An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Psalm 132, for Sunday June 29, 2025, with the title, “God’s Promises.” A video version of this overview is available at:

INTRODUCTION:

??? Can you share a time someone made a promise that was important to you???

(Most of us can share something here: my dad once made a promise to me as a boy, to take me to an OU game — which he later surprised me and did; that meant a lot to me. Some might share about their wedding vows, etc.)

Then you can say: In this morning’s lesson we’re going to look at a great promise God made to us as His people, in Psalm 132. 

ALTERNATE INTRO (or use this ILLUSTRATION later in the lesson):

During a crucial vote in Congress during President Abraham Lincoln’s administration:  “Lincoln walked over to (Assistant Secretary R.H. Dana’s) office, said, ‘Dana, I am very anxious about this vote. It has got to be taken next week. The time is very short … There are three [members of Congress] that you can deal with better than anybody else, perhaps, as you know them all.’ … ‘What will they be likely to want?’ asked Dana. The President said, ‘… It makes no difference what they want. Here is the alternative, that we carry this vote, or be compelled to raise another million … men, and fight no one knows how long. … ’Well sir, what shall I say to these gentlemen?’ ‘I don’t know, but whatever promise you make to them I will perform.’ … So the extra votes needed to pass the Nevada bill through the House were gotten.” (Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln, The Prairie Years and the War Years, p. 497)

President Lincoln made a big promise that day: “Whatever promise you make to them, I will perform.” This morning in Psalm 132, we see that our Heavenly Father also made some big promises — and as we know, whatever promise He makes, He WILL certainly perform! Today’s lesson reminds us of that.

CONTEXT:

We’re continuing our study of the Book of Psalms this quarter, by looking at Psalm 132 today. Psalm 132 has a very particular context, as one of the “Psalms of Ascent.” The Psalms of Ascent are Psalms 120-134 (15 Psalms) and most scholars believe they were likely sung by pilgrims making their way “up” towards Jerusalem, or “up the stairs” of (hence “ascent”) to the Temple of the Lord to worship. In a sense these 15 songs are like the songs of a musical, put together with this theme of ascending to the Lord, in His house. I have a personal belief that there is also a spiritual meaning here: that these 15 Psalms describe a “spiritual ascent” — how to draw near to God. And I believe there is a kind of “progression” in these 15 Psalms, that each one has a key ingredient to show us, of how we can draw nearer to God — not only physically closer to His house, but how to draw spiritually closer to Him. 

Let me just give you a few examples of what I mean:

— Psalm 120, the first of the “Psalms of Ascent,” lays out the “problem,” in a sense: the “deceitful tongue” that was against him; that “I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.” He’s troubled by the problem he faces. So what does he do with that problem? Move on to Psalm 121:

— Psalm 121 begins: “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord …”. See how it progresses, from the problem he has, to where he seeks his help from.

— Then Psalm 122 famously says, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD …’.” If you have a problem, and you want to draw closer to God to seek an answer from God, go to His house! 

— Then Psalm 123 says again in :1, “To You I lift up my eyes” but then in :2 it adds: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us.” So Psalm 122 encourages us to be patient and WAIT on the Lord in our time of difficulty. The theme in that Psalm is the importance of waiting on God as long as we need to.

And so on, throughout the 15 Psalms. To me there is a real progression in these “Psalms of Ascent,” which teaches us how to draw near to the Lord. It not only describes PHYSICALLY ascending towards Jerusalem/the Temple, but also SPIRITUALLY drawing near to God Himself!  (It’s an intriguing set of Psalms; I don’t have the progression all worked out perfectly yet, but I believe it is there, with some great lessons for those who want to to seek the LORD. You might spend some time in these Psalms and explore some of those themes yourself!)

So Psalm 132 is the 13th of the 15 “Psalms of Ascent.” 12 Psalms lead up to it, showing us how to draw near to the Lord, and there are only two after it, Psalm 133 which talks about the importance of the unity of God’s people (surely one of the ultimate goals to which God’s people can attain) and then closes with the famous “Bless the Lord, all ye servants of the LORD” of Psalm 134.

So that’s the context of Psalm 132: it’s one of the Psalms of ascent, near the end of the group; and its focus is on the promise God made to David. Psalm 132 is very much a Messianic Psalm, as it points to Jesus is the “Ultimate David” whom God will use to draw all of us near to Him, forever. 

