially his

anointed son Solomon.

I mean we see

this in verse 10

for the sake

of your servant

David

this is Solomon

really praying

to the Lord

for himself

and his offspring

for the sake

of your servant

David

do not turn away

the face

of your anointed

one.

So David

far from being

perfect

having a heart

that was soft

towards the Lord

the Lord

is honoring

Solomon

as a result.

David did not

get to enjoy

the fruit

of his labor

with the building

of the temple

the sacrifice

and the effort

and the hardships

that he made

for the Lord

it turns out

that they were

not in vain

after all.

David had gathered

money and resources

and spent a great

deal of time

preparing for

a temple

that he would

not build

and this is

like a bit

of an aside

point

it doesn't

really

connect

much

with the

text

but I'll

just say

this

this is

something

we can

take heart

in

that the

sacrifices

and the

efforts

that we

make

for the

Lord

are always

worth it

even though

we don't

see the

fruit

immediately.

There have

been people

in the

history

of the

church

that began

making

cathedrals

and churches

that would

take

decades

maybe even

centuries

to build.

They would

start it

knowing

that they

would never

complete it.

we're not

building that

I mean

it would

be great

if we

did

but

nevertheless

we

are called

to obey

the Lord

in all

sorts of

different

arenas and

areas in

our lives

and often

times

we do not

see the

fruit

of our

obedience.

We don't

see the

fruit of

our prayers.

We don't

feel that

we are being

honored by

God or

get the

benefits of

keeping

pure

or

spending

our

time

and our

money

on things

that benefit

the Lord

and bring

glory to

his name

not increase

our comfort.

We don't

get to taste

the fruits

but we can

be sure

that God

sees it

and he

honors it

and it

brings him

gladness.

So it's a bit

of an aside

but I'll say

do not grow

weary of

obeying the

Lord even

if you

don't see

the fruit

of it

because he

does.

He sees

what you

are doing

and it

pleases him.

Let's get

back to

the text.

David lays

the groundwork

and Solomon

builds the

temple.

The prayer

that Solomon

is praying

here is

offered and

immediately

afterwards like

I mentioned

in chapter

7 of

2nd Chronicles

chapter 7

the presence

of God

fills the

temple.

the Lord's

promises

remain firm.

The Lord

is among

his people.

He has

not turned

his face

away from

his anointed.

But such

a reality

was short

lived.

By the

end of

Solomon's

reign this

righteous

wise

king of

Israel

he was

overtaken

by infidelity

and passion.

He erected

shrines to

false gods

and he

polluted

the very

city

the very

city that

the Lord

loved.

And by

the time

Solomon died

and his

son Rehoboam

became king

the kingdom

was divided.

The northern

ten tribes

eventually falling

to the Assyrians

in the 8th

century BC

and the southern

two tribes

falling in the

6th century.

Israel was

shattered.

The tribes

scattered.

It seems like

the promise of

God

were nullified.

It appears

that the

Lord turned

his face

away from

David's

line.

David's

anointed

line.

And especially

if we consider

verse 12

and I know

we're skipping

and we'll

touch on it

in the next

point.

But this is

what verse 12

says.

If your sons

keep my

commandment

this is the

Lord speaking

if your sons

keep my

covenant

and my

testimonies

that I

shall teach

them their

sons also

forever

shall sit

on your

throne.

The

Davidic

line

failed to

uphold the

covenant

so the

Lord

withdrew

his

favor

from

not

just

the

Davidic

line

but the

entire

nation.

And what

did it

lead to?

It did

not lead

to a

greater

life but

rather

calamity

and exile.

And like

David's

promise

Solomon's

prayer and

posture had

weak

foundations

and it

ultimately

failed.

