Psalm 132:1-18

Good morning Saylorville Church and once again, Merry Christmas!

How many of you would say you are in full-time holiday mode already? In the Jackson home, we’ve had our lights up since October and our Christmas playlists on repeat even before Halloween. Meredith starts wrapping presents and putting them under the tree pretty much as soon as we finish Thanksgiving dessert, so at this point pretty much everything in the home is prepared for Christmas. And I know some of you are the same way because people like us stick together!

But preparing your home isn’t the same thing as preparing your heart, is it? You know, some of you have the most incredible Christmas decorations, the most finely curated gifts, and the holiday menu that everyone agrees on. You’ve made room for all those preparations, but you still haven’t made any room for Jesus.

We’re continuing today in our sermon series on God’s heart for David the shepherd, poet, warrior, and now king of Israel. But instead of moving to the next chapter in the story in 2 Samuel, we’re going to look at a song right out of Israel’s playlist, the Book of Psalms. So, if you have your Bibles this morning, I’d love for you to join me in Psalm 132 as we prepare our hearts for a few minutes in what may already be a cluttered and chaotic Christmas season. So let’s do that before we even open up the word this morning. Let’s pray.

God, thank You for these moments where we can together just be transformed by the renewing of our minds as we look at Your word, as we’re encouraged by each other, as we’re singing songs with great theology and truth. And as we open up maybe an unfamiliar passage this morning, I pray that we would be not just changed for the moment, but that we would be transformed maybe even for eternity because of what You do this morning. Thanks for Jesus. It’s in His name we pray, and thank You. Amen.

My guess is that, when it comes to your favorite Christmas passages in the Bible, that Psalm 132 probably isn’t on the top of your list. You might not know this, but it’s actually a song about Advent. Advent is a season of waiting, longing, and preparation when we remember Christ’s first coming in Bethlehem, and we anticipate His future return. There’s Christmas themes all through this Psalm; making room for God, creating space for His presence, prioritizing His rule and longing for His nearness. It is a Psalm that calls us to put God where He belongs, at the center of our hearts, our lives, and our worship especially during this Advent season.

And as a song, this Psalm has three stanzas or verses. Verse one takes us backward into Israel’s history helping us remember a time when God was at the center of their priorities. Then, verse two encourages us to take a look inside ourselves and asks us whether God is at the center of our identity today. Then, the third section points us to the future and reminds us that God will sovereignly sustain and reign over the universe He created for all eternity. And in each stanza, we’ll hear the familiar chorus: Prepare Him room. Make space for the Lord. Put God at the center of everything. So, together with the song-writer of Psalm 132, let’s start with a look back to a time when God was spiritually… and literally… at the heart of everything.

Looking Back…To When God Was At The Center

Psalm 132:1-7

1 Remember, O LORD, in David’s favor, all the hardships he endured,

2 how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3 “I will not enter my house or get into 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.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.

7 “Let us go to His dwelling place; let us worship at His footstool!”

Here’s what we know about where Psalm 132 comes from. Remember when ancient Israel was wandering around in the wilderness? God gave Moses directions on how to build what was called “The Tabernacle,” basically an elaborate tent where the people could come to worship God and experience His presence together. Part of those directions included instructions on how to make the Ark of the Covenant, and this golden box (which Pastor Pat talked about last Sunday morning) was placed inside the inner room of the tabernacle, and this was the place where God’s presence would symbolically rest.

Now Israel’s wandering was kind of like a nationwide camping trip. Have you ever gone camping with a bunch of people and everybody has their tents and their gear all over the place? Yeah, me neither. That sounds like the worst vacation ever! From the moment you unpack until you leave, it looks like REI exploded all over the campsite!

Now, God knows camping can get a little chaotic so He gave instructions on how the Israelites were to arrange their campsite. And God said, when you set up your tents, put the tabernacle… God’s tent… right in the center of the camp, and the twelve tribes would all surround the tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant… God’s presence… right in the middle of everything.

So the Israelites had a constant visual reminder of a principle that is still true today.

God’s people are at their best when God is at the center.

Years later, our friend King David understood this. And we found out last week in 2 Samuel 6 that one of his first moves as king was to bring the Ark of the Covenant… which had been lost in battle and almost forgotten for decades at this point… David restored that representation of God’s presence back to the nation’s center… to Jerusalem.

Now we’ve learned a whole lot about David over the past several months, and not all of it paints him as a shiny example of godliness, right? — which, actually, is why his story is relatable, because he reminds us of us, doesn’t he? We celebrate his victories, but we really connect with his weaknesses. But for all his faults and failures, David is remembered in Scripture as a man who followed after the heart God and he led the Israelites to do the same, because he knew that people are always at their best when they make room for God at the center.

