Psalm 132
“LORD, establish Your gracious rule in my heart”
A Prayer Psalm
(Please read this longer psalm in your Bible.)
This is the longest of the Songs of Ascents. It is thought to have been composed by Solomon at the time of the temple dedication. (Some believe it was written by David at the time when the ark of the covenant was removed from the house of Abinadab and brought to Jerusalem.) As to subject matter: “It is concerned almost entirely with the temple, which it sets before the faithful from the first conception of it in the mind of David to its final glory when visited by the Redeemer. Vv. 1-5 are concerned with the birth of the idea in David’s mind; vv. 6-10 with its realization under Solomon; while vv. 11-18 point to the time when David’s true Son would be set upon David’s throne, and the Lord himself would suddenly come to his temple, and make the glory of the second house greater than that of the first had ever been.” (Pulpit Commentary, Psalms, Vol. III, p. 258)
This psalm is well-suited to be a Song of Ascents. As the pilgrims sang it on their way up to the earthly city of Zion (from which David had ruled over an earthly kingdom and where a temple made with human hands was situated), they would have been reminded of Jehovah’s promise to raise up from David’s family line a King who would establish a spiritual kingdom . . . a King who would defeat their enemies and make it possible for them to dwell in a house “not made wth hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1).
As they looked forward in joy-filled faith to the fulfillment of the promise, so we may look back and rejoice. The promised ancestor, great David’s greater Son, came in the fullness of time. He conquered our spiritual foes through His redemptive work so that we may be His own for time and eternity.
Truly, a King most wonderful! Let us serve and worship Him!