Psalms 132:8

Psalms 132:8 says, Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.  Solomon said for God to arise into His rest, and into the ark of His strength.  The temple that was to be built might have been seen as the resting place of God and the ark as a sign of His strength, but that was all they were.  God is not limited by what we do or do not do for Him.  Verse nine adds, Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy.  This applies to us as a priesthood of believers.  We should be clothed in righteousness and shouting with joy.  Verse ten continues, For thy servant David’s sake turn not away the face of thine anointed.  Solomon asked that God not turn His face away from him because of His promise to David.  God will not turn away from us today because of His promise made when Jesus Christ died for our sins if we accept Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse eleven states, The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.  Solomon said that God has sworn to set David's descendants upon the throne of Israel and that He would not turn from His promise.  Solomon was basically asking God to be with him as He was with David.  God will always be with us as individual Christians just as He is with all Christians past, present, and future.  Verse twelve adds, If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.  God's promise was that a descendant of David would sit on the throne of Israel forever.  I believe that Jesus Christ is the forever King of Israel, and His people are those who accept Him by faith as their Savior and Lord.  Verse thirteen continues, For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.  Solomon said that God had chosen Zion as the place for the temple.  Today, He chooses wherever we are as followers of Christ as the place to worship Him.  We are not limited to any specific place to worship God.  Verse fourteen says, This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.  Solomon said that God had said that Zion would be His resting place forever.  I am not sure that there is now any one place that is more holy to God than any other, since Jesus said that He is the temple, and as His followers we become the temple of the Holy Spirit as well.  Verse fifteen adds, I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.  Solomon said that God had promised to abundantly bless His people by providing for them, and He still does and always will.  Verse sixteen continues, I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.  Solomon said that God had promised to cloth the priests of Israel with righteousness, and as followers of Christ we are a priesthood of believers, so this promise applies to us as well.  God will provide for our needs if we continueto put our faith in Him.  Verse seventeen states, There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.  Verse eighteen concludes, His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.  Solomon said that God had promised to bless the descendants of David and to put his enemies to shame.  Today, this promise applies to the followers of Christ. 

Psalms 132:1

Psalms 132:1 says, A Song of degrees. This is identified as another song of degrees, then verse one says, LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions:  Solomon asked God to remember David in all his afflictions.  If we as Christians are suffering today, we should ask God to help us.  Verse two adds, How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;  Solomon also asked God to remember how David had sworn His faith to God.  In order for us to expect God to help us in times of trouble, we must have a personal relationship with Him through putting our faith in Jesus Christ.  Once we do, God will never forget or forsake us.  Verse three states, Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed;  Solomon said he was not going to bed until he settled things with God.  We also should make sure that we are at peace with God before we go to bed each night.  Verse four adds, I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids,  Solomon also said he not only wasn't going to bed, but he wasn't going to sleep until heard from God.  Verse five continues, Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.  Solomon added that he was not going to rest until he found a place for the habitation of God.  Solomon may have had afflictions in his life, but he was more concerned about the things of God than he was about his own problems.  We as followers of Christ may have problems in life, but our first concern must be the our relationship with God and His house.  Verse six says, Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood.  Mathew Henry says this is a reference to the Ark of the Covenant which had been located at Shiloh, but the people no longer knew where it was.  We will never have to wonder where the things of God are as Christians, because the Holy Spirit is always with us to guide and direct us to the way of God.  Verse seven adds, We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool.  Solomon said that the people of Israel would go into the tabernacle of God and worship Him.  We need to always be ready to go into God's house and worship Him.  

Psalms 131:1

Psalms 131:1 says, A Song of degrees of David.  This is identified as another song of degrees by David, then verse one says, LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.  I believe that this means that David was not self-centered.  We as followers of Christ cannot think that we have all the answers and get caught up in self pride.  We will never be more than sinners saved by grace, and we can never understand the things of God based on our own abilities.  We must learn about God by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse two adds, Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.  David said that in his relationship with God that he was like an obedient child.  Still, David had grown in his relationship with God and was able to understand more without being fed simply with milk.  As new Christians, we start by learning the simple truths of God, but as we mature, we should be able to understand more and more what it means to follow Christ.   Verse three concludes, Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.  As David asked of Israel, God's chosen people then, we as Christians today must put our hope in the LORD forevermore.  There is no lasting hope without faith in God. 

