Praising Scripture - Dec 12

Introduction...

Psalm 132:1-9;13-18 Praise God’s Kingdom/God’s Dwelling Place
（Memorization Scripture: vv. 13-18）
1 Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the Lord,
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it in the fields of the woods.[a]
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
……
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His dwelling place:
14 “This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There I will make the horn of David grow;
I will prepare a lamp for My Anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”


[Sharing] There have been a lot of difficulties and tribulations in the many years of serving the Lord and His church, and sometimes I have felt discouraged. But God always speaks to me at a crucial moment and shows me what He wants. This psalm is one of them. Back to 2005, when we were buying the church building, God once again spoke to me through this psalm. It seemed that I could roughly understand a bit of David's misery and his urgency to find a resting place for the ark of the Lord. In order to fulfill the needs of the Lord, David would rather suffer. If our sufferings cannot be connected with the eternal purpose of God, which is Christ and the church, it will be worthless at all!

Having spent his life in war, David knew well and worry about God's ark being displaced and restless. Where is God's resting place today? Where is the shining place of God's witness cabinet? Is every church a home where God can dwell in? Can His heart rest in peace among us? Behold what manner of love is the Lord! With exceedingly precious promises, He responds to those who love Him and care about His presence and testimony. In His chosen dwelling place, He will 'abundantly bless her provision, satisfy her poor with bread; ... also clothe her priests with salvation, And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.' The horn of David speaks of God's victory - wherever there is God's presence, God reigns and enemies will be humiliated; those who suffer for the Lord will have glorious crowns on their heads.
Do you think that this psalm is like a song, which step by step builds up into God's heart, encountering God's promise and glory! No wonder this psalm is collected in the "Songs of Ascent".