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The Word of God says:

Psalm 132:6-10 (NASB)
⁶ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah, We found it in the field of Jaar.
⁷ Let us go into His dwelling place; Let us worship at His footstool.
⁸ Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.
⁹ Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your godly ones sing for joy.
¹⁰ For the sake of David Your servant, Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.

My reflections on the Word of God:

It was after several readings of this passage that I came to see what the Spirit of God was saying to me through this passage.

The words that leaped off the page and into my heart was, “We found it”. The worshippers were speaking of the Ark of the Covenant, but the Spirit of God was speaking into my heart the joy of finding and knowing Christ Jesus my Savior and Lord.

When You find Christ or when you come to know Him more intimately the response of the heart and the soul of man are to worship Him.

Psalm 132:7 (NASB)
⁷ Let us go into His dwelling place; Let us worship at His footstool.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I delight to be able to enter into the presence of the Sovereign God of the universe, and to worship You in spirit and in truth.  O how wonderful and marvelous it is to bow low at the feet of my Lord, and to worship and praise You for who You are, and for what You have done.

O Worship the King (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh073.sht

The Word of God says:

Psalm 132:1-5 (NASB)
¹ Remember, O Lord, on David’s behalf, All his affliction;
² How he swore to the Lord And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
³ “Surely I will not enter my house, Nor lie on 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.”

My reflections on the Word of God:

The writer of this Psalm reminds the Lord of the passion and plans that His servant David had made to prepare to build a dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant.

2 Samuel 7:1-3 (NASB)
¹ Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,
² that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”
³ Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.”

David never got to build the temple, but his son Solomon did. However, he had the desire to do so, and he made preparation to do for God what was on his heart to do.

1 Chronicles 22:14 (NASB)
¹⁴ “Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, how great and how awesome are You, and it is no wonder of the passion that David had to build a dwelling place for the ark of the covenant.

Father God, I praise and thank You that You no longer dwell in temples made by the hands of man, but that You dwell in temples made by Your own hands.

Acts 7:48-49 (NASB)
⁴⁸ “However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:
⁴⁹ ‘Heaven is My throne , And earth is the footstool of my feet ; What kind of house will you build for me?’ says the Lord , ‘Or what place is there for My repose?

The Word of God says:

Psalm 132:1 (NASB)
¹ Remember, O Lord, on David’s behalf, All his affliction;

My reflections on the Word of God:

This Psalm reminds us that there is a sovereign God who rules and reigns over everything that is in the heavens above and on the earth below.

The goodnews is that God does remember His people. I am so glad that He forgives and forgets our sins, but that He is faithful to remember His promises.

Psalm 25:6-7 (NASB)
⁶ Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; According to Your lovingkindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

Lamentations 3:19 (NASB)
¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.

Lamentations 5:1 (NASB)
¹ Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; Look, and see our reproach!

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You that You are a God in whom Your people can trust in and rely upon.

Father God, it is comforting and strengthening to know that the sovereign God of the universe knows my name, and that He cares about me enough to remember me.

Do Lord; Do Remember Me (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.trinity-reformed.org/dolord.html

The Word of God says:

Psalm 131:3 (NASB)
³ O Israel, hope in the Lord From this time forth and forever.

My reflections on the Word of God:

David concludes this Psalm with a call for the people of God to hope in the Lord. This verse shows that David has weaned himself from weeping and trying to hold on to the past. The call for hope in the Lord is a call to move from the past, and to live in the present and to be content in waiting and hoping in the Lord for the future.

The pilgrim Psalmist has found the blessedness of walking by faith, and the hope of trusting in the Lord. He longs for his fellow pilgrims to know the blessedness that he has found.

Psalm 31:24 (NASB)
²⁴ Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 38:15 (NASB)
¹⁵ For I hope in You, O Lord; You will answer, O Lord my God.

Psalm 147:11 (NASB)
¹¹ The Lord favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for being a God in whom I can place my complete trust and my hope for today and all of my tomorrows. Father God, I praise and thank You for being my maker, my redeemer, and the keeper of my soul.