Psalms 130:1

Psalms 130:1 says, A Song of degrees.  Once more this is called a song of degrees, then verse one says, Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.  When we are in the depths of despair or trouble, like the psalmist, we as followers of Christ must cry out to God.  Verse two adds,  Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.  The psalmist asked for God to hear his voice and to be attentive to his supplications, or prayers.  We can be certain that God hears the prayers of Christians, and that He not only is attentive to our prayers, but that He recognizes our voice as well.  Verse three asks, If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? I believe that this means that if God judged everyone by their iniquities, no one could stand before Him, and if anyone doesn't accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, then they will not be able to stand before God in judgment.  Verse four adds, But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.  As the psalmist said, there is forgiveness with God and as I just stated that is only available by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Those who lived before He came put their faith in His coming, and those since put their faith in the fact that He has come and in His second coming to claim those who are His.  Verse five states, I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.  The psalmist was waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ, and we are waiting for His return, because we put our faith in His word.  Verse six adds, My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.  The psalmist said his soul waited for the Lord more than others waited for the sun to rise in the morning.  Just as certain as the sun rising in the morning is the second coming of Christ, and we should put our faith in that fact.  Verse seven declares, Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.  Isreal, God's chosen people, were called on to put their hope in the mercy of God.  The psalmist stated that the was plenty of mercy for redemption in God.  Though some may claim that only a specified number of people will be redeemed by God, His salvation is abundant enough to redeem all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ.  God's love, mercy, and redemption are not limited.  Verse eight adds, And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.  As God would redeem Israel, those who were His chosen people then, if they put their faith in Him, He has redeemed all who put their faith in Him today.  Not everyone born into the nation of Israel was redeemed simply by being born into the nation, but only those who put their faith in God and the coming Messiah were.  Today, we cannot be redeemed by being born in a certain place or into a certain family, but can only be redeemed individually by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. 

Psalms 129:1

Psalms 129:1 says, A Song of degrees.  This is identified as another song of degrees, then verse one says, Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say: Matthew Henry says this psalm relates to public concerns for Israel and was probably written when the people of Israel were captive in Babylon or shortly after their return.  The church, like Israel, has often been distressed by the world, throughout the ages.  Verse two adds, Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.  Just as the psalmist said about Israel, we as the church, the followers of Christ, have been distressed by the world through the ages, but the world has never and will never prevail.  Verse three continues, The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows.  Though as Matthew Henry says, we might say the rod was on their back, the meaning is the same.  The people of Israel, God's chosen people, were treated cruelly by other nations throughout the ages, so we should not be surprised if we are as Christians today.  Verse four declares, The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.  The psalmist said that God is righteous and had cut asunder the cords of the wicked.  God will always be righteous and will always cut asunder the cords of the wicked.  Verse five adds, Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion.  We need tto pray as they did then that God will confound the wicked who fight against us today.  Verse six states, Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it groweth up:  The psalmist asked that the enemies of Israel wither away like the grass on the rooftop.  Verse seven adds, Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.  I don't believe that we should pray that our enemies starve, but we should pray that they not be successful against us, while still praying for their salvation.  Verse eight continues, Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.  The rest of the world will never go by blessing the people of the church, but we should never be remiss in praising God for His blessings.

Psalms 128:1

Psalms 128:1 says, A Song of degrees.  This is also called a song of degrees, then verse one says, Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.  The psalmist says that if a person wants to be blessed, they must respect God and walk in His ways.  This is the only way to be truly blessed.  It has nothing to do with material things, but with spiritual things.  Verse two adds, For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.  We are told that we should eat from our labor, and not that we will have big houses and fine cars.  We should not feel that we need these things to be blessed.  Verse three states, Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.  The psalmist also said that a man's wife and children would be a blessing to him.  If we truly believe this, then I believe being with our families would be a much happier place today.  Verse four adds, Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.  Having the necessities of life and a happy family are said to be signs of a blessed life.  Verse five proclaims, The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.  The psalmist said that God would bless those that are faithful to Him, and He still will today.  Verse six adds, Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.  The people of Israel were promised that they would see their grandchildren and peace in Israel.  We may never see peace in this lifetime, but we will have everlasting peace spiritually with God, and we will see all of our descendants who have put their faith in God again one day. 

Psalms 127:1

Psalms 127:1 says, A Song of degrees for Solomon.  This is called a song of degrees of Solomon, and verse one says, Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.  Solomon said that unless people built in accordance with God's plan, they built in vain, and unless the watchmen watched under God's guidance, they watched in vain.  Things that are built without God's leadership will always be built in vain, no matter how much we may value them and try to guard them.  Verse two adds, It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.  Solomon said that it was vain, or worthless, for anyone, especially those who put their faith in God, to stay up late, eat in sorrow, or not be able to sleep, because God gives His people sleep.  As a follower of Christ, you should never be unable to enjoy a meal or get a good night's sleep because you are worried.   Verse three states, Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.  Solomon said that children are a gift of God.  God is the Giver of life, and it is not up to us to decide which of the fruit of the womb lives or dies.  Verse four adds, As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.  Solomon said that children were as important to a parent as arrows were to a mighty man.  Children should help support the family, especially when they become older and more capable of helping out.  I believe that it is God's plan for families to support and protect one another.   Verse five continues, Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.  Solomon said that parents who had many children should be happy and not ashamed.  Today, society seems to look down on parents who have more then one or two children, but as Christians we should leave this in God's hands.  We certainly should never decide that after a certain point that we will no longer allow a child to be born.