God’s Covenant Is a Two-Way Commitment (Psalm 132-134)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Do you ever feel like God only asks you to commit to him without offering anything in return?

Psalm 132, a Song of Ascents, was sung by pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. It focused on the covenant between God and David, highlighting David’s vow to establish a permanent dwelling place for God’s presence (verses 1-10). In response, God promised to bless David’s lineage with an enduring throne, provided his descendants remained faithful (verses 11-18).

This psalm was significant because it connected Israel’s worship and identity to God’s faithfulness and the promises made to David, reinforcing the importance of the temple as a symbol of God’s presence and blessing. As Bruce Ware writes, “God is a promise making and promise keeping God.

There are few things taught in the Scriptures about God that are more central to his self-revelation to his people of who he is than this: God is faithful to his word, his oath, his promise, indeed, his covenant.”^[1] The psalmist starts by saying, ¹ “Lord, remember David and all the hardships he endured, ² and how he swore an oath to the Lord, making a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob: ³ “I will not enter my house or get into my bed, ⁴ I will not allow my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber ⁵ until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

This poem reflects on 2 Samuel 7, where David intended to build a house for the Lord but instead learned that the Lord planned to establish a “house” (a lasting dynasty) for David. In Psalm 132, David’s vow in the opening verses is mirrored by God’s promise in verses 10-12, which says, ¹⁰ “For the sake of your servant David, do not reject your anointed one. ¹¹ The Lord swore an oath to David, a promise he will not abandon: ‘I will set one of your offspring on your throne. ¹² If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I will teach them, their sons will also sit on your throne forever.” These verses highlight the reciprocal nature of their covenant. As J.A. Motyer explains,

Each of these two divisions has the same pattern: Prayer (1, 10), statement (2, 11), speech (of David, 3-5; of the Lord, 11-12), a further statement (6, 13) and a final speech (exhortation, 7-9; and promise, 14-18). Thus human purposes and desires (1-9) are balanced and matched by divine purposes and affirmations (10-18). David’s oath (1-5) is followed by human devotion to fulfilling it (6-9), and the Lord’s oath (10-12) by his commitment to fulfilling it (13-18). We can imagine a pre-exilic congregation gathered at one of the annual feasts, singing joyfully of David’s zeal to found the sanctuary and the Lord’s commitment to making it what it was meant to be.^[2]