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.digitalhymnal.org/dhymn.cfm?hymnNumber=522

The Word of God says:

Psalm 131:2 (NASB)
² Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.

My reflections on the Word of God:

The weaned child presents a vivid picture that David uses to give testimony of the growth that has taken place in his life. David identifies himself as being like a little child who has survived the weaning from his mother. The sign of maturity is the ability to shed what is good for what is better in life.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (NASB)
¹¹ When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

Growth in the Christian is not easy, and even more difficult is having a quiet heart in the midst of growing spiritually. This can only happen through the grace of God.

Philippians 4:11 (NASB)
¹¹ Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Hebrews 13:5 (NASB)
⁵ Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

Psalm 46:10 (NASB)
¹⁰ “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You for the grace of God that gives me the strength to wean my life and my soul from the things of the world to the things of God.

Father God, I pray for the grace to become like a little child who has learn to place his complete trust in my heavenly Father.

Father God, I praise and thank You that by Your grace You have delivered Your believing children from the world to Christ.

He Is Able to Deliver Thee (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/He_Is_Able_to_Deliver_Thee/midi/

The Word of God says:

Psalm 131:1 (NASB)
¹ O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me.

My reflections on the Word of God:

Yesterday we started our walk through Psalm 131. Today we will begin to look at the Psalm in bite size pieces. This Psalm is the personal testimony of David. In this first verse David shows that he does not think too highly of himself, or too lowly of himself. He looked at himself and he was honest.

David was a man with great ability. However, when God looks at a person He is not looking for ability. God is looking for availability. David was a man who had ability, but his heart for God was the deciding factor in God being able to use David.

1 Samuel 16:18 (NASB)
¹⁸ Then one of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him.”

Psalm 147:10-11 (NASB)
¹⁰ He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
¹¹ The Lord favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.

2 Chronicles 16:9a (NASB)
⁹ “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I pray that when You are looking for servants that You will find in me a heart that will be one that You can use for Your plans and purposes.

Psalm 51:17 (NASB)
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Purer in Heart, O God (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/p/u/purerinh.htm

The Word of God says:

Psalm 131:1-3 (NASB)
¹ O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me.
² Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.
³ O Israel, hope in the Lord From this time forth and forever.

My reflections on the Word of God:

After as absence of two weeks it is good to be back to the Word, and to my computer to continue the journey through the Songs of Degrees. We had a wonderful time in Baton Rouge, and got to meet some classmates that we had not seen in over 50 years.

As we come to today’s Psalm in our focal passage we see that some things don’t change with the elapse of time. Our friends of yesteryears may change, but the God that we serve does not change. In addition things that please God, and the characteristics of the people that pleases God does not change.

The author of this Psalm is David. He wrote this Psalm speaking about himself. It is a short Psalm, but it covers a lot of territory. In a Psalm that is short of words, but long on the things that pleases God, and is a joy to His hearts when He looks at His children who have learned the lesson that David learned.

David illustrates in this Psalm the value of learning humility. It is only when we wean ourselves of pride that we can know the blessings that flow from God alone. It is through trust in God alone that we have hope in God alone.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Father God, my dear Father, I praise and thank You the testimony of David. We know from the scripture that You had a high regard for David.

Acts 13:22 (AMP)
²² And when He had deposed him, He raised up David to be their king; of him He bore witness and said, I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart, who will do all My will and carry out My program fully.

David was in good company by having a heart of humility. Notice how much David’s heart was like the heart of Jesus.

Matthew 11:29 (AMP)
²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.

Lord, I pray that I may find from the meditation on this Psalm the keys to unlocking God’s favor in my life. Father God, I praise and thank You that Jesus has already done for me what I could not do for myself. I thank You for being in my heart and in my life.

Since Jesus Came into My Heart (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_Since_Jesus_Came_into_My_Heart.html

The Word of God says:

Psalm 130:7-8 (NASB)
⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.
⁸ And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

My reflections on the Word of God:

Today we conclude our meditation on Psalm 130. We will resume this walk through the Songs of Ascent in two weeks when I return from a trip to Louisiana where I will be attending the 50^th reunion of my High School class of 58.

The hope of Israel then and the hope of the church today is that God is interested in the salvation of individuals and the nation. God is interested in the salvation of Israel, and the individuals who comprise the nation.

Notice that God is interested in all of Israel, and that He will redeem Israel from all its sins. Consider what a wonderful salvation that we who comprise the new Israel have through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 111:9 (NASB)
⁹ He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.

Matthew 1:21 (NASB)
²¹ “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I am so glad that I have a redeemer, who is able to provide for the redemption of all people. I am so glad that the Father sent the Son to save His people from their sins.

Father God, I pray for the church, the Body of Christ, all of Your blood bought children. I praise and thank You for Your lovingkindness and for providing the means for our salvation.

Ephesians 1:7 (NASB)
⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Acts 20:28 (NASB)
²⁸ “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

I Am Praying for You (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_I_Am_Praying_For_You.html

The Word of God says:

Psalm 130:5-6 (NASB)
⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.
⁶ My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

My reflections on the Word of God:

Yesterday our passage focused on the forgiveness the Lord gives His people. Forgiveness is not a license to sin more. Rather, it creates an environment for loving the Lord more. We learned from yesterday’s passage that forgiveness is a platform for God’s people to demonstrate their love for God, and their reverence of Him.

Psalm 130:4 (AMP)
⁴ But there is forgiveness with You [just what man needs], that You may be reverently feared and worshiped.

One of the benefits of being forgiven by the Lord is the hope that it produces for future blessings and favor from the hands of the Lord. Notice the faith in God that comes from the grateful and expectant heart of the Psalmist.

Psalm 130:5 (AMP)
⁵ I wait for the Lord, I expectantly wait, and in His word do I hope.

The Psalmist paints a very vivid picture of what it felt like to wait for the Lord. He compares it to the night watchmen waiting for the shift change in the morning when he will be relieved of his night duties.

Psalm 130:6 (AMP)
⁶ I am looking and waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, I say, more than watchmen for the morning.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I praise and thank You that with You there is always hope for a brighter tomorrow for the person who puts their trust in the Lord.

Father God, You are a faithful God, and Your mercies are new every morning. Knowing a God like You brings joy to my heart as I reflect upon the greatness and the goodness of our God.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_Great_Is_Thy_Faithfulness.html

The Word of God says:

Psalm 130:3-4 (NASB)
³ If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

My reflections on the Word of God:

There is one thing that all of us share in common, and that is the problem of sin. In the court room of justice we all stand guilty as charged. That is the plight that the Psalmist made in verse three.

Psalm 130:3 (AMP)
³ If You, Lord, should keep account of and treat [us according to our] sins, O Lord, who could stand?

The Psalmist asked the right question. We have a big problem. Even the best lawyer could not help us get relief in the court of law and justice.

Galatians 2:16 (NASB)
¹⁶ nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

Romans 3:20 (NASB)
²⁰ because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

However, we need not despair. There is one who can help us in our condition of sin. The one is described in verse four of our focal passage listed above. There is a God in heaven that is gracious. He is the God of grace and mercy.

Psalm 86:5 (NASB)
⁵ For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.

Because of His greatness and His goodness His children delight to fear Him. That is what the Psalmist said in verse four.

Psalm 130:4 (AMP)
⁴ But there is forgiveness with You [just what man needs], that You may be reverently feared and worshiped.

My prayer in response to the Word of God:

Our Father in heaven, I delight to fear You for You are a great God, and You are greatly to be reverently feared and worshiped.

Father God, without Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness I would be lost and undone, and without hope in this world or in the world to come.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NASB)
⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Saved, Saved (Click on link below for lyrics and midi):

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_Saved_Saved.html