Today's psalm is another "Song of Ascents" (Ps. 120-134), sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the three festivals where Jews were expected to make their way to the famed Holy City. This psalm is a song about the Holy City (Zion), but its words don't end with Jerusalem. We, as Christians, look forward to the day when a new Zion will be created by God and we will be called to worship in that new heavenly city. 

O Lord, remember 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.” .. Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy. For your servant David’s sake do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 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. If your sons keep my covenant and my decrees that I shall teach them, their sons also, forevermore, shall sit on your throne.” For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation: "This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread. Its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy .. I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam.”   (Ps. 132)

The Lord swore to David that his sons would remain on the throne so long as they kept the covenant. Well, of course, they didn't and it wasn't long after David that the nation of Israel was divided and conquered by other nations. The line of David on the throne was no more. But then came prophecy of one from David's line who would come as Lord and King. Matthew 1 sets out the genealogy of Jesus and Jesus' link to David. In the New Jerusalem, Jesus will sit on the throne and the promise of this psalm will once again be fulfilled. Zion will be God's resting place forever, and we will be there with God. Today I encourage you to spend a few minutes thinking about the words of this psalm as words not for unknown people in the distant past, but for you and your future.

Prayer: God, thank you for the promises you have made, not just to Israel but for all people. The promise of a New Jerusalem, a real place, where you will be present with us can be difficult to envision, but it is a promise repeated in your Word. Help me to live my life today as a person on a pilgrimage to that Holy City. Help me to serve you so that on my arrival I hear those words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Amen.