I mean

what he

prayed was

excellent

but his

posture

was weak

surely

God's

promise

of

eternal

dwelling

with his

people

it must

be rendered

void

at least

according to

verse 12

we've had

David's

efforts

excellent

in many

ways

but failing

Solomon's

prayer of

dedication

and posture

excellent

in many

ways

but failing

how about

the Lord's

promise

we've read

verse 12

the conditional

promise of

God's

favor upon

David's

line

if covenant

faithful

covenant

faithlessness

continues

but what

about

verse 11

I'll read

verse 11

and 12

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

and then

verse 12

here's the

conditional

the condition

that God

puts on the

Davidic line

if your

sons keep

my covenant

and my

testimonies

that I

shall teach

them

their sons

also

forever

shall sit

on your

throne

God is

unchanging

in theological

terms we

call this

the mutability

of God

God is

unchanging

very important

doctrine of

God

to remember

what does it

mean it

means that

he is

what he

is which

is what

he has

always been

and what

he will

always be

he has

always existed

he has

never changed

he is perfect

in every

aspect

and it

means that

the promises

he makes

are not

contingent

on factors

outside of

his control

why

because

nothing

is outside

of his

control

if he

promises

something

it will

come to

pass

he is

also

all

knowing

we

call this

God's

omniscience

nothing

surprises

him or

escapes

his

notice

nothing

we can

do

feel

or

think

will

elude

him

he

knows

all

all

what

you

are

thinking

right

now

he

knows

he

knows

it

crystal

clear

so we

see a bit

of a

tension

here

okay

because

on one

hand

we have

this

unchanging

God

who knows

everything

which means

that his

promises

are always

true

and sure

and that

there are

no factors

that he

has

failed to

consider

and yet

at the

same

time

it

would

seem

that

God's

covenant

promises

are

contingent

upon

David's

faithfulness

both

of these

things

can't

really

be

true

there's

a

tension

here

verse

11

states

the

Lord

which

is

in the

original

language

is his

covenant

name

there's

such

an

emphasis

on

God's

nature

of

covenant

making

covenant

keeping

God

the

Lord

swore

to

David

a

true

truth

it's

as if

he is

super

charging

his

oath

not that

he needs

to

but this

is what

he is

doing

he is

swearing

a

true

truth

and yet

David's

line has

utterly

and

spectacularly

failed

presents

us with a

very troubling

challenge to

our

faith

in God

it suggests

that God

has either

lied to

us

and is

untrustworthy

or he is

not powerful

enough

to keep

his

promises

as if

he could

not

anticipate

the

consequences

arising

from

fallible

humans

who are

just

unable

to

obey

his

commands

due

to

our

propensity

to

sin

it's

a bit

of a

conundrum

and if

that is

the case

isn't it

just wiser

to simply

live

eat

and drink

for tomorrow

we die

if God

can't come

through on

his promises

then let us

just live

it up

or maybe

we should

just seek

out a

greater

God

who can

offer a

better

promise

or actually

uphold the

promises

that he

makes

see

there's a

tension here

in verse 11

and 12

and we have

to resolve it

or else

our faith

really is starting

to crumble

or at least

the object of

our faith

is starting

to crumble

the stakes

are high

much depends

on whether

God will

keep his

promises

is God

God

or is he

like us

any person

can make a

promise

or a covenant

even God

but can he

keep it

I think we'll

find the answer

in verses 13

and following

let's read

starting verse 13

all the way

down to 18

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

if there's

any question

about whether

God will keep

his promises

even though

David and his

offspring are

constantly breaking

the promises

so much so

that they are

they are exiled

they are exiled

and even in our

gospel text that we

read

Jesus makes it

very clear that

Jerusalem will be

raised to the

ground

why?

because the

people of God

did not recognize

their hour

of visitation

okay?

so God's

people constantly

failing

and yet

verse 13

and following

it's a resounding

declaration

that God says

my promises

are bigger

than your failure

they're bigger

they're so

so much bigger

as

your capacity

to mess things

up is huge

okay?