One other thing about Psalm 132: we have spoken before of the synonymous parallelism that characterizes Hebrew poetry (basically saying the same thing, in a slightly different way, in two consecutive lines. This is how the Hebrews do poetry, vs. our “rhyming.”) Watch for all of the synonymous parallelism that you’ll find all through Psalm 132, like: 

— :2 “he swore to the LORD; and vowed to the Mighty One.” 

Swearing and vowing are synonymous acts; the LORD and the Mighty One are synonyms for God. This is poetic to the Hebrews: saying the same thing in a slightly different way in 2 consecutive lines. You will see this all through Psalm 132.

OUTLINE:

I. The Desire For A Dwelling Place With the Lord (:1-5)

II. Worshipping in the Dwelling Place of the Lord (:6-10)

III. The Promise of an Eternal Dwelling Place With the Lord (:11-18)

TEXT:  Psalm 132:1-14, 17-18

I. The Desire For a Dwelling Place With the LORD

:1 “Remember, O Lord, on David’s behalf, All his affliction;

2 How he swore to the Lord, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 3 “Surely I will not enter my house, Nor lie on 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.”

We see in these verses that David had an intense desire for a house for the Lord to dwell among them in, like we see in II Samuel 7:1-2, “Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, 2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.’”  This desire of David is what Psalm 132 describes and emphasizes.

NOTE: the intensity of David’s desire is expressed in the text:

— :2 “he SWORE/VOWED” (the synonymous parallelism) that he would find a place for the house of the LORD

— :3 He said he would not “enter my house/lie on my bed” (more synonymous parallelism) 

— :4 (more synonymous parallelism!) “I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids” until he does it!

So David is VERY serious here: he SWEARS; he will not go to his own home, until he’s found a home for God; he is so consumed by it, that he will not sleep until he does it!  that’s how important this desire for God’s house was to him!

But truthfully, this desire for a dwelling with God among us, is not peculiar to David only; rather is a basic desire of all mankind. It is why there are temples and houses of worship all over the world. People want God to dwell among them; they want to be with Him.

We see this desire manifested all through scripture:

— When Jacob met with YHWH and committed himself to Him in Genesis 28:22, the first thing he did was say: “This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” Immediately, he wanted a dwelling place for God there with him.

— Psalm 23:6 expresses David’s desire: “I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”

— Psalm 27:4 expresses it even more intensely: “ONE THING I have desired, that I will seek, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD, to behold the beauty of LORD, and to inquire in His Temple.” ONE THING: the most important thing David desired, was to dwell with God in His house. 

That’s what ALL of God’s people want; this is what people everywhere are searching for. Our great desire is to dwell with God in His home. 

ILLUSTRATION:

In Charles Dickens’ classic story Nicholas Nicholby, Nicholas sees Smike, the young man whom he has taken under his wing and rescued from the awful boarding school they were attending. He tells him he will get him to his home, and he asks him where it is. Smike answers: “You are my home.” (p. 103)

That’s such a powerful and touching statement: “YOU are my home”! Smike had nowhere else he wanted to go, but to be with him; wherever HE would be, would be his home. Nicholas was everything that would make a home, a home to him. 

And don’t you see, that is especially true for the Christian. Where is our home? GOD is our home! Wherever HE is, is the place we belong, where we want to be. Everything that would make a place worth living, is found in God. As Psalm 16:1b says, “I have no good besides You”! Our desire is to be with Him. We want “to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” He is our home! 

And that’s not only our greatest desire, it’s ultimate desire of all people everywhere, if they only knew what they were really searching for. All mankind has this ultimate desire for an eternal dwelling place with God, where we will be satisfied with His presence, forever!  We all have a desire for a dwelling place with the Lord.

II. Worship in the Dwelling Place of the LORD  (:6-10)

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah, We found it in the field of Jaar. 7 Let us go into His dwelling place; 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 godly ones sing for joy. 10 For the sake of David Your servant, Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.”

Verse 6 shifts gears here, and describes God’s people coming together to worship in His presence.

Right of the bat, you’re going to want to know a couple of names of places that are used in :6: “Ephrathah” and “Jaar.”

— Ephrathah is another name for Bethlehem and the surrounding area — for example, it is used in the famous prophecy of Micah 5:2 “As for you BETHLEHEM EPHRATHAH … from you one will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.” David the King arose from Bethlehem, it was called “The City of David,” and one day the Ultimate David, the Messiah, Jesus, would also come from Bethlehem. So that is what it’s talking about: Ephrathah is Bethlehem, or the area around Bethlehem.

