As we go to bed on Saturday nights and wake up in the morning on Sunday mornings and get in our cars to drive to church, the joy of what we are about to do, or more accurately, Who we are about to meet with, should overflow from within us. There is no greater blessing than to meet with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to be transported into the throne room by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 132 has a very different feel than the rest of the Psalms of Ascent. In fact, this Psalm is explicitly Messianic, speaking of the Davidic promises and line and the Lord’s Anointed. As a Psalm of Ascent then, this song brings the traveling worshippers into focus on the city and king that God has made His own. While many of the other Ascent Psalms encourage the fearful and troubled hearts of the travelers, this psalm instructs them to take their eyes off their own journey and cast them upon the wonderful and great things that await them in the city of God, Zion, and the king who is enthroned there.

The psalm begins by asking God to remember His promises to David, who earnestly desired to build a resting place for God amongst His people. Although David was not allowed by God to build the temple, David was still the one who brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, an act that brought abundant joy to his heart. It was immediately after that event that God made his covenant promises to David that someone from his lineage would always sit on the throne. The throne of the nation of Israel would henceforth be known as the throne of David, promises born out of David’s utter devotion to and joy in the Lord. David earnestly sought that God would be glorified amongst His people. The attitude that David displayed in the past is now one that the psalmist earnestly seeks for the present travelers as they head to Jerusalem to worship. Oh that God’s people would long to worship in the presence of God with such fervor and joy!

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