So, Psalm 132 begins with a look backward at a snapshot of David’s life. It wasn’t written by David, but it is written about David, probably long after he was dead. It points the readers back to a time in Israel’s history when God’s presence was central to everything they did… literally and spiritually. Look again at how David’s passion is described in these first few verses. David vowed…

[Psalm 132:3-5]

3 “I will not enter my house or get into 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.”

He’s got a kind of holy restlessness, doesn’t he? David is so passionate about giving God His rightful place at the center of the nation’s life again that he doesn’t even want to go to sleep until a more permanent temple is built in Jerusalem. It’s like he’s tossing and turning in his bed, refusing to be comfortable until His people have made room for the Lord, not on the outskirts of their camp but in the dead center, right in the place of honor, of focus, of priority.

You know, most of us understand being restless don’t we? Especially this time of year. I was talking with the guys in my Community Group about this just a few days ago. This December just seems to be a little more unsettled than normal. And maybe you feel that same kind of restlessness too; the frantic shopping, the travel schedule, end-of-the-year work deadlines… and if you’ve got kids, forget about rest, right? There’s recitals, and wish lists, and making sure you’re fully stocked with 15 different types of batteries for Christmas morning. It’s out of hand, right? — and there can sometimes creep into this most wonderful time of the year a feeling of distraction and restlessness. But David’s restlessness wasn’t born out of busyness. It came from his passion to put God back at the center, to prepare Him room. Friends, this season of Advent, everything about this time of year, is supposed to awaken that same kind of passion in us, too.

But maybe you’re here this morning and you’d say, ‘You know, there was a time when God was at the center of my life, but for some reason I think I’ve drifted. My passion to prioritize Christ seems to have faded.’ When you look back, you can remember the joy of your salvation, but that joy has diminished over time. And you know it’s not God that’s slowly slipped away, but you. Maybe there’s something in you that longs again for that same passion that David had, that he wouldn’t rest until God had His rightful place in the center of everything. I want to tell you, it’s possible to live that way today, too. But just like David, it takes intentionality. It takes focus, and it takes a ruthless elimination of distractions, especially this time of year.

Remember, long before David brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, the Israelites knew it was missing. It wasn’t a secret. It was gone! — but, they didn’t do anything to get it back. For decades they drifted, living day after day without pursuing the presence and power of God. He was on the outside, not in the center, and they were content to move on in life with God as a mere sentiment, someone that old people told stories about rather than the center of their lives.

You know, when my family gets together this Christmas we’ll eat, and laugh, and open gifts and we’ll tell stories about the past… Tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago, vague memories of the way things used to be when we were all younger. There’s something sentimental about remembering the past together.

But the mist of sentiment fades quickly in the light of reality. So, answer this: Is God just a sentiment in your life, or is He the center? Is your relationship with Jesus based on something that happened a long time ago in your life, that makes you feel a little warm and fuzzy sometimes but doesn’t really make a difference to your everyday? Are you relying on a past feeling for your eternal future? — or are you constantly finding new and fresh ways to make room for God at the center of your life? Listen, Don’t settle for a memory of God when you can seek the presence of God. It’s especially tempting at Christmas to land on the wrong side of that statement.

David knew his people had relegated God to a sentiment, Someone they had almost forgotten about. And Psalm 132 recalls the time when they made things right; repented of their forgetfulness, and rejoiced when God returned to His rightful place…at the center of everything.

If you’ve drifted, make it right. Confess your forgetfulness and fall on your knees before the throne of forgiveness. Make God more than a sentiment. Put Him at the center. What better time to do that than Christmas?

So that’s a look back, and now Psalm 132 continues this morning with what I’m calling “a look inside”. We prepare Him room by… Looking Inside. Is God At The Center Of My Life?

Psalm 132:8-12

8 Arise, O LORD, and go to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might.

9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let Your saints shout for joy.

10 For the sake of Your servant David, do not turn away the face of Your anointed one.

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.

12 If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne.”

Somehow, for years the Ark of the Covenant, a powerful symbol of the presence and blessing of God, was missing… and nobody was looking for it! — and Psalm 132 sings about how David took it from the fields of Jaar to the focus of Jerusalem, from a sentiment to the center of everything. And now, in this section, the Israelite singers turn from remembering the past to rehearsing their present condition.  And as they look around at the state of their nation and their own hearts, they can’t help but notice that there’s a big difference in the way things used to be and what they are experiencing today. So what’s happening here?

Well, some think that the author of this song was part of the Israelite group who came back from captivity in Babylon and Syria, maybe even hundreds of years after the time of David. After decades in exile, the Israelites returned and found the temple lying there in shambles and ruins, reduced to dust when Jerusalem had been conquered years before. They remembered how palpable the presence of God used to be, right in the center of their lives. So their song turns to lament, a Psalm that expresses deep distress over their circumstances alongside deep faith in the character of God.

And, like many great worship songs, this Psalm is brutally honest, saying, ‘God, there is a distance between who we were… children of Israel, Your chosen ones, strong and faithful, full of passion to keep You at the center of everything, and now, here we are… beaten down and defeated, tired, wayward, and even the Temple is in ruins. There’s a chasm between who we’re supposed to be and what we’re experiencing in our everyday lives.’ Our singers saw what was missing. They saw the gap between their identity and their experience. They longed for the days of revival to return. The stories of old were in their nation’s memory, but they seemed like tales from a distant land. In their hearts, they could see the throne of David, the conquests of David, the glory of David… but those days seem lost long ago. So, they cry out:

[Psalm 132:8-10]

8 “Arise, O LORD, and go to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might.”

(‘Get up, God! Come back! Send Your presence and power again. Fill this nation and our hearts with worship.’)

9 Clothe Your servants and saints with Your righteousness. God, You made promises – and we’re asking You to keep those promises today.

10 For David’s sake, bring back the joy and the blessing that comes from obeying You.’

It’s a prayer filled with honest pleading, isn’t it?

Do you pray that way? Why not? God loves you and wants to hear from you. He already knows. You might as well tell Him the truth! And the Psalms are full of examples of these kinds of prayers.

Listen, if you’re a Christian, you’re a new creation. But what do you do when you fall back into old sinful habits sometimes? — Pray about it. Tell God about the pain.

Or maybe you know you’ve been born again with a new Master, but it feels like the old master, the devil, still has a hold on you. Be honest with the Lord. Tell Him the truth about your struggles.

Listen, the Bible says radical things about us, about who we are… in Christ Jesus! Just read Ephesians chapter 1! But sometimes it feels like there’s a gap between what we know and what we’re going through. Your identity is beautiful, but your experience is a battle.

And some of this gap is part of God’s plan. It’s a reminder from the Lord that we’re made for something else, that there are consequences of living in a sin-cursed world. And the gap between when we know and what we experience won’t ever disappear until we get to Heaven. Until then, let the gap remind you that you’re not there yet!

But sometimes, we create the distance, the gap, on our own. Through our own sin, we push God to the perimeter of our lives, and we widen the distance between us and Him.

If you’re a Christian, you’ve felt this. When you started following Jesus, you put Him right at the center of your life. You told a bunch of people and made a bunch of changes. But then… slowly, sometimes over years and years… you subtly put other things at the center, and every time you clutter up the core, Jesus is pushed further and further to the outside. Do you feel that? I do.

I don’t know if there’s research on this, but I bet there’s one question that gets asked more than any other question around this time of year. I can almost guarantee it. Whether you’re a kid or an adult, my guess is someone has looked at you and asked, ‘What do you want for Christmas?

And I get it. We want to give people we love the things they want. And we want the people that we love to give us the things we want too! But the problem is that every time we open up a present that we ‘had to have’ we just add something to our lives… our closets, our kitchens, our garages, our yards… we just keep adding things. And that thing that we loved last Christmas is probably shoved in the back of your dresser, or put in a tote in your storage room right now, isn’t it? You know what it is for me? Coats! I’ve got a million coats! I only have one body, why do I need more coats!

And this is what happens with Jesus if we’re not careful. We create a gap, a distance between Him and us, by constantly adding more clutter to our lives. And here’s what I know about everybody listening to this. You only have room for one thing at the absolute center of your life. So, when we put something else there instead, well then… Jesus gets moved to the side.

Listen, some of you say Jesus is your Lord, and He’s your Master, and He’s your King, but you live your life like He’s been shoved in a storage bin in your basement for years. You loved Him once, but that seems like a long, long time ago now.

If that’s you, maybe it’s time for a look inside your own heart. What have you put in the center of your life that has pushed Jesus off the throne? Is it your career? — making money? — your kid’s success? — a comfortable lifestyle? — your reputation? — maybe it’s Christmas itself. Friends, don’t let your perfect Christmas plan push Christ aside.

It’s time to throw out the stuff you thought you had to have. Close the gap between you and the Lord. Prepare your heart for the presence of God. Jesus is coming for Christmas, and you can’t host the King of Kings in a cluttered heart.

But there’s one more section in this song, and it’s one that points us to the future with hope. It’s one that highlights the truth of what will be over the trouble of what is right now. And this third verse is sung by God Himself.

Looking Ahead…To When God Will Be At The Center Forever

(Psalm 132:13-18)

13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place:

(And here’s where God begins to sing…)

14 “This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

15 I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread.

16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.

17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed.

18 His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine.”

So now we’re pointed forward… to the future glory of Jerusalem., and God grabs the microphone and says, ‘I choose you, Jerusalem. I want you to be the place where I will live forever with my people.’ And it’s a prophecy of the day when Christ will reign over the entire universe in a literal, forever, future kingdom. Look at this:

Revelation 22:3-5

3 “… the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it (The New Jerusalem), and His servants will worship Him.

4 They will see His face…

5 … and they will reign forever and ever.”

One day in the future, the Lamb of God will live forever and ever with His people. And Psalm 132 points ahead to this future, and it uses language that echos the familiar themes of some of our favorite songs of this season. Psalm 132:16 pictures future saints shouting for joy. Can you hear it? “Joy to the world, the LORD is come! Let earth receive her King!” The promise of future glory should be the catalyst for our present worship. One day we’ll sing for joy with all the saints in Heaven. We might as well practice now!

And when Psalm 132 tells us about the shining, glorious King in Psalm 132:18, we hear echoes of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: “Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all He brings, ris’n with healing in His wings.” This “Sun of Righteousness” — that’s exactly Who God is singing about in Psalm 132, a radiant King Who will reign forever, a literal descendant of David… Jesus, Himself, on the throne.

And, finally, when Psalm 132 repeats the theme of God coming to earth to live with His people, we hear the simple, staggering lyric from one of my favorite Christmas songs, O come, O come, Emmanuel. Emmanuel… God with us. The God who promised to dwell in Jerusalem put on flesh and lived among us through the baby in Bethlehem. In fact, the New Testament tells us that Jesus moved into our neighborhood, literally set up His tent among us. Think about this… David wanted to build a place for God to live. But God didn’t just want a place… He wanted a people. And this Christmas, He wants you. He wants to set up His tent in your heart, at the center of your life. Have you prepared Him room?

There are some of you listening to this that haven’t done that… ever. You’ve never come to the place where you actually put God at the center of your life. Oh you’ve gone to church here and there. At Christmas, you love the warmth of the songs, and the story of the baby born in a manger is a comforting sentiment. But has God ever truly been at the center?

Psalm 132 points us back to a time when David was passionate about putting God back in His rightful place… on the throne of the hearts and lives of the Nation of Israel. But, watch this…

If you’re going to put something back, then it must have been there at one point. So, this Christmas, before you try to put God back in the center of your life, ask yourself, ‘Was He ever there in the first place?’ Friends, I’m talking about meeting Jesus and giving your whole life to follow Him. The Apostle Paul said it this way in the New Testament:

Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Has there ever been a time in your life when you said, ‘God, I want you to move in. I want you to take center stage. I want to build my life around You, not push You to the perimeter. It’s no longer I who live. It’s all about Jesus living in and through me’? Now you might say, that’s not really possible, is it? I mean, nobody really lives like that, right?

Yes, it is possible, and yes, people really do live like that. And here’s where that journey begins. Admit that you’ve put someone or something else at the center of your life. The Bible calls that “sin.” And if that’s you, you’re in good company. Paul says, ‘All of us have sinned and we all fall short of the glory of God.’ [Romans 3:23] But you don’t need to stay there. Believe that God sent Jesus, His only Son, into the world, not to condemn the world or to bring shame on the world, but so that people like you and me could have the best life ever by putting God at the center. [John 3:17] This Christmas, accept the gift of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection for you! It’s a gift with your name on it. All you have to do is open it up. But you have to open it. I can’t do it for you. Let every heart prepare Him room. It’s personal.

That’s the Gospel, and some of you need to stop chasing fulfillment and rest in everything else, and just put God where He really wants to be… on the throne, right at the center of your life.

Psalm 132 reminds us to passionately pursue God above everything else, and December gives us a great opportunity to practice this in real-time every year. So, friend, this Christmas, make room at the center of your life for Jesus. And if He’s never been there, invite Him in for the first time.

One more quick note from this Psalm. Remember from last week, when David discovered where the Ark was, he dropped everything and went after it. And verse 6 tells us where he found it.

Psalm 132:6, “Behold, we heard of it (the Ark) in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.”

David found the Ark in Ephrathah. And guess what tiny little town is in the region of Ephrathah? The Prophet Micah tells us:

Micah 5:2,“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah…from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.”

I told you this was a Christmas Psalm! Watch this! The place where the Ark, a picture of God’s presence, would lay for years virtually unnoticed by the world was the same place where a baby boy, the person of God’s presence, would lay in a manger years later… virtually unnoticed by the world around Him. God was near, but the world wasn’t prepared. Are you?

This Christmas, prepare Him room. He’s near, and He wants to be in the middle of your life. Let’s commit to a Christmas with God at the center.