— Jaar, literally means “wood, forest.” Some believe it is a shortened form of Kiriath Jearim, where the Ark of the Covenant had been kept after it had been recovered from the Philistines. 

So they’re saying: we’ve heard in the area around Bethlehem; we’ve heard in Kiriath Jearim (or in the woods).

WHAT did they hear? Verse 7 tells us: “Let us go into His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool.” In other words, people are saying, “Let’s go worship God!” As we saw, this is mankind’s great desire, so let’s go worship Him.

+x Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

Because God dwells among us, we want to GO AND WORSHIP Him. This should be our motivation to be in church each week. We want to come and worship God. 

+x Hebrews 10:25, “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

:8 “Arise O LORD to Your resting place, You and the Ark of Your strength.”  “The Ark” here is a reference to the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the Presence of God among His people. The space at the top of the Ark, between the cherubim, or the angels, was considered to be the very dwelling place of God among them. In Exodus 25:22 God said: “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.” So the Ark was the place where God “rested” or dwelt among His people. 

Verse 8 here is a little twist on Numbers 10:35, which tells us that whenever the Ark headed out before Israel, Moses would cry out: ““Rise up, O Lord! And let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.” Only here, the Lord and His Ark are cheered to rise to their resting place — which is in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle or Temple. So saying “Arise O LORD to Your resting place” is like saying, “Lord, come dwell among us!”

Then :9 describes HOW His people worship Him in His presence:

“Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your godly ones sing for joy.” You can see the parallelism again here, but although they are similar and related, it is not quite “synonymous;” it’s describing a couple of different things — specifically a couple of ways God’s people are to worship in His presence:

— “Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness.” 

This refers specifically to the “priests,” the sons of Aaron who ministered before the LORD in the Ark and the Temple. And it says they are to be “clothed with righteousness” — holiness, “right-ness” before the Lord. 

Of course we don’t have “priests” now; there is One Great High Priest, Jesus — though we do have pastors and other spiritual leaders. We can best worship Him by being holy. One of the old Puritans said, the best gift a pastor can give his people is the gift of a holy life. God’s “priests,” His pastors, and other leaders, should seek to glorify God by the way we live. “Above reproach” I Timothy 3 puts it. 

Of course in another sense, ALL of God’s people are now priests, with direct access to Him through Christ. So ALL of us as Christians should seek to honor God by living holy lives. The personal holiness we strive for, honors God like an act of worship. In fact I believe we can say: 

“A holy life is a Christian’s best act of worship.” 

ACTIVITY: you might consider posting that sentence (it’s my own) and ask your group to discuss it. Is it true? If so, why?

(You might include in your discussion that there are a number of good, Biblical ways to worship God: singing, praying, giving, etc., but if our life is not holy, our worship is not acceptable to God. 

A couple of scriptural cross-references might include:

— How God said in Isaiah 58:3 that Israel was asking: “Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?” He told them: “Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers.” In other words, you are doing these “acts of worship” like fasting — but at the same time giving in to unbridled desires, and taking advantage of people. Their “worship” was nothing without holiness.

— And remember how Romans 12:1 says: “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” A holy life is the best, most spiritual worship. 

So God wants His priests — both His leaders and His people — to be “clothed in righteousness” — to honor Him by being holy. This is true, but all the while we should remember that our ultimate righteousness, the only real righteousness that any of us possess, is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that God GAVE us, by which we are saved.  Like the old song says:  “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” 

— Secondly in :9, it says: “And let your godly ones sing for joy.” 

“Godly ones” is the word “Chasidim,” it comes from the marvelous Hebrew word “chesed,” so rich in meaning it’s almost untranslatable by a single English word! It means God’s undeserved goodness, love, mercy — Martin Luther thought it was the best Old Testament word for New Testament “grace.” The “chasidim” are the people who have experienced the love, mercy, and grace of God — some versions translate it “saints,” or “godly people,” “faithful ones,” etc., but it is really describing the redeemed people of God, who have experienced His “chesed,” or grace. “Graced ones” might be a good translation.

And what does it say these “graced ones” are to do? “Sing for joy”! The Hebrew word here, “ranan,” means not only to sing, but also to shout.

Singing has such a prominent place in the Christian life. We saw last time in Psalm 96 how it began: “Sing … sing … sing!” God’s “graced ones” are to “sing … sing … sing.” This is why a good portion of our worship services are devoted to worship through song.

Psalm 118:15 says “The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous.” God’s people are joyful; shouting and singing because of what He has done! Another old hymn says:  

“Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God,

but children of the heavenly King must speak their joys abroad”!

