Psalm 132
We have come to the last triplet of psalms. These are the psalms of arrival in God’s presence. They celebrate the fellowship the pilgrims will enjoy with fellow faithful and the blessings from God. This is the culmination of the pilgrim’s journey from the darkness of the world of psalm 120 to the security of being in God’s house and under His blessing of 134. Of course this is 132, so we are not completely there.
This triplet centres on Zion. The pilgrimage is completed and the pilgrims have reached home. The pilgrims acknowledge the physical presence of the city of Jerusalem and the monarchy under David in this psalm. In 133 they will celebrate the heaven-sent fellowship with other pilgrims as they gather at the temple. The triplet and the Ascent of the pilgrims will finally culminate in 134 when the pilgrims stand in God’s presence. Put another way, the Lord is with us (132), the Ekklesia of believers is the perfect fellowship (133) and we, the Lord’s servants can stand in the Lord’s sanctuary (134). What a beautiful thought. As the pilgrims looked forward to reaching that time in the Lord’s sanctuary while celebrating the journey, I look forward to that final psalm, but not until I have completed the journey of psalms.
I found this psalm hard to understand until I realised it was a meditation on 2 Samuel 7. That is such a beautiful chapter. It tells the story of David worrying about finding a home for the Ark of the Covenant. He felt guilty that he had a lovely home but God did not. So he asked the prophet Nathan who told him to do what he felt right. That night. God told Nathan to tell David it was not his task to build a home for the Ark. That responsibility would be for a son of David to do. David’s response of great humility is beautiful to read. For those of you who know the story, it was David’s son Solomon who was to build the temple for God.
The psalm starts with an acknowledgement that the path to the temple and the placing of the Ark in the temple came with great hardship. David’s entire path from anointing to the throne was one a great hardship as well. Despite the hardships David never lost his love for and trust in God. He made an oath that he would not rest until he had made a home for God in Jerusalem. This was Zion, the place of honour for God to be. The reminder that he, David, was only King because God had appointed him king. The psalmist mentions hearing the call to worship in Ephrathah, the area around David’s home town of Bethlehem and in Kiriath-Jearim (abbreviated here as Jaar) where the Ark was kept until the temple was completed by Solomon. The Call to worship was for people to worship God and not forget that God dwelt with them. The desire to worship at the temple, once the Ark resided there was that this was the place where God touched the earth. This was the place the pilgrims came to remember the covenant God made with Israel. They were to remain in Him and He would remain with them.
The remainder of the psalm is prophetic with its clear acknowledgement of God’s covenant promises to Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David. The line of David would reign for ever, the horn growing up from David, the bringer of Salvation, the promised Messiah. While Israel remained faithful they would know the material blessings of God and celebrate His presence with them. But ultimately, a far more important visitation would happen. The Messiah would come, of the line of David. The blessings of the people would be nothing compared to the blessings of God through the Messiah. The presence of God would not be tied to a temple or a small area of land, His presence would be with all who sought it. This is the greatest blessing of this psalm. The promise that we have seen fulfilled and that the pilgrim longed to see fulfilled.

Psalm 131
This psalm is the last in the fourth triplet, which means it speaks of security in the Lord. This triplet covered what to do when sin threatens. 129 looked at external threats and 130 looked at the internal threat of anxiety and sin. In Psalm 130 the psalmist was fully aware of his sinfulness and his need for redemption. He ended the psalm talking about waiting for God, knowing that God is merciful and will redeem. The two psalms 130 and 131 are tied together powerfully with the ending exhortations to put your hope in the Lord. Of course in 130 the psalmist was putting his hope in God and waiting for redemption. Now in 131 he has received that redemption.
In 130, the psalmist encouraged hope in God based on what was generally taught and therefore known about God. Now in 131 the psalmist speaks from having personally experienced God. He has experienced the mercy of God and is totally blown away by it. His only response to this act of grace, totally unmerited and undeserved, is the only response that anyone can give, one of total awe and humility. It is impossible to encounter God and His mighty power and not be humbled. It is impossible to experience God’s forgiveness and not feel totally inadequate to receive that gift.
