Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,
all the hardships he endured,
² how he swore to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
³ “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
⁵ until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
⁷ “Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool!”

⁸ Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
⁹ Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let your saints shout for joy.
¹⁰ For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

¹¹ 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.
¹² If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
shall sit on your throne.”

¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:
¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
¹⁵ I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
¹⁶ Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.
¹⁷ There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
¹⁸ His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”

1) Why is this psalm labeled as a “song of ascent”?
There are 15 psalms labeled this way, and they all appear in order from Psalm 120-134. At least 4 of them were written by King David. These songs were likely sung by the Jewish people as they made their way “up” to Jerusalem three times a year, as commanded by the Lord for sacrifice and corporate worship. (See Exodus 34:24) Other scholars note that the songs could also have been sung by the Levite singers as they ascended the steps into the temple at Jerusalem. Either way, these were songs of worship, of unity among the Jews, and meant to refocus their hearts onto the Lord.

2) What are verses 1-7 talking about?
This section of the song is a call to remembrance; it’s purpose is to remind the people how earnestly David longed for a place to house the Ark of the Covenant (which was the location of God’s presence) so that David, and all of God’s people, could worship the Lord.

3) The Lord swears an oath in verses 11-12, how does it relate to David wanting to build a temple in verses 1-7?
In response to David’s deep desire to honor the Lord with a physical place to worship, God gives a promise to David that “one of the sons of your body” would both sit on David’s throne and, as we see in 1 Kings 8:18-20, would build the temple that David longed for. There is such beauty in this! The intimacy that envelopes us through worship would not come by the work of David’s hand, but by God’s provision. This Is The Gospel!! We cannot attain a relationship with the Lord through our own work, or our own desire, no matter how much we might long for it. This deep pleasure is only accessible through the work of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf! How thrilling it is to see the fullness of the gospel story overflowing even in the pages of ancient Jewish history, long before Mary, Joseph, and Jesus!

4) Verses 13-18 speak of “Zion” being God’s dwelling place. Where is this?
When God chose David to be king, He also ordained that Mount Zion, located within the boundary lines of the tribe of Judah (which was the tribe of David, and eventually, Jesus), would be the location for His temple. (see Psalm 78:67-72) This would become the city of Jerusalem, which is where the temple would be built by Solomon, David’s son. It was here that the Ark of the Covenant would be placed and where God’s presence would dwell. This portion of the psalm details out the delights of being in God’s presence, of worshipping Him, and belonging to Him.

1) Why is this psalm labeled as a “song of ascent”?
“Church” looks quite a bit different for us today than it would have for the Jews of David’s time. We meet at least every week for corporate worship, but the ancient Jews didn’t have that privilege. We are quick to be critical of the song choices, the sermon, the duration of service, or even the attire of those on the stage. Next time you’re walking into church, ask the Spirit to bring your heart into focus on HIM. We join with other members of the Body of Christ to worship Him. The focus is Jesus, the purpose is glorifying Him, and the how we do it, by promoting unity (and not being critical), is extremely reflective of our true heart.

2) What are verses 1-7 talking about?
This Psalm poetically describes how David “would not sleep” until He had found “a dwelling place for the Lord”. He was desperate to honor God and would sacrifice whatever it took to bring Him the worship He deserved. When it comes to worshipping the Lord, whether corporately at church, or in private worship when you read His word or sing to Him, does the same desperate longing to honor Him fuel your heart? When we lay aside ourselves: our worries, our complaints, our fears, our annoyances and criticisms, for the purpose of truly honoring the Lord, we are both blessed and freed as we worship!

3) The Lord swears an oath in verses 11-12, how does it relate to David wanting to build a temple in verses 1-7?
In yesterday’s Journey Study, we talked about being slaves to the Enemy Satan and how God longs to break our chains and set us free to dance in His fullness. Verses 11-12 speak of that ultimate freedom! God vowed that David’s son, Solomon, would sit on David’s throne and build the temple, but God went on to say that someone from David’s line would always hold the throne. This was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was from the lineage of David! This Lord of the Kingdom, does not reign on earth, but reigns over the all creation and is intimately ruling in the hearts of believers. His rule does not bring chains and slavery in the way we think; rather we are bound to Him in love, which naturally produces….deep worship!

4) Verses 13-18 speak of “Zion” being God’s dwelling place. Where is this?
In the Old Testament, Mount Zion references Jerusalem, but it also foreshadows the New Heaven and the New Earth. When this present earth has passed away and we are ushered into eternity. we will delight in the presence of the Lord God in ways we can’t even begin to imagine! In David’s time, they could only experience a sliver of God’s presence by coming to the temple and worshipping Him, but today, as New Testament believers, we have the Holy Spirit living directly within our hearts. The heart of every believer is the Lord’s “Mt. Zion”! Read those last few verses and personalize them like this:

For the Lord has chosen (your name;
he has desired (her) for His dwelling place:
¹⁴ “(Her heart) is My resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired (her).
¹⁵ I will abundantly bless her (needs);
I will satisfy her poor (places) with bread.
¹⁶  I will clothe (her) with salvation,
and (she) will shout for joy!
¹⁸ (Her) enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on (her) My crown will shine.”

You, daughter, are no longer a slave! 

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Freedom!