I do think, however, that this not only refers to “singing” per se, but to the whole attitude of joy that God’s people have.

—Psalm 97 ends with :12, “be glad in the LORD, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name.” God’s people are glad in Him, and sing to Him. 

Another one of the best ways we can worship God, is to show our gladness and satisfaction in Him. It’s a great witness for the Lord when others see us joyful, singing, happy in Him. Our happiness does reflect on our Lord, doesn’t it — and so does it when we are dour, negative, discouraged — not that we are ever to be fake; but we do need to consider how our attitude reflects on our Lord: are we happy in Him? What does our attitude tell others about our God?

??? APPLICATION QUESTION??? for your group to consider:

“What kind of advertisement for God am I?”

How likely are people to want to believe in my God, from what they see and hear of me? It’s a good question for each of us to ponder. Psalm 132 says God’s “graced ones” “sing for joy”! Others can see the joyful difference He makes in our lives. 

III. The Promise of an Eternal Dwelling Place With the LORD (:11-18)

:11 “The Lord has sworn to David, a truth from which He will not turn back: “Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.

12 “If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I will teach them, their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.” 13 For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. 14 “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. … 17 “There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. 18 “His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon himself his crown shall shine.”

Here God makes His promise to David, and to all of His people, to give them what they so greatly desire: His presence forever.

He tells him in :11-12 that He will put his sons after him on the throne of Israel — with the significant condition in :12 that if his sons would keep His covenant, they would reign forever. As we know, they did not do this, and sadly David’s sons did not long reign in Israel. Even under Solomon things began to slip, then the Kingdom was divided after him between his son Rehoboam and Jeroboam, who took most of Israel (the 10 Northern Tribes) with him. 

But David did have a Son, a descendant who would reign forever: and of course that Son is Jesus. That’s why places like Matthew 1:1 make such a big deal out of the fact that it is: “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David …”. Because Jesus is the ultimate Son of David, who will rule on the throne forever, fulfilling the promise that God made to David.

God keeps His promises. Whichever illustration you did NOT use for the introduction to the lesson, you might use it here: whether it is how Abe Lincoln would do anything to keep his promise; or you/your group sharing about some promises that meant a lot to you — and again emphasize, as the scripture teaches us, God cannot lie; He WILL keep His promises to us! 

??? DISCUSSION QUESTION???

You might lead off this next section by asking: “What are some things you’ve heard people say they are looking forward to in heaven?”

(This week I read that one person said they were looking forward to seeing angels; another said he wanted to see the 4 living creatures in heaven; one man said he looked forward to fine wine and prime meat at the great feast!

You/your group can share things you have heard. Then move to :13+, which tells us of the greatest blessing of heaven: that God will dwell there with us: 

Verse 13: “For the LORD has chosen Zion, He has desired it for His habitation.” He says in :14, This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell …”.

God says, through this “Son of David” who will reign on the throne forever, I will indeed dwell with My people forever.

And isn’t that exactly what Revelation says will happen in the end?

— Revelation 21:2-4a, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them[b], 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes …”. 

Verse 3 there says that the “big thing” about heaven, the New Jerusalem, Zion, is that “HE WILL DWELL AMONG THEM.” 

THAT is the ultimate, most glorious thing about heaven. Heaven is not so glorious and desirable to us because it has “pearly gates,” or “streets of gold;” no, heaven is the ultimate destination because GOD IS THERE! The ultimate desire we talked about earlier: to dwell with God forever in His home, will come to pass. 

— We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, just as Psalm 23 says

— Revelation 22:3-5 “3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they [d]will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.”

That’s God’s promise to His people: that our desire to dwell with Him forever, which will totally thrill and fulfill us, will be fulfilled!

But be sure to emphasize to your group: this promise will ONLY come to pass for those who commit themselves to “the Son of David,” Jesus, through whom and only through whom we have access to God and heaven. 

— As Psalm 2:12 says “Do homage to the Son”! Worship Jesus. Bow before Him as your Lord.

— Jesus said in John 14:6, ““I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

— As I John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God, does not have the life.” 

God has made a great promise to us, that we can dwell in His presence forever — but we need to make sure that we claim that promise, by committing ourselves to His Son Jesus, the one and only way God has told us that we can enter into His presence forever.

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— These weekly lessons are based on content from Explore the Bible Adult Resources. The presentation is my own and has not been reviewed by Lifeway.

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