The Lord who will not turn back

[Psalms 132]

                One of the most important words in the Bible is “covenant”.  This word is an important topic flowing throughout the whole Bible.  The covenant refers to the relationship between God and His people, and God directs and defines the covenant relationship.  The word “covenant” is used about 296 times in the Bible.  In the Old Testament, the word “covenant” is pronounced as ‘berit’ in Hebrew.  It means ‘a pledge, an alliance, an alliance made by passing through the pieces of a split beast’ (Internet).

                In Psalms 132, the word ‘swear’ appears twice in verses 2 and 11.  The first word ‘swear’ is what David swore to the Lord (v. 2) and the second word ‘swear’ was what God swore to David (v. 11).  Interestingly, the word “A truth” doesn’t appear in the word that David swore to God (v. 2), but appears in the word that God swore to David (v. 11).  One thing that is clear here is that even though we cannot faithfully keep our oath to God in the covenant we have made with Him, our God is the faithful God who faithfully keeps His oath to us in the covenant He made with us.  Therefore, we must pray in faith to God who is faithful to the covenant.

                In Psalms 132:11, the psalmist Solomon says: “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.”  Solomon steadfastly held on to the word of God's promise to his father David, the oath that He made to David that He would allow his sons to continue his kingdom.  So Solomon prayed to God, relying on the unchanging faithfulness of God.  That's why he was talking about God's covenant (“My covenant”) (v. 12).  What was the Lord’s covenant here?  It is what God made with David and includes God's promise and David's responsibility.  The reason why Solomon held onto His covenant and prayed was because he had the house of God and the house of David in his heart.  In other words, Solomon, knowing his father David's earnest wish for God's temple, held on to the promise God gave to David and prayed to Him.  That was why he prayed in Psalms 132:1 – “Remember, O LORD, on David's behalf, All his affliction.”  Solomon prayed before God that he would remember David's earnest wish for God, that was, his earnest wish for God's temple (vv. 1-5) (Park).  In the midst of this, Solomon, knowing David's earnest prayer, held on to the word of the promise God had pledged faithfully to David, and prayed to the unchanging and faithful God (v. 11).  In a word, the psalmist Solomon held onto the covenant of God and went up to His temple and prayed to Him.

                If we look at Psalms 132:2, 11 about this covenant, we see David and God swore to each other.  See David's oath to God: “He swore an oath to the LORD and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob.”  Solomon asked God to remember all his father David’s hardships that he endured for the temple of God (v. 1).  In particular, Solomon held on to his father David's oath to God and prayed to him (v. 2).  David's oath and vows was not to enter his house or to go to his bed (v. 3) and not to allow no sleep to his eyes and no slumber to his eyelids (v. 4) until “I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob” (v. 5).  In other words, David's oath and vow was God's temple.  David so eagerly wanted to build His temple because there was no God’s temple to put the ark of God while he was living in his royal palace that was built with cedar.  So he swore and vowed that he would not enter his house and sleep in peace until God's temple was built.  As such, David longed for God's presence and wanted to build His temple to serve Him.  In the midst of that, David found the ark that symbolized God's presence (v. 6), so he received renewed strength in his faith and worshiped God (vv. 7, 8).  And he cried out to the priests to be clothed with righteousness and to sing for joy (v. 9) (Park).  The psalmist Solomon, who worked hard to fulfill the oath and vows of his father David, proclaimed to God and prayed to God on the basis of his father David’s zeal for the house of the Lord (69:9): “For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one” (132:10).  This was a Solomon’s prayer not to reject him, the Lord's anointed, “For the sake of David” his father (v. 10).  This wish was not prayed to God based on Solomon's self-interest, but was prayed based on a covenant given by God (Park).

                Then, what did God swear to David?  Look at Psalms 132:11 – “The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: "One of your own descendants I will place on your throne.”  God's promise to David that he would fulfill His oath can be summed up in five ways:

            First, God promised to give the David’s throne to his descendants for ever and ever.

                Look at Psalms 132:12 – “if your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne for ever and ever.”  This is the word of promise based on 2 Samuel 7:12, and God told David, “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.”  Of course, there was David and his descendants’ responsibility in this promise.  It is to keep God's commandments.

Second, God chose Zion and promised to be there forever.

Look at Psalms 132:13-14: “For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: ‘This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.’”  Here, “Zion” refers to the chosen country by God.  In other words, God's promise was to be with His people forever.

Third, God promised to give abundant food to the chosen Zion.

Look at Psalms 132:15 – “I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor will I satisfy with food.”  This word of promise was that God would give His people abundant material blessings.

Fourth, God promised to make the saints rejoice in salvation.

Look at Psalms 132:16 – “I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will ever sing for joy.”  This word is a promise that God would give spiritual blessings to His people (Park).

Fifth and last, he promised David that a horn, that is Christ, would be born.

Look at Psalms 132:17-18: “Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one.  I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown on his head will be resplendent.”  Here God promised David that he would have “a horn”, and the “horn” refers to Christ, and “a lamp” refers to revelation through Christ.

                Thus, the psalmist Solomon held on to the word of promise that God gave to his father, David, and went up to the temple of God and prayed.  And he wanted God to hear his prayer for two reasons: (1) The first reason was that he prayed based on what his father, David, swore to God in hardships (v. 2), and (2) The second reason was that he prayed based on what God had sworn to David (v. 11).

Our covenant God is the God who faithfully fulfills the word He has promised us.  Although we are unfaithful, our God is faithful God who fulfills what He has sworn to us.  Although we may change, our God never changes.  We must trust in this unchanging and faithful God and pray for His promises to come true.  We must go to God and proclaim His promise given to us by trusting in His unchanging divine character.

With gratitude for the unchanging love of the Lord,

James Kim

(As I hold onto the word of God's promise)