To be honest, it was a little hard to get excited about this psalm, and yet it’s so important. It’s the psalmist reminding the Lord that there will always be a descendant of David on the throne of Israel, and that has happened. Down through the David line until the Messiah who now reigns forever, there has since David and still is a descendant on the throne. It’s secure now.
But there was an appreciation for a thought I hadn’t had before thanks to something I read. David so loved the LORD that he swore that he would build a temple for Him. The LORD told him yes, that would happen, but not through David but rather through his son. But then that’s where the promise came in. David swore he would build a house for the Lord, and the LORD made an oath to David that a descendant would be on his throne forever. It was a love fest trying to outdo the other.
It also struck me that though David would not build the house, he didn’t just stop. He worked to bring back the ark. And then he made sure that every single thing he could do for his son to build the house was lined up. He gathered material, finance, people and more. He did the gritty work so that his son could easily assume his throne and get to work.
It made me think of what am I doing to set up the next generation to build the kingdom of God? What am I setting in motion to make it easy for them to run at the next level? Good question to ponder.
And then this struck me:
“May your priests be clothed with your righteousness; may your faithful people sing for joy” (v. 9).
Joy. The more I read the Old Testament, the more I see that the relationship with God was to be one of great joy. There was to be singing, shouting, dancing, celebration and more. In fact 3x God commands the celebration of the festivals. He is a righteous party God. Even the temple was to be a place of joy.
In some churches today a shout of joy or dancing or singing that is beyond “reverent” might cause church drama. But this is the way of the faith. There are definitely times of reverence, even lament, but generally speaking the place of worship is to be a place of joy. As one has said, “joy is the fruit of the mature.”
