THE LORD SWORE AN OATH

Passage: Psalms 132:1-18

Key verse: 11

NIV

Psalm 132(A)
A song of ascents.

1 Lord, remember David
    and all his self-denial.(B)

2 He swore an oath to the Lord,
    he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(C)
3 “I will not enter my house(D)
    or go to my bed,
4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
5 till I find a place(E) for the Lord,
    a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 We heard it in Ephrathah,(F)
    we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:[a](G)
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place,(H)
    let us worship at his footstool,(I) saying,
8 ‘Arise, Lord,(J) and come to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
9 May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;(K)
    may your faithful people(L) sing for joy.’”

10 For the sake of your servant David,
    do not reject your anointed one.

11 The Lord swore an oath to David,(M)
    a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants(N)
    I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant(O)
    and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
    on your throne(P) for ever and ever.”

13 For the Lord has chosen Zion,(Q)
    he has desired it for his dwelling,(R) saying,
14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever;(S)
    here I will sit enthroned,(T) for I have desired it.
15 I will bless her with abundant provisions;
    her poor I will satisfy with food.(U)
16 I will clothe her priests(V) with salvation,
    and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.(W)

17 “Here I will make a horn[b] grow(X) for David
    and set up a lamp(Y) for my anointed one.(Z)
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,(AA)
    but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”(AB)

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Footnotes
  1. Psalm 132:6 Or heard of it in Ephrathah, / we found it in the fields of Jearim. (See 1 Chron. 13:5,6) (And no quotation marks around verses 7-9)
  2. Psalm 132:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one, that is, king.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of (A)Ascents.

132 Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,
    all (B)the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the Lord
    and (C)vowed to (D)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
    or get into my bed,
4 I will not (E)give sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I (F)find a place for the Lord,
    a dwelling place for (G)the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in (H)Ephrathah;
    we found it in (I)the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
    let us (J)worship at his (K)footstool!”

8 (L)Arise, O Lord, and go to your (M)resting place,
    you and the ark of your (N)might.
9 Let your (O)priests be (P)clothed with righteousness,
    and let your (Q)saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
    (R)do not turn away the face of (S)your anointed one.

11 (T)The Lord swore to David a sure oath
    (U)from which he will not turn back:
(V)“One of the sons of your body[a]
    I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
    shall (W)sit on your throne.”

13 For the Lord has (X)chosen Zion;
    he has (Y)desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my (Z)resting place forever;
    here I will (AA)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (AB)bless her provisions;
    I will (AC)satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her (AD)priests I will clothe with salvation,
    and her (AE)saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make (AF)a horn to sprout for David;
    I have prepared (AG)a lamp for (AH)my anointed.
18 His enemies I will (AI)clothe with shame,
    but on him his crown will shine.”

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Footnotes
  1. Psalm 132:11 Hebrew of your fruit of the womb
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

David was king, and as such, he could have sought power and glory for himself. Instead, he denied himself and sought the LORD. He made a vow to bring the ark of the LORD back to Jerusalem—where all of the Israelites could worship the LORD, where the priests and Levites could serve, and where the LORD could dwell among his people. David brought the ark to Jerusalem and prayed that God would accept his heart’s desire.

God blessed David and his vow. He made an oath to place one of David’s descendants on his throne forever. It was an everlasting oath. The LORD’s vow saw its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. The LORD made an oath he would not revoke, that he would be with his people as their abundant source of blessing for ever and ever. The LORD would be their true king. He would rule over even the powers of sin and death to bring salvation. He blessed David by bringing the horn of salvation through him.

Prayer: Lord, the beauty of your salvation is more than I can conceive of. Come dwell with me today and be my great hope.

One Word: The LORD is our salvation