my capacity

to fulfill

my promises

is infinite

this is what

it's saying

in verses

13

and 18

do you notice

how as we

move into

this final

section

God's words

are expanded

far beyond

David's immediate

line

and the blessing

is far greater

than David

could imagine

and this whole

section is riddled

with God saying

I will

not hey

let's do this

together

he's saying

I will

he's not saying

I'm going to do

90% of it

you're going to do

some heavy lifting

but I'm going to do

the majority of it

it's just

I will

I will

I will

I will

and it's blessing

upon blessing

he's the one

who will bring

righteousness

to the nation

he's the one

who will

feed the poor

which is to say

that even the least

among us

will have everything

they need

for life and holiness

bread is so much

more than just

bread in the Bible

those that trust

in false gods

will be clothed

with shame

but on him

his crown

will shine

how will God

fulfill this promise

well he has

in part

and in a

huge kind of way

Jesus fulfills

everything this

psalm promises

he is ultimately

the Davidic king

he is the

the

the true

and

and greatest

child of David

who guides his people

in righteousness

and proper worship

like the ark

Jesus

he embodies

the very presence

of God

dwelling among us

if you remember

in John chapter 1

John 1:14

verse 14

it says that

that the word

tabernacled

or dwelt

or visited

I think

Eugene Pearson

in the message

calls it

moved into the neighborhood

it's that God

literally

the word

made flesh

dwelt amongst us

if the ark

embodies God's

presence

then Jesus

has come

in flesh

something far

greater than

the ark

he is the

great high priest

robed in

righteousness

leading us

in praising

the father

with shouts

of joy

he is the

perfect sacrifice

the blemish free

lamb

sacrifice

for all of us

once and for all

an offering

given

to us

because of

love and grace

and then

here's the

beautiful thing

here

because

again

David's

line

is all

but

destroyed

okay

it's

all

but

destroyed

it's

like

David's

line

is this

beautiful

gorgeous

tree

that has

been toppled

over by a

windstorm

or cut

down

because it's

disease

and you

see

this

giant

ugly

stump

that used

to be

this

beautiful

grand

tree

and it

says

here

in verse

17

there I

will make

a horn

to sprout

for David

it's

as if

God

is making

a new

tree

sprout

up

from

this

stump

and it

is a

horn

which is

this

picture

in the

Bible

of

victory

and

strength

and this

is who

Jesus

is

and he

fulfills

it

and he

does

this

by perfectly

obeying

and glorifying

God

not by

charging

in

with a

sword

drawn

by being

hung

upon

the

cross

defeating

death

by

death

upon

him

was

laid

all

of

our

iniquities

and he

rises

again

to

new

life

so that

all

who put

our

faith

and

trust

in

him

we

get

to

be

with

him

forever

I

mean

that

is

this

is

the

thing

it's

not

about

just

going

to

heaven

or

avoiding

hell

it's

about

being

in

God's

presence

forever

it's

all

throughout

scriptures

it's

in

psalm

132

and it

is

the

hope

of

all

those

who

call

upon

the

name

of

the

Lord

after

centuries

of

exile

longing

wandering

and fear

that God

would not

keep

his

covenant

the

Lord

fulfilled

his

promise

centuries

later

but he

still

fulfilled

it

and in

a

greater

way

than

David

or

Solomon

or

Israel

or

even

us

could

have

ever

hoped

how

can

we

be

sure

that

God's

promises

will

come

to

pass

even

though

we

do

not

see

them

is

because

what

he

promised

to

Solomon

it

came

true

in

Jesus

which

means

the

promise

that

he

will

come

again

to

wipe

away

every

tear

to

do

away

with

all

disease

to

do

away

with

all

evil

that

will

come

to

pass

as

well

he

has

never

not

kept

!

a

promise

!

friends

trust

in

the

Lord

rely

on

God's

power

to

uphold

his

promise

more

than

your

ability

to

keep

yours

don't

promise

the

Lord

that

you

will

do

good

so

that

he

will

bring

you

into

his

presence

cast

all

of

your

faith

upon

his

promise

that

says

that

he

has

made

a