The house of God
1 Lord, remember King David
and all the troubles that he suffered.
2 He made a special promise to the Lord.
He promised you, the Mighty One of Jacob.
132:2‘The Mighty One of Jacob’ is another name for God, who ruled over the Israelites.
3 He said, ‘I will not go into my house or get into my bed;
4 I will not sleep even for a moment,
5 until I find a house for the Lord.
Yes, the Mighty One of Jacob needs a proper home.’
132:5David wanted God to have a proper home. He wanted to build a temple for the Lord. It was his son, Solomon, who then built the temple.
6 Listen! We heard the news at Ephrathah.
132:6Ephrathah is another name for Bethlehem.
We found God's Covenant Box in the fields of Jaar.
7 We will go to the Lord's home!
We will worship him on his throne!
8 Lord, come now and stay here, in your home!
Come with the Covenant Box that shows your great power.
132:8They brought the Covenant Box to Jerusalem before they built the Temple. They put it in a special tent. When the Temple was built, they put God's Covenant Box in the inside room of the temple, the Most Holy Place.
9 May your priests serve you in a good way.
Cause your faithful people to shout with joy!
10 Remember your servant, King David.
Do not turn away from your chosen king.
132:10The word for ‘chosen king’ is ‘Messiah’ in the Hebrew language. Jesus was King David's great descendant who became king for ever.
11 The Lord made a strong promise to David.
He will not change what he has promised to do.
The Lord said,
‘I will put one of your sons on your throne to rule as king.
12 If your sons obey my covenant and my rules,
their descendants will rule for ever.’
13 The Lord has chosen Zion to be his home.
14 He said, ‘This is where I will live for ever.
This is where I want my home to be.
15 I will give Zion's people everything that they need.
Zion's poor people will have plenty of food to eat.
16 I will keep Zion's priests safe.
The people who serve God faithfully will shout loudly,
because they are so happy.
17 In Zion I will give strength to King David's family.
My chosen king will continue to rule well,
like a light that shines brightly.
18 I will cause his enemies to be ashamed.
But his own kingdom will be great!’
Psalm 133
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.
1 It is good for a family of God's people to live together in peace.
Yes! It brings great pleasure!
2 It brings pleasure like valuable olive oil
that is poured on your head,
and it goes down onto your beard.
They poured it onto Aaron's head and his beard,
and it went down onto his clothes.
133:2Aaron was Moses' brother. He was the first priest that God chose to serve him. When the Israelites chose a new priest, they poured olive oil on his head to show that he was a special servant of God.
3 It brings pleasure like the dew on Hermon.
133:3Dew is water that comes onto the ground at night. It helps plants to grow when there is no rain. Hermon is in the north of the land of Israel.
It makes the mountains of Zion become wet.
133:3Zion was the hill in Jerusalem where they built God's Temple.
That is the place where the Lord has promised to bless his people.
He blesses them with life for ever.
