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Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might…For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling, saying, ‘this is my resting place forever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it’ (Psalm 132:8, 13-14).

We are still among the psalms of ascent, the songs the Israelites sang as they came and went to Jerusalem for the festivals of their faith. This song resounds with two important elements of identity for the ancient Israelites: a dwelling place for God and the kingship of David. From David’s time onward, these two aspects of Israelite life became deeply entwined, finding their fulfilment in Jesus Christ.

But before we go there, we need to recall that when David pledged to build God a temple, God was not very keen on the idea. “I like being able to move around, not being fixed in one place,” God says, “and anyway this initiative of yours reverses the proper relationship between me and you. I’m the one who is going to build a house, a house for you” (in the sense of a household, a line of succession). “That building needs to come first” (a summary of 2 Samuel 7).

Sometimes psalms turn into a conversation in which God responds, and Psalm 132 is an example. In the second half God speaks, recalling his commitment to David; his promise that there would always be a descendant of David on the throne. From Zion (another word for Jerusalem), where David’s throne sat, God will bless his people. The promise about David’s successors presupposes that they will be faithful to God. Maybe God in his grace will be merciful when they are faithless, but they cannot assume that God will keep his side of the covenant when they fail in theirs. As so, exiled to Babylon they were.

But after their return, there was no throne in Jerusalem for a descendant of David to sit on. Yet the pilgrims sang this psalm to each other and to the Lord. Chanting it as they walked was a reminder that God was still among them, and better days were coming for his people. Singing it, they recalled God’s promises.

It’s a good song for us to sing as well, helping us express our own desire that God dwell among his people. If its true that the greatest commandment is to love God will all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, then it is also true that we do not love him very well.

Christians have long understood that our capacity to love God does not arise from trying harder, but rather from experiencing his glory and love. The words of this psalm evoke in us a desire for God to show up among his people. Jesus said that God’s true worshipers, worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23,24). We need the presence of the Holy Spirit for that to happen.

David’s sons and grandsons were covenant breakers. They forsook God. As such, they lost the throne. But what of God’s promises? Looking back, we understand that this psalm finds its final fulfillment in Christ our Lord. He is at once the new Temple (John 2:19-21) and the very son of David who fulfills the promise God swore to David. Through Christ, David’s descendant sitting on heaven’s throne, God blesses his people, giving them of his Spirit, uniting us with Christ and with each other.

When we join the Israelites in singing, “May your priests be clothed with your righteousness; may your faithful people sing for joy” (9), we are not referring to Aaron’s descendants working in the temple, but about ourselves. Peter understood this when he wrote, “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Who knows, maybe Peter had been mediating on this Psalm before he wrote his letter?

With this psalm, we give voice to our faith that God dwells among us, his holy people. God has found his resting place, and it is us. He has chosen us to be his dwelling place. He names us his royal priesthood, his holy nation. That is who we are, praise be too God. Let’s sing it. Let’s make it a love song to our God.