A Dwelling Place for the Mighty One

A Dwelling Place for the Mighty One

One of my favorite sections of the Psalms is Psalms 120-134, which are called the Psalms of Ascent. This set of Psalms was often sung by the Jews as they made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem - specifically when they went up, or ascended, the mountain on which Jerusalem rests - thus they were named the Psalms of Ascents. Not only is it fascinating to read the thoughts of the people of God as they journeyed to the holy city, but I believe we, as people of God, can learn from them on our journey to the eternal holy city.

For our time today, I would like to focus on the words of David in Psalm 132:1-5: 

“Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured, how he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, ‘I will not enter my house or get into my bed, I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’ ”

At first read, this oath might be surprising because David was not the one to build the temple. In fact, David was specifically told by God that he would not be permitted to build the temple (1 Chron 22:8). This oath that David takes is not him going against the will of God, rather, it is David taking initiative to do all that he can to ensure his son Solomon will be able to build the temple when he becomes king. Though David had it in his heart to build the temple, he humbly accepted the will of God and chose to do what he could with the circumstances God placed him in. David was not passive, he did not choose to do nothing simply because he was not allowed to build the temple - he took initiative. Not a partial initiative where preparing for the temple was a side project that he did in his free time. No, this initiative was great; he said he would not enter his house or give sleep to his eyes until he saw it done. I don’t think David meant for his words to be taken literally, or else he would have quickly died of sleep deprivation. Instead, I think David is describing a day. Think about it: When do you typically go to your house? When do you typically get into bed? When do you give sleep to your eyes and slumber to your eyelids? It’s not early in the morning when the sun rises, unless, of course, you are a teenager, but for most people, all of these things are done at the end of the day. When David writes that he will not do things I think we can reasonable substitute the idea “the day is not over” or “the day is not complete” until he works to find a dwelling place for the Lord or until David has done some kind of work to prepare for the temple. David was a man of initiative who prioritized finding a dwelling place for God each day.

Now imagine you are a Jew, scaling the climb to the holy city - the location of the dwelling place of God, and you are singing the words that you will not sleep until you find a dwelling place for the Lord. If there was any exhaustion in climbing this mountain, which if you have climbed a mountain, you know there usually is, I can’t help but think how encouraging this Psalm would be to sing.

My prayer is that we, too, draw encouragement from this Psalm. Though we do not physically climb a mountain, life can often feel like an uphill climb. Though we do not physically go to the temple, 1 Peter 2;4-5 tells us that we ourselves are being built up as living stones of the temple.

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

If we are being built up as the spiritual house of the Lord, then the dwelling place that we are seeking for the Lord is in our own hearts. Notice the tense of the statement - we “are being built up,” this is something that is continually happening each day. And so, I encourage you to take the same vow David did in your life. Vow that you will not enter your house, or get into your bed, that you will not give sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids until you have found a dwelling place for the Mighty One in your life. Not in a compartmentalized way, where you make a section of your day about God but in a way that reflects Him within you throughout the entire day.

When you wake up in the morning, be intentional to say that God will live in you and His love will shine through you in all moments of the day. Make it your morning prayer to commit whatever the day may hold as a way to glorify Him. From the mundane chores to the important tasks, live in a way that shows others the Holy Spirit dwells within you. This was the plan that God created in His infinite wisdom, that others would see the good He does through his people and give glory to God for it. This climb can be very exhausting, but the God whose spirit is dwelling in you will provide the strength to endure until, one day, you reach the top and are in the eternal holy city, dwelling with the Mighty One for eternity.

-  Brandon McCann

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Trying to undo the harm caused by gossip
can be like trying to un-ring a bell.

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Envy provides the mud that
failure throws at success.

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