13 For the Lord has chosen Zion,
he has desired it for his dwelling, saying,
14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever;
here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it.
15 I will bless her with abundant provisions;
her poor I will satisfy with food.
16 I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.
17 “Here I will make a horn[b] grow for David
and set up a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”
Psalm 132 is a royal Psalm, but also has the characteristic of trust. The psalm is a midrashic celebration of David’s decision to build the temple (vv. 2-5) and of the Lord’s covenant with the Davidic dynasty (vv. 11-18). One could read the psalm as supporting the divine right of David and his descendants to serve continually as the anointed rulers of God in Zion. Two ideas dominate that of a promise to the house of David and the election of Zion as the dwelling for God. One should read this psalm with II Samuel 5-6 in mind, a passage that moves from the anointing of David as king, to the conquer of Jerusalem by the personal forces of David, and bringing the Ark to Jerusalem. In fact, a psalm suggests that the congregation remembered the historical event on a regular, even annual, basis. They may have had a procession carrying the Ark from the Temple in preparation for its return. It would be “discovered,” after which the king and priests would lead a procession ushering both king and art back into the city. The placing of the Ark in the Temple would reaffirm the choice by God of Zion as the divine dwelling and the divine right of David and his descendants to the throne. The psalm binds together the choice of Zion as the seat of life and blessing for the world with the choice of David and his descendants to rule from Mt. Zion.
In terms of poetic form, much of the psalm involves poetic parallelism.[1]
The superscription of Psalm 132 describes it as a Song of Ascents (Psalms 120-134). This relates to the people or priests of Israel as they geographically and spiritually were going up to Jerusalem or to the temple. They usually celebrate the protection the Lord gives to Zion. It differs from others in the group in that it is significantly longer and stylistically unlike the others. It focusses is on various promises made by David and to David. It may recreate a ritual involving the Ark.
The psalm opens with a supplication. 1 O Lord, remember (zakar) in David’s favor all the hardships (`unoto, the sense of being pressed down, i.e., humiliated.) he endured. Petitions for divine remembrance are common in the Old Testament, usually in the first person (e.g., Psalm 106:4; Jeremiah 15:15; Nehemiah 13:14), sometimes in the plural (e.g., Psalm 136:23; cf. Psalm 98:3; Isaiah 49:14-16). However, a petition for the Lord to remember implies deliverance or salvation (Genesis 8:1; 19:29; Numbers 10:9; cf. Luke 23:42). In the present context, the plea is not simply for David, but for his dynastic line as well, which, in the theology of the Old Testament, depends on divine protection for its survival. Thus, the king is not to acquire many horses (Deuteronomy 17:16). While some trust in chariots and horses, we trust in the Lord (Psalm 20:7). The Lord does not delight in the strength of horses or warriors, but in those who fear the Lord and hope in the unfailing love of the Lord (Psalm 147:10-11). Isaiah offers a woe upon those who go to Egypt for help and rely upon their horses, chariots, and horsemen, rather than look to the Lord for help (Isaiah 31:1). One might now expect a reference to some of hardships David endured. Instead, the writer shifts to an oath David made. The Lord is to remember 2 how David swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One ('avir, to soar or flutter) of Jacob, a name for the Lord that represents an effort to bring northern and southern traditions together. In the psalter, the epithet occurs only here and inv verse 5. The epithet used in place of the divine name occurs six times in the OT (Genesis 49:24; twice here; Isaiah 1:24, with the variant “Mighty One of Israel”; 49:26; and 60:16). Its appearance in the blessing of Jacob (Genesis 49:24), which scholars regard as one of the oldest fragments of the OT, makes this epithet one of the more ancient designations of Israel’s divine patron, and certainly pre-dating its use in Psalm 132 by several centuries. 3 “I will not enter my house or get into my bed;[2] 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.” Here is the only reference to such an oath.[3] It seems to be an exaggerated poetic rendition of the determination of David in II Samuel 7:1-2 to build a house for the Lord. There was no doubt as to where David would build a temple, for politically and religiously, he recognized that Jerusalem needed to be the symbol of unity for the twelve tribes.[4] Oddly enough, the rest of the psalm shows no interest in this specific concern but moves quickly to an account of finding the ark and bringing it to Jerusalem. The psalm then shifts to finding the Ark. Verses 6-10 appear to be a song ancient Israel sang as part of a dramatic ceremony that re-enacted this discovery of the ark by David and the procession by which he brought it to the sanctuary (II Samuel 6:2-15). 6 We heard of it (feminine in Hebrew but its reference is uncertain, though it could refer to the Ark) in Ephrathah (another name for Bethlehem, the city of David, Ruth 4:11 and Micah 5:2). We found it in the fields of Jaar (Kiriath-jearim, about 15 miles from Jerusalem, the place where the ark had been kept for about 20 years, from Samuel's time until David became king in Jerusalem (I Samuel 7:1-2; II Chronicles 1:4). 7 “Let us go to the dwelling place (mishkanot, the word often translated "tabernacle" in priestly literature) of the Lord; let us worship at the footstool of the Lord.” Following this dramatic rediscovery, the song invites both the Lord and the ark to move. Pilgrims to Jerusalem may have understood their journey as being analogous to David's earlier journey to Jerusalem with the ark. They re-enacted David's story knowing that the presence and power of the Lord accompanied them, but at the same time, they would have realized that the Lord had already taken up the divine residence in Jerusalem. 8 Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place (the sanctuary), you and the ark of your might. The phrase reflects the function of the Ark as the divine throne-footstool and the view that the divine warrior, seated upon the Ark/cherubs, would lead the people in victorious battle. This cry is both an allusion to the past and a present petition - it is simultaneously an invitation to God to join David in the past and a request for God to protect or deliver Zion in the present. The psalm now turns to the priests. 9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful (Hasidim) shout for joy. The writer then shifts to the divine promise. A priest or temple prophet recites God's promise concerning Jerusalem and David's dynasty. 10 For your servant David’s sake, do not turn away the face of your anointed one. With slight variation, verses 8-10 are in II Chronicles 6:41-42. The emphasis is upon the fulfillment of the role of David in establishing the worship life of Israel. One can understand the author of Chronicles looking upon this psalm as supporting topics of interest to him, especially the promises to his dynasty and of the devotion of David. Such emphases help us to understand why the reference to David as servant of the Lord and the anointed one were so meaningful. 11 The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne, a poetic restatement of II Samuel 7:12, that the Lord will raise his offspring to succeed him, his own flesh and blood. 12 If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne.”[5] The divine oath is a response to the oath by David, creating symmetry within the psalm. Obviously, the divine promise is conditional. Its seal is human faithfulness. These verses again echo II Samuel 7, in which the Lord offers an unconditional promise to build a "house" - a dynasty - for David (II Samuel 7:11-16). However, the conditional phrase in verse 12 sets an ominous tone for this psalm and would certainly clarify to later generations why the dynasty no longer existed: David's descendants disobeyed God and broke the conditions of the covenant. In both II Samuel 23 and Psalm 132, the key to divinely approved leadership is the pursuit of justice, the keeping of the covenant and decision-making in the fear of God. With such lofty standards, it comes as no surprise that the kings of Israel fell short, until the Lord fulfilled Davidic hope in a new kind of king, Jesus of Nazareth.
The psalm says David wanted to find a place for the Lord. Such a concern is prominent in the Old Testament, whether with tabernacle, temple, and re-building of the temple. For Christians, the dwelling of the Lord is in Christ, risen and present in lives and communities where even just two or three gather. Yet, let us pause for a moment. Is this concern for a place for the Lord still relevant to the people of the Lord today?
Is this not our primary occupation as followers of Jesus, to ensure that the Lord has a place? Just where have we put the Lord? Does the Lord have a place at home? Does the Lord have a place at work? Does the Lord have a place when we are driving on the interstate? Does the Lord have a place when we are shopping? Does the Lord have a place when we are preparing our monthly family budget?
Instead of space, we may need to think of time. We may need to consider how we make time, or make room, for the Lord in our lives. Some people have a ritual of a few moments of devotion. Such ritual is good, if it makes us aware of the many ways God may address us during the day.
In the 14th century, philosopher, theologian and mystic, Meister Eckhart, who lived and worked in the Dominican Order, became the administrator of his order in Saxony. This meant he had to manage 50 houses of friars and nine convents of nuns. Eckhart did the job, but he was not content to leave his spiritual life behind in the chapel before heading off to the office each day. Referring to this in a sermon, he said that those who did that “are behaving no differently than if they took God, wrapped a coat around his head and shoved him under a bench.”
Deliberate, intentional, scheduled devotional time is a good thing. Yet, if we are available for the Lord, the point is the development of a temperament that lists for the Lord throughout the day. Some persons may well prefer a brief daily retreat to pray, read the Bible, and devotional material. We may prefer to go into our room, shut the door, and pray (Matthew 6:6). I suspect this form of being available for the Lord will not work for everyone. Brother Lawrence is well known as a 17th century monk who developed a way to pay attention to the presence of the Lord while ding his duties in the kitchen. He could say that time of business do not differ with him from the time of prayer. Not everybody can do that. For most people, the hustle and bustle of the daily schedule is too distracting to promote the type of attention to the Lord to which Brother Lawrence refers. The point is that while we ponder the issues of life, we also need to ponder the things of God.
Many people are busy. What do we truly get done?[6] The task of many bishops, pastors, teachers, and spiritual leaders among the people of the Lord is to help people concentrate on the real, but often hidden, even of the active presence of the Lord in their lives. At their best, congregations do not just keep people busy. In fact, part of leadership is how to keep people from becoming so busy that they can no longer hear the voice of the Lord, who often speaks out of the silence.[7]
Let us step back for a moment. God is the one who has taken time for us. God takes time for us in Christ, of course. God also takes time for us by interrupting us throughout the day, if we have developed a way of viewing our world through faith, hope, and love. In that sense, the Lord does not wait for us to become faithful in the practice of the means of grace or the spiritual disciplines. We are free to respond to the calling of the Lord upon our lives and concern ourselves with the matters of the day. Yet, the Lord can show up suddenly and unexpectedly, in such a way that it becomes an event in our time and a disruption of our lives.[8] In that sense, the Lord does not need us to set aside time for the Lord. The Lord is Spirit, as such as infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
Yet, we need the Lord to have a time in our time. We need sanctuaries, set-apart times, where we have felt the wind of the Spirit touch us in the past and have the anticipation that the Lord will do so again. Making such time in our lives is to take a contemplative stance. It helps us become steady, centered, poised, and rooted. Such a stance maintains a slight distance from the busy course of the day and the demands of the world. We allow time for withdrawal from business as usual. We are available for meditation and going into our private room (Matthew 6:6). Yet, in another way, such a time allows us to become closer to the world. We deepen our love and concern for it. We feel its pain and joy.[9]
A life all turbulence and noise may seem
To him that leads it wise and to be praised.
But wisdom is a pearl with most success
Sought in still waters.[10]
The psalm concludes (vv. 13-18) with a paean to Zion/Jerusalem, chosen by the divine as his permanent address. The choice of David and of Zion have a close connection in this psalm. 13 For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling, saying, 14 “This is my resting place (for the Ark) for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it. Although Zion/Jerusalem is often celebrated in the Psalter as the divine residence (e.g., Psalm 2:6; 9:11, 14; 14:7; 20:2 and many others), David was never explicitly commanded to capture Jerusalem so that the divine could take up residence there. In fact, David lent his own name to the place (“Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the City of David,” II Samuel 5:7), rather than any form of the divine name, after he captured the city from its original Jebusite inhabitants. 15 I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor I will satisfy with food. 16 I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her faithful (Hasidim, a generic term for righteous individuals) people will ever sing for joy. Rarely are the two principals of temple worship — the priests and the people of Jerusalem (here referred to as “its faithful,” v. 16) — mentioned together in the OT; their parallelism here is unique. 17 “Here I will make a horn (often expressing military victory) grow, for David and set up a lamp (II Samuel 21:17 refers to David as the lamp of Israel) for my anointed one. It may be that “horn” and “lamp” turn the psalm in a messianic direction. Rather than referring to David or his successors, it may refer to the coming “anointed one.” The image of the need for the horn to grow or for the lamp to be set up could suggest the restoration of something that has been destroyed. 18 I will clothe his enemies with shame the gravest punishment, reversing the image in verse 16 of clothing priests in victory), but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown of royalty.”
[1] The poetic parallelism that begins in verse 2 continues through the next five verses, is interrupted briefly by verse 8, and then continues throughout the rest of the psalm, alternating irregularly with non-parallelistic cola. Although the form is classical, the result here is less than sublime. In the best examples of poetic parallelism in the OT, the second item in a parallel pair elevates or extends the first item rather than simply repeating it or concretizing it (as in vv. 3, 4 and 5), so that, for example, a better poetic line in verse 3 would read something like “I will not enter my house or give rest to my heart” rather than “get into my bed.” The end of the line simply clunks. This lack of literary artistry (by the Bible’s own standard) suggests a late date for this psalm, when the classical forms were less than second-nature to the poets.
[2] Some would see a subtle reference to Bathsheba, but at this point, that seems a bit of a stretch to me.
[3] Some scholars argue that as a midrash, such an oath is a matter of the writer filling in the gaps in the historical record he had available.
[4] Thus, we may see evidence here of the midrashic nature of the psalm.
[5] This verses appears to be a midrashic retelling of the unconditional covenant established with David as reported in II Samuel 7:13b-16.
[6] Of all ridiculous things the most ridiculous seems to me, to be busy — to be a man who is brisk about his food and his work.
Therefore, whenever I see a fly settling, in the decisive moment, on the nose of such a person of affairs; or if he is spattered with mud from a carriage which drives past him in still greater haste; or the drawbridge opens up before him; or a tile falls down and knocks him dead, then I laugh heartily.
And who, indeed, could help laughing? What, I wonder, do these busy folks get done? Are they not to be classed with the woman who in her confusion about the house being on fire carried out the fire tongs? What things of greater account, do you suppose, will they rescue from life’s great conflagration?
—Sören Kierkegaard, “Either/Or,” in Writings of Kierkegaard (Lulu.com, 2016), 17.
[7] —Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Spiritual Life: Eight Essential Titles by Henri Nouwen (HarperOne, 2016), Kindle loc. 1457.
[8] Willimon, William H. “Too much practice: Second thoughts on a theological movement.” The Christian Century, March 9, 2010. christiancentury.org. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
[9] Richard Rohr, “The balancing point,” Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation for July 3, 2017. cac.org. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
[10] —William Cowper, cited by Sandra Felton in Living Organized: Proven Steps for a Clutter-Free and Beautiful Home (Revell, 2004), Kindle Highlight loc. 799-800.
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