The psalmist feels completely humbled. There is no pride or haughtiness in him. He has encountered God and His forgiveness and has responded by giving all pride and control over to God. He feels no urge to do anything but sit, quietly, like a weaned child secure in his mother’s arms. He sits before God. There is no urgency to say anything. There is no pressing need to do anything. He just sits in awe of the amazing gift of forgiveness God has given him. He sits in the perfect place, in God’s rest, at total peace. He grabs those moments before the cares of the world will overwhelm him again and he must leave God’s presence. For the moment he is happy to be there. Perhaps he thinks longingly of the time when he can stay there forever. Perhaps he thinks of how at some point tear he must himself away from this wonderful place to share his experience and give his exhortation of hope to Israel. But for this moment he does not rush to do that.
Just as he sat, so we can sit in the total peace of this psalm. At some time we will have to tear ourselves away and go back to the stresses and distractions of this world. But we can go, empowered by the peace of God, and secure in the knowledge that in eternity we can sit there forever and never have to leave. What a beautiful, beautiful thought

Psalm 130
As in psalm 129, this psalm looks at internal threats. The internal threat here is sin. As the second psalm in the triplet, this speaks of God’s power to deliver us.
I love this psalm. When things are troubling me, I often read it slowly out loud. It never ceases to bring me to a halt at the end of a whispered verse 6. I find myself in awesome waiting for God, like the watchman waiting for the first light in the sky.
This psalm is ultimately I as testimony of trust in God. The psalmist knows he is a sinner and cannot stand before God. But he knows God hers his cry and he knows that in God there is forgiveness.
If there is a theme for this psalm it is forgiveness. In fact this psalm is considered to be one of the 7 psalms of penitence. The others being 6, 32, 38, 51, 102 and 143.
This psalm sits in a triad of psalms that focus on righteousness. It is as if the psalmist has written 129 with its reference to God being with His people and taking their side then realised that God among us in all His righteousness will expose our sins and condemn us (Exodus 20:18-21). So this is his response:
“Help God – the bottom has fallen out of my life! Master here my cry for help … my cries for mercy.” The Message v1-2.
The psalmist’s cries out of the depths cry for mercy, the unmerited, undeserved grace of God (v1-2). Then the psalmist acknowledges that we cannot stand before God because of our sin. (v3). The affirmation that with God (in relationship with Him) there is forgiveness, the mercy we seek, follows. (v4). What a cause to worship God!
The psalmist has asked for forgiveness and now he waits on God. He waits in confident expectation. But God forgives immediately. Because Jesus has paid for our sins forgiveness is there waiting for us. So what are we waiting for? We are waiting for God to act in our circumstances. Waiting for Him to speak, to show us the way forward, to guide our steps. God’s timing is perfect and sometimes He wants us to wait. We need that stillness and expectancy of waiting to strengthen our faith and trust in God and to allow whatever has to change in us to change - whatever has to grow in us to grow. The psalm repeats the line about the watchman waiting to emphasise the long and sometimes tedious wait. The watchman reminds us that the wait is also fraught with danger and requires steadfastness and faith. Just as the watchman knows the dawn will come, so we know God will act. And that knowledge gives us peace, so we are waiting for God’s peace.
The psalmist could have stopped here, but he wants his people to know this truth. Now he speaks to all his fellow believers and admonishes them to put their hope in God because His is unfailing love and with Him (in Jesus) there is full redemption. God will redeem Israel from all their sins. For the pilgrim these words were prophetic. The pilgrim waited, not only for God to act in his life, but also for the promised redemption of Jesus, our Messiah. This is what the pilgrims focused on as they reached this point in their preparation to come before God at the temple.
Just as the pilgrim waited, so must we. Our lives are about handing over control to God and waiting for His direction and intervention in our lives. It is a difficult but necessary part of following Jesus. It means dying to self and growing in Jesus.
“I wait for the Lord, I expectantly wait, and in His word do I hope.” Amplified v5