Psa 132:14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

Psalm 132 is Remembering Zion. It concerns the temple and Zion. The Psalmist is recounting the faithfulness of David and the oath he made to God regarding his desire to build a dwelling place for Him (v.1-10). David swore he would not rest until he had found a dwelling place of God. God responded to David's oath by promising him eternal lineage to the throne of David: “Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. 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” (v.11b-12). It is a Messianic prophecy of the eternal kingdom of God. The apostle Peter, preaching on the day of Pentecost, quoted from this prophecy, and referred its fulfilment to Christ and His kingdom (Acts 2:30). That throne refers to the eternal kingdom of God in Christ Jesus which we are now in: “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28). Psalm 132 makes us think of our eternity with the Lord forever. I like verse 14: “This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.” That statement was made by God. At first reading, it seems like He was referring to the temple built by Solomon. But history shows us that the temple was not eternal. In fact, Jesus prophesied of its total destruction: “There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2). That prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 when the Roman soldiers destroyed the temple to the ground. It ceased to exist till this day. God never intended for the temple to be His habitation forever. The prophecy concerns one who would sit on the throne of David (v.11). Is there a descendent of David sitting on the throne today? Yes, there is! As mentioned earlier, Peter said that person was Jesus Christ (Acts 2:30). Jesus Christ, as a man, was of the house of David: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). Jesus Christ, as God, is the Lord of David’s house: “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8). Jesus Christ, the God-man, is the eternal King of the spiritual and eternal throne of David where all true Christians will worship Him forever and ever (Hebrews 12:28). We are in the Kingdom of Christ: “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). We are in God’s eternal kingdom where God dwells forever. It is in this kingdom we too will find rest forever: “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13). Is it our desire to dwell in the rest that God has promised us? The writer of the book of Hebrews spoke about this rest in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4. He said Israel failed to enter into the rest because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:19). He exhorts us to labour hard, to strive diligently, to enter into the eternal rest. He warns of unbelief that will hinder us from entering into that rest (Hebrews 4:11). Let us determine to finish this Christian race that we may enter the rest in heaven. Let this be our slogan: “This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.”  